Tangents

photography tutorials, reviews & workshops

tangents photography blog
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wedding portraits: finding something to bounce your flash off

April 15, 2011 Neil vN 22 Comments

wedding portraits: finding something to bounce your flash off

One of the frequent questions that come up, is what to do when there is nothing to bounce your flash off.  When working indoors and there are bounce-able surfaces around me, my first instinct is to use on-camera bounce flash. It is easy to use, and the results can look surprisingly good, especially if you consider the minimal effort that went into it. No extra gear to carry around and set up. But when there is nothing to bounce flash off, you have to adapt your technique ...  Read more inside...

Flash photography basics

April 12, 2011 Neil vN 27 Comments

Flash photography basics

In teaching workshops on flash photography, I frequently encounter newer photographers who are overwhelmed by flash photography. Overwhelmed to the extent that they fear their flash, and would rather not deal with flash photography at all. Instead, they adopt the idea that they will only specialize in available light photography. Now, that kind of thinking is an artistic dead-end. As a photographer that aspires to truly being creative, you need to understand light, regardless of how it is supplied to us. I do feel that flash photography is one of those  Read more inside...

on a photo shoot with fashion photographer, Angie Lazaro

April 7, 2011 Neil vN 10 Comments

It's a great pleasure to present this guest spot by Angie Lazaro - a good friend from way back in South Africa. Angie is a fashion photographer in Cape Town. Angie and I became friends at a time when I was still finding my way as a photographer, doing all kinds of freelance photo shoots ... and she was still a photography student at a university in South Africa. We've both come a long way from those lunch-time conversations at the Full Stop café in Melville, Johannesburg .. and I doubt either of us could've imagined where we'd end up over time. So I really am thrilled to present Angie now  Read more inside...

portrait session – Steinway pianist

April 5, 2011 Neil vN 28 Comments

portrait session - Steinway pianist

I had the opportunity recently of photographing Robert Wyatt, a pianist affiliated with Steinway, at the Steinway offices in New York. This photo was taken as we were set to leave after the photo session was already done. I was immediately drawn to the symmetry of the architecture and the lavish foyer below. The pose and framing was deliberately centered. For this lighting setup, I quickly pulled out the Lastolite softbox again, and used it as a single light source. It was all that was needed for a simple portrait here. But earlier on, for the  Read more inside...

a maternity photo session – creating that connection

March 21, 2011 Neil vN 19 Comments

high-key lighting with maternity photo session

Part of what makes wedding photography so rewarding, is keeping contact with clients over the years as life continues past the wedding date. Maternity photo sessions .. babies .. kiddos .. it's all part of how couples' lives unfold. If we're fortunate as photographers, we remain part of it. So it was with great pleasure that I had a maternity photo session with Renee and David. As usual with a photo session, I like to mix things up in terms of the lighting ... all with the intent of getting more diversity in the selection of images:  Read more inside...

Auto FP flash setting for Nikon D300s & D700

March 13, 2011 Neil vN 33 Comments

Auto FP setting for Nikon D300s & D700 - high speed flash sync

The Nikon D300s and Nikon D700 have a custom setting to enable high-speed flash sync - custom fucntion e1. However, you have the option of setting it to either 1/250 Auto FP, or 1/320 Auto FP. I've often been asked which is the preferable setting ... and you know, I never quite knew either. So it was time then to systematically check this out and see what actually happens at either setting - 1/250 Auto FP and 1/320 Auto FP - for both the Nikon D300s and  D700 ...  Read more inside...

On learning the essentials of photography

March 10, 2011 Neil vN 8 Comments

I am super-thrilled to have Frank Doorhof as a guest writer on Tangents. Frank is a highly regarded Fashion photographer based in The Netherlands, whom I had the pleasure of meeting. We hung out the one afternoon, photographing a model in Coney Island. What I found particularly interesting, is how our approach to using flash and ambient light differ. Distinct styles and techniques. Quite an inspiring afternoon. (Please note: with this blog post, the images aren't illustrative of any particular part of the writing, but are there to showcase some of Frank's work.)

Read more inside...

Video tutorial – Using the ‘black foamie thing’

March 8, 2011 Neil vN 98 Comments

 

Video tutorial - Using the 'black foamie thing'

   Read more inside...

photo sessions – Shawna

March 7, 2011 Neil vN 4 Comments

photo sessions  - Shawna - using a variety of photographic lighting options

Shawna is the delightful model I used while I was in Las Vegas a few weeks ago. She helped us out during the mini-workshops I offered, as well as some photos of my own.  I've posted a few photos from these already, but thought it might be interesting to show a further selection of images and discuss them ...  Read more inside...

Flash photography: Recreating Hollywood Glamor style portraits

March 2, 2011 Neil vN 21 Comments

Flash photography: Recreating Hollywood Glamor style portraits

With this portrait of my friends Natalie and Chris, I wanted to portray something dramatic, reminiscent of the old Hollywood Style Glamor portraits. While the classic Hollywood portraits, as done by the masters were lit with Fresnel spotlights (which are continuous lights), I wanted to create some of that mood with a few speedlights ...  Read more inside...

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