Tangents

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fluorescent lighting .. I give in! (model – Priscilla)

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[ Nikon D3;  Nikon 200mm f2 AF-S VR .. 1/100th @ f2 @ 1250 ISO ] click on the image to see a larger version My friend Steve Z from Colorado was around for a few days, visiting friends and family here in NJ.  So we got together to do a photo shoot, and I arranged to meet up with Priscilla, a model with whom I've worked before.   I also was fortunate in getting permission to photograph inside the Paterson museum - an interesting historic building. Steve Z is also into photographic lighting, so we packed up a bunch of gear  - a beauty dish, softboxes, speedlights and video lights.  We were  Read more inside...

video light & boudoir photography

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using a video light for boudoir photography

An image from a boudoir photo session today.  I ended up mostly using a video light (or two) for the directional and dramatic quality of the light.  I tried on-camera bounce flash a few times, but even when I carefully flagged and bounced the flash, there were a number of times where I found that the bounce flash just evened out the light too much.  Sometimes it is soft light, and sometimes it just becomes flat light. With the video light (held up by my assistant), I was able to ask my assistant to flag the light and drop the light off  Read more inside...

common wisdom – Canon’s TTL flash vs Nikon’s TTL flash

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Canon's TTL flash vs Nikon's TTL flash

One of the frequent topics on the various forums is the Canon vs Nikon debate ... and one of the usual replies is that Nikon is better in certain ways, and Canon is better in other ways.  And the common wisdom that Nikon's flash system is superior to Canon.  And this seems to be accepted as one of those general truths. Now, having shot primarily Nikon for a few years (D100 / D2H / D2x), and then Canon (mk2 / mk2N / 5D / mk3), and now Nikon again (D3) ... I have this observation about Canon's flash system vs Nikon's flash system ... they are  Read more inside...

more subtle fill-flash with your Nikon speedlight

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In blending flash with available light, I am often after that delicate balance where the flash is just barely perceptible.  This can be with flash as an equal partner to the available light, or with flash as a subtle fill-flash. But what I've found with my Nikon D3 bodies, when used with the SB-900,  that the fill-flash flash is still too much, even when turned down -3EV on the flash exposure compensation.  I've found similar with the various Nikon D300 and Nikon D700 bodies that attendees to my workshops use.  In other words, this isn't just my cameras - this is repeatable with other  Read more inside...

Bounce flash – balancing foreground and background exposure

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Bounce flash - balancing foreground and background exposure

Lighting for the impromptu portrait of this little cutie was simple - just an on-camera speedlight, bounced up and over my left shoulder.  This gives soft directional light.  A simple technique that works every time when using on-camera flash indoors where there are light ceiling and walls around. Settings: 1/250th @ f4 @ 1000 iso; TTL flash My exposure settings was determined by the out-of-focus garden area outside, seen through a large window. It was over-cast, and therefore not super-bright. This meant that the bounce  Read more inside...

Light modifiers for on-camera flash

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Light modifiers for on-camera flash

Event photography, and specifically weddings, can be a rushed and fast-moving, with some of the worst lighting conditions. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have great light from just an on-camera speedlight. By bouncing your on-camera flash with specific intent, you can achieve just that - beautiful, soft directional light. Light modifiers for on-camera speedlights all generally do the same thing - they spread a lot of light around, and but also throw some light directly forward. In a way, this gives a bare-bulb effect to the light from the  Read more inside...

NYC photo session with Nikon 200mm f2 AF-S VR

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NYC photo session with Nikon 200mm f2 AF-S VR

I recently allowed myself a vanity purchase ... the Nikon 200mm f2 AF-S VR lens (B&H). Last year some time, after seeing another photographer's results with the Canon 200mm f2 IS, I was curious enough to rent one, check it out, and then lust after one. I posted a write-up and some images at the time. What got to me was how insanely sharp the lens was at f2 .. and of course the incredible dream-like bokeh at f2 imparting an impressionistic appearance to the background. With me reverting to Nikon recently, I picked up a used copy  Read more inside...

embracing tungsten light

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wedding photography - working with incandescent light sources

As a wedding photographer I obviously shoot all the time in ares lit by tungsten / incandescent light sources. With modern D-SLRs and fast lenses it is no problem to actually use tungsten light as my main light source. The photo above from a recent wedding, is a typical image where I used an existing incandescent / tungsten light source for a beautiful but simple portrait. Here I photographed the bride by the light of a lamp in the living room.  No flash was used - just the lamp and whatever other ambient light existed  Read more inside...

home studio – portrait lighting setup in limited space

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home studio portrait lighting setup in limited space

The photos in this article were shot with a fairly simple lighting setup in my dining room area. The main light to my left (model’s right) is the Westcott Bruce Dorn Strip Bank (18"x42") (B&H). The flashgun was a Quantum T2, but a speedlight would've worked just as well. In this small a space, you don’t need huge amounts of light. I used another Quantum T2 to light up the grey seamless background. I had the Quantum 12×12 softbox on this one, and feathered it to give me uneven light on the backdrop. I also had a snooted Nikon  Read more inside...

tutorial: Maximum flash sync speed

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tutorial: Maximum flash sync speed

In previous postings I have mentioned that the specific settings for a photo aren't often of direct value to us in figuring out the method of exposure. But the one setting that is of huge importance when using flash, is your camera's maximum flash sync speed. When the ambient light levels are low, then your shutter speed can vary appropriately, depending on what you want to achieve. But once you work in bright conditions, or have your subject against a bright background, then most often it just makes the best sense to work at maximum flash sync  Read more inside...