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Headshot photography in the studio

November 18, 2013 Neil vN 11 Comments

Headshot photography in the studio

Mike is an actor / musician friend of mine, who also works with the Modern Gypsies at times. We recently updated his headshots with a session in and around the studio. As a working actor in New York, he has appeared on stage, as well as some spots on television. Amusingly enough, while shooting outside the studio against the warehouse building's facade facing the main street, a young boy, walking past us with his mom, turned around and asked Mike, "Are you famous?" Of course we couldn't disappoint the kid. Being a character actor, and shooting  Read more inside...

Flash photography tip – Adding flash to ambient light

July 9, 2013 Neil vN 14 Comments

Flash photography tip - Adding flash to ambient light

When I saw the beautiful architecture of the Court House in Denver, CO, I knew that I wanted to use this as a backdrop for part of the mini photography workshop in Denver. In terms of composition, the imposing pillars and leading lines of the steps would simultaneously make a simple and classic background. Our model, Elizabeth, fortunately had this simple, yet elegant black dress as part of her wardrobe. For me, this photo comes together with the way the model (with her own style and styling), and the chosen location, complements  Read more inside...

Hollywood Glamor lighting with video lights

May 15, 2013 Neil vN 8 Comments

Hollywood Glamor lighting with video lights

The old Hollywood masters such as George Hurrell, CS Bull and Laszlo Willinger had a dramatic way of lighting their portraits, with specific use of light and shade. For my review of the Litepanels Sola 4 LED Fresnel Lights, I had Ulorin Vex as model. Her style and clothing are quite unique, and dramatic enough that these lights enhanced her look. I loved what we came up with. In using these Litepanels Sola 4 LED Fresnel Lights (B&H / Amazon) to specifically emulate Hollywood Glamor lighting, I called in another model,  Read more inside...

Studio photography – Creating sun-flare images

April 10, 2013 Neil vN 7 Comments

Studio photography - Creating sun-flare images

One of the sequences I photographed of Anelisa for the video clip of a photo session in the studio, was to create this kind of sun-drenched flared image. I wanted it to look bright and airy and summery. There was a studio flash behind her to (partially) create the flare. I had to keep adjusting my movement just so that the flash-head wouldn't be entirely hidden, or entirely revealed. There was a total of four flashes used, and the pull-back shot shows their positioning.  Read more inside...

Studio lighting: harder light = dramatic light

March 29, 2013 Neil vN 3 Comments

Studio lighting: harder light = dramatic light

When I first started exploring bounce flash, and then off-camera flash and then progressing towards studio photography, my tendency was also instinctively towards softer light. A large light source gives you softer light, which is also more forgiving in terms of how you position your subject and yourself in relation to the light. A large light source is easy to work with because it creates softer light that easily wraps around your subject. Soft light is flattering. But it soon became obvious that I was missing out on that dramatic  Read more inside...

Video clip: Studio Photo session

March 27, 2013 Neil vN 14 Comments

Video clip: Studio photo session w/ Anelisa

To promote my studio as a rental photography studio here in New Jersey, I created this video clip. It's not quite a behind-the-scenes clip since my intention was to show some of the diversity that is possible in the studio. Using different lighting, and different backgrounds and setups, the final photographs look quite different. Gallery of images of photo session with Anelisa, and other models subsequently. Photography studio rental NJ For more videos, follow me on Vimeo / YouTube The specific sequences will appear as  Read more inside...

What if bounce flash isn’t strong enough?

March 26, 2013 Neil vN 16 Comments

What if bounce flash isn't strong enough?

Because I so often use on-camera bounce flash, one of the questions I'm regularly asked is, what if there is nothing to bounce your flash off? There is also the variant - what if there isn't enough light from the bounced flash? In both cases, the answer is the same - you improvise! Not only that, but you need to be prepared to improvise. The photograph above is from a recent Bat Mitzvah, showing the big group shot of the kids. If you've photographed Bar / Bat Mitzvahs before, you know this is coming up, and you have to be prepared for  Read more inside...

Studio lighting: Ringflash as a single light-source

March 20, 2013 Neil vN 21 Comments

Studio lighting: Ringflash as a single light-source

I have a confession to make about ring-flash, especially when it is used as a single light-source. I've never been a fan. I've never liked the stark over-lit look that it produces. Even in images that are supposed to be edgy and trendy. I've seen some incredible examples where the ringflash is part of a multi-light setup, with the ring-flash doing a just little bit of the work. But I haven't yet seen an image where the ring-flash was the only light source (or dominant light source), where the photo has set my world  Read more inside...

Lingerie photo session in the studio

February 18, 2013 Neil vN 13 Comments

Lingerie photo session in the studio

During this same photo session with Olena - the first in my new photography studio space - we also worked with just the studio flashes. Actually, this part of the photo session was first. An easy setup just to get things rolling. We used two lights here - the main light was a Profoto D1 head in the massive Westcott 7' Parabolic Umbrella  (B&H / Amazon). It's an easy light modifier to use, since it gives a wrap-around light that is very forgiving. Forgiving to how the photographer places the light, and also forgiving to the  Read more inside...

Lingerie photo session: Video light & Studio flash

February 14, 2013 Neil vN 8 Comments

Lingerie photo session: Video light & Studio flash

Olena is a wonderful model that I love working with because of her natural instinct for posing. So for a test shoot in my new studio space, she was an easy choice. (Here is Olena's model mayhem portfolio.) We shot several outfits, using different lighting setups. This one is interesting because of the simplicity of the setup - using a gridded Profoto RFi 1’×4? softbox (affiliate) to control the light, and a Lowel ID-Light (affiliate) as a back-light to give that warm glow to her hair. It really helped enhance  Read more inside...

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