Tangents

photography tutorials, reviews & workshops

tangents photography blog
learn : discuss : share
  • Tangents
  • Tutorials
    • Flash Photography
    • Wedding Photography
    • Studio Photography
    • Posing People
    • Understanding Your Camera
    • Exposure metering
    • BFT
    • Best Photo Books
  • Reviews
    • Sony
    • Nikon
    • Canon
    • Fuji
    • Profoto
    • lighting gear
  • Workshops
    • Info: Workshops
    • In-person
      tutoring sessions
    • Online
      tutoring sessions
    • Workshops in
      New Jersey (NJ)
    • Workshops in
      New York (NYC)
    • Photo walks in NYC
    • Studio Workshop
    • Video tutorials
    • Workshop results
  • Books
    • On-Camera Flash (revised ed.)
    • Direction & Quality of Light
    • Off-Camera Flash Photography
    • Lighting & Design
    • On-Camera Flash (1st ed.)
  • Projects
    • Two Perspectives
    • B&W Infrared
    • Vintage lenses
    • Time-lapse photography
  • Info
    • About
    • Contact
    • My Photo Gear
    • Books by NvN
    • Join us on Facebook
    • Acclaim
    • Success Stories

reverse engineering an image (3) – a contest!

December 1, 2010 Neil vN

wedding portraits with multiple light sources

edited on Dec 08, 2010 : contest winner has been announced, with feedback from Josh about this photograph When we've previously featured photographs that we tried to reverse engineer, there was a great response by readers of the Tangents blog. Similarly, many participated in the recent Photoshop contest. So I've decided that we should combine the two. Maybe even make it a regular event. The contest then is to reverse engineer this photograph in terms of the lighting. The winner gets a $50 B&H gift  Read more inside...

lighting ideas for romantic wedding portraits

November 29, 2010 Neil vN 15 Comments

lighting the romantic portraits of the bride & groom

Scouting around the location during dinner time, I peered over the edge of this spiraling staircase and thought it would be a good idea to get some light on the couple, seated on the couch. I posed Melissa so that  she lounged back with her head on Dennis' lap. There is no way to get light on them from my position with on-camera bounce flash, and definitely not if my intention is to get light only on them. It needed off-camera flash. To add some variety,  I also thought of a few other things to try with the lighting, using  Read more inside...

portrait: Janine vN

November 15, 2010 Neil vN 11 Comments

portrait using a gridded softbox

It's been about a year since I last took a more formal portrait of my daughter Janine. Last year it was her with the steam-punk goggles, when I used a beauty dish (with a sock) as lighting. During a restaurant dinner last night I noticed Janine had 'LOVE' scribbled on both her forearms with a felt marker. I asked her about it, and she explained the idea behind 'To Write Love On Her Arms'. So I decided to include this tonight in the portrait of her. Lighting her and the words on her arms was a slight challenge. I wanted a moody portrait, instead of  Read more inside...

photography: finding interesting available light

October 7, 2010 Neil vN 10 Comments

photography: using interesting found light / available light

Photographing Kerri in an alley that I've used a few times before, I was looking for other interesting angles and backgrounds. This one stretch of white-washed wall was particularly bland ... but then I noticed small splashes of light ...  Read more inside...

video light for photography – positioning the light

September 27, 2010 Neil vN 11 Comments

video light for photography - positioning the light

A light source like a video light is comparatively unforgiving when you look at how easy it is to get beautiful results with flash and a large soft box. The smaller light source (video light) needs to be positioned with more specific intent than the larger soft box.  Read more inside...

photography: Inspiration and Homage – compositing & multiple lights

September 8, 2010 Neil vN 9 Comments

Chuck Arlund is a Fashion Photographer whose elegant photography is made even more impressive with the simplicity of his set-ups and use of lighting. Chuck's previous guest spot here on the topic of on-location lighting techniques using reflector & flash, was very well received. Therefore I'm very happy that Chuck is graciously sharing more of his ideas with this guest post. Also, check out Chuck's workshops and mentoring sessions.

Inspiration and Homage - compositing & multiple lights made to look natural

a guest post by Chuck Arlund This  Read more inside...

photo-shoot – a change in plans

August 22, 2010 Neil vN 17 Comments

progression of an idea during a photo-session

This post was going to be something entirely different - a mini-review of an Elinchrom Ranger Quadra Set that I got hold of to try out.  But a key part was missing.  Without the Skyport that allows you to control the output of the unit from the camera itself, a review would be less useful. Having booked Priscilla as our model already, and my friend Richard along to assist, we decided to just go ahead and have fun with a photo-shoot anyway ...  Read more inside...

photography: direction of light & change in background

August 21, 2010 Neil vN 15 Comments

Positioning your subject - direction of light & choice of background

Taking cover from the rain under an awning during a photography workshop in New York, we ended up in this spot against a wall that was painted black.  However, looking along the wall at an angle, the black paint of the wall reflected the light from behind. This completely changed the character of the background.  Since the available light was low level, and not flattering, we added some light from an off-camera flash in a softbox. Shooting nearly completely in line with the flash, the light on Catherine was  Read more inside...

photography: direction of light & choice of background

August 20, 2010 Neil vN 7 Comments

posing your subject - direction of light & choice of background

Reinforcing the ideas from a few previous posts, we're going to look at that intersect where everything comes together: - direction of light, - choice of background, - posing your subject, - positioning yourself. When we work with our subject - whether a family member or a model or anyone we're photographing - then we have the opportunity to control at least a few aspects to make the final photograph more successful.  Read more inside...

sequence: setting up the lighting at a photo shoot

August 6, 2010 Neil vN 40 Comments

analysis of the lighting setup during a photo shoot

The photo above of Jessica, my assistant, shows the final lighting setup during a recent commercial shoot.  I had to photograph various people at a medical technology imaging company for use on their website and promotional material.  I had to show some of the workplace, but put the accent on the person I am photographing. Of course, it is much easier to work with my assistant, and do test shots and changes in the setup beforehand.  Then we can change the lights and anything else we need to, until we're happy with the results.  Read more inside...

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • …
  • 22
  • Next Page »

categories

Articles & Tutorials

  • • About myself & this site
    • Books by Neil vN
    • Best photography books
    • Black foamie thing
    • Photographers’ success stories
  • • Flash Photography Techniques
    • Natural looking flash
    • Flash + Ambient light
    • Dragging the shutter
    • Bouncing your flash
    • On-camera flash outdoors
    • Exposure metering
    • Flash exposure compensation
    • Bounce flash examples
    • Which is the best flashgun?
    • Flash brackets
    • Off-camera flash photography
    • Flash photography basics
    • Using video lights
    • Flash photography tips
  • • Photography workshops NJ / NYC
    • Models @ photography workshops
tutorials:
flash photography
Photography
Workshops

All rights reserved. Copyright © Neil van Niekerk 2025 · Customization by The Traveling Designer

Copyright © 2025 · NvN on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in