Using tele-converters: Extra lens compression for tighter portraits
One of the techniques to have your subject really stand out from the background, is to use the longest focal length on your 70-200mm telephoto zoom. One of the first things I do, is to zoom to maximum focal length, and then step backwards to find the composition … and then only zoom wider if necessary. Doing it this way, forces you to use the longest focal length. This compression focuses attention on your subject by creating separation from the background.
To extend the range of my 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, I always Read more inside...
I try not to bang my equipment around, but there's also a limit to how ultra-careful you can be with your gear. A number of years ago - actually, decades - I knew a keen photographer who had top-end everything. He had swapped out his mint Nikon F4 for a mint Canon EOS-1n. He kept his cameras and lenses mint by not using them much, and keeping them wrapped in chamois. But that's the sad part to this story - he rarely used his gear.
Especially now with digital photography where your camera is essentially a computer with a lens - it really Read more inside...
I use a multiple flash mounting bar during workshops where I need to have a diverse number of setups running simultaneously, but something more compact is also useful. In that article, I listed other flash mounting devices that allow multiple speedlights to be hooked up on one light-stand. Since then, I've discovered this triple flash mounting connector - Triple Flash/Umbrella Mount (affiliate) - and it is superior to others that I've tried.
What sets the Triple Flash/Umbrella Mount (affiliate) from other similar Read more inside...
Quite often, a single speedlight just isn't enough. You need more! You might need a smaller aperture than the single speedlight would provide (even at full power), or you might be battling very bright ambient light. High-Speed Flash Sync doesn't help you in that case. Then you need to add another speedlight.
The mount / bracket that I settled on is the RPS Light Bar with Four Accessory Shoes RS-3102 (affiliate). It is a bit unwieldy, especially when you have 4 speedlights mounted. But when you need it, you need it. It is this Read more inside...
review: Fuji X100 camera - photo shoot with a model
First of all, for those who haven't heard of the Fuji X100 (affiliate) yet, it is a beautiful retro-looking rangefinder-mimicking 12 megapixel digital point & shoot camera (with a fixed 35mm equivalent f2.0 lens), that gives remarkable image quality. That about sums it up.
For all those reasons, quite a buzz developed around this camera. Quite unlike anything since ... oh, the Leica X1. Or the Olympus Pen EP-2. Or the Sony NEX-5. There was greater excitement building up around the Fuji X100 though than other cameras, Read more inside...
The Frio is such an elegantly simple device - ready-made for those times you need to attach a speedlight to a light-stand or umbrella bracket. What makes it so neat is that you don't have to tighten a twisty knob to attach the flash. And neither do you have to un-tighten that same over-tightened knurly knob when you want to release the speedlight again.
Where the Frio really shines is with the modern speedlights that have a pin & lock system. This make them nearly impossible to seat securely in some coldshoes. With the Frio's way Read more inside...
An interesting comment came up in the article on choice of lenses for wedding photography. The observation was that the photographer, Lou, felt like he was the proverbial bull in a china shop when he carried two cameras over his shoulder. With the lenses protruding on either side, it was tough going through doorways without knocking something.
There are numerous camera strap solutions available on the market - rapid straps and holster systems. Most of them work well. I still like the old-fashioned camera strap on the camera. One thing I Read more inside...
Using a macro lens for a photo session of a newborn
I had the pleasure of photographing Jen and David's newborn baby. Aside from photographing the proud parents with their little one, it is also essential to get detail photos of the baby. With close-up images, you see even more clearly just how small this newborn baby is, when you show the scale. A tiny hand clasping a finger. Tiny toes gently flexing against her mother's hand.
For this, a macro lens is an essential part of my camera bag. Read more inside...
review: Custom Brackets Digital Pro-M rotating bracket kit
The makers of the Custom Brackets flash brackets, recently sent me a copy of their latest and best rotating flash bracket, the Pro-M rotating flash bracket (affiliate), for review. Of the various makes of flash brackets I had tried out when I first started doing wedding photography full-time, the Custom Brackets was the one I settled on out of all of them. As far as I was concerned theirs was the flagship of the flash brackets. So I was curious to see what the updated model could offer ...
Comparison between a softbox, a white shoot-through umbrella and a bounce umbrella
I've had several requests from readers of the Tangents blog about how the light from a softbox would differ from the light from an umbrella. Spurred on by that, and by my own curiosity, I met up a while ago with my favorite model, Anelisa, specifically to do comparison shots.
And here it is ... Read more inside...