flash & low ambient light – adapting during an outdoor wedding ceremony
wedding photography: flash and low ambient light - adapting during the shoot
I'm often asked what I would do when I encounter a situation where you need to use flash, but there is no easy way to bounce flash. My flippant answer is ... you're screwed! Well, not really. My advice is that you have to improvise and in some way of finesse your use of light. In tough situations, you still want to try and shy away from using direct on-camera flash whenever possible. Direct on-camera flash as the main source of light is rarely aesthetically the best choice. Read more inside...combining flash and ambient light
combining flash and ambient light
Going by the emails that I receive, one of the areas that many photographers struggle with is that of combining ambient exposure and flash exposure. This question is also expressed in other ways. It can be a frustrated, "where do we even start?" I also often see it expressed as an involved step-by-step deconstruction of technique, making the entire process more complex than it is. In reply to that, and many other emails I've received in the past few months, I'd like to offer an analysis of a few images from a recent shoot. One of my Read more inside...Portrait session using a beauty dish
Portrait session using a beauty dish
As my daughter, Janine, grew up from being a baby, it became more difficult getting photos of her. I think most parents can relate to that increased resistance by your children to having their photo taken. This is Janine, a few moths after her 16th birthday - since I have so very few recent images of her that are of professional quality, I was able to cajole her into this on this snow-bound afternoon. She loved the results: "Facebook profile photo FTW!" I set this up in our living room, with a grey paper backdrop to create a quick home Read more inside...Bounce flash technique – mimicking soft window light
Bounce flash photography technique - mimicking window light
The classic shot - a beautiful bride lit by soft window light. That's a yes on the beautiful bride - but it's a solid no on the window light. What you see there is on-camera flash. (Which most likely won't be a surprise to regular readers of the Tangents blog.) This image is from a wedding this past weekend, and it makes a great example of how light, choice of lens, composition, angle and technique come together to make an image work. With a bit of post-processing added finally for that vintage Read more inside...lighting the wedding formals (part 3)
lighting the wedding formals
In the first of two postings on how I light the wedding formals, I showed how I use a single flashgun when photographing smaller formal groups indoors. The equipment is relatively simple then - a single flashgun (Q-flash) and a large 60" umbrella to give me good lighting. The flashgun that I use for these, is a Q-flash. Specifically the older T2 model since I only use them in manual mode here. When I have a larger group I use two of these flashguns - each with an umbrella. But more about that in a follow-up article coming up soon. What I wanted to Read more inside...photography tip: using a zoom lens
photography tip: using a zoom lens
It was a busy weekend again, with a wedding and a portrait session on Sunday. From the photo session on Sunday, here's my favorite image of the day. I just love the way the background appears in this photograph. The bokeh of this lens is just wonderful. camera settings: 1/250th @ f4 @ 400 ISO The camera used was the Nikon D3, (B&H), and the lens was the 70-200mm f2.8 VR , (B&H). A telephoto zoom like this, or the Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS, (B&H), is essential for this kind of portrait work. That image is typical of the Read more inside...here’s why I love off-camera lighting ..
why I love off-camera flash
There are a few reasons why I love off-camera lighting, and I want to show some images from a recent photo session with one of my couples, Jill & Mike, as an example. The main reason for me, is that you can have perfect lighting on your subject's face with much more freedom than if you just relied on the available light. I am usually quite particular about the backgrounds to my photos, where it is in my control. The backgrounds need to be complementary, or add something to the image. I have a preference for an out-of-focus background. The defocused Read more inside...using direct off-camera flash
using direct, bare (un-modified) off-camera flash
I had the opportunity to meet up with a fellow South African photographer, Jaco Fourie, who was visiting New York for a few days. I knew Jaco's work from some of the forums that he posts on, and his work with flash was invariably quite impressive .. so I looked on this as a great opportunity to see another photographer work and learn from him. I arranged for two models, and we met up in Manhattan for these photo sessions. Jaco specifically wanted scenic views of Manhattan, and incorporate the model as part of the urban Read more inside...Bridal portraits with on-camera bounce flash
Bridal portraits with on-camera bounce flash
With the formal portraits of the bride & groom, and their families, I usually set up off-camera lighting. But I also try to bring in some variety to the portraits - and I shoot on-location portraits of the bride beforehand, just after prep. It's a good idea to get as much done as you can, earlier on in the day - just in case the time-line gets compressed and things don't quite follow the original plan. You'll be much happier then for having some solid portraits in your pocket. In this example, I wanted a few portraits of Michelle Read more inside...- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- …
- 21
- Next Page »