Flash photography tutorial: Balancing flash & ambient exposure
Flash photography tutorial: Balancing flash & ambient exposure
This topic - balancing flash and ambient exposure - seems to one that many newer photographers struggle with. The big hurdle seems to be the basic starting point - how do you decide on the exposure for each? I'd like to explore this topic a bit with this post. The trigger for this was a question that someone emailed me regarding an image in one of my books on flash photography. Instead of answering the question directly, I thought that a wider answer might be more illuminating. We're still on that perpetual quest Read more inside...Creative portrait photography on location
Creative portrait photography - Allowing opportunities to happen
There was an interesting challenge for me during a recent individual photography workshop in NYC - Don (who arranged the workshop), already knew the essentials of lighting techniques, and said what he really wanted was insight into the way that I see a photo before I take it. How do I know something will work or not. Don was particularly impressed with the series of photos of Anelisa that I shot for the review of the Profoto B2 Flash. The shallow depth-of-field images was a particular draw-card. Serendipity - I love Read more inside...review: Profoto B2 Off-Camera Flash – photo shoot
review: Profoto B2 Off-Camera Flash - photo shoot
Over the years I have used a variety of off-camera lights on location shoots and at weddings, and have worked my way up from Dynalite and Quantum flashes (and speedlights), to the Profoto B1. The Profoto B1 (affiliate) has made such a difference for me in the ease of use, the speed of setting up, and the sheer power of 500Ws of light. I love my B1 flash. For example, here is how I used the Profoto B1 flash at a wedding. Profoto has now released the Profoto B2 250Ws Air TTL Flash, and it comes as two options: - Profoto B2 Read more inside...Focusing your camera – Focus modes / AF modes
Focusing your camera - Focus modes / AF modes
The focusing modes and options can be confusing for new camera owners. The instruction manual's dry distillation of facts might also be overwhelming. Where to start? Let's break it down to the basics and make this all much easier. The photo at the top illustrates the most essential consideration when deciding on a focusing mode - deliberate choice. I deliberately focused on her eye closest to me. Not her hand in the front or the back. Definitely not the background. I chose what I wanted most sharp in the photo. It wasn't the camera's Read more inside...review: Zeiss Otus 85mm f/1.4 vs Canon and Nikon
review: Zeiss Otus 85mm f/1.4 vs Canon and Nikon
Even when taking photography only slightly seriously, you'll have come up against the legendary name, Zeiss. Renowned for innovations in optical designs that helped shape the history of photography, the Zeiss brand name is also synonymous with precision engineered lenses and impeccable attention to build quality. With all that behind them, Zeiss has released a new range called Otus. The first lens is a Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4 (affiliate) which Zeiss describes with phrases such as "the absolute measure of perfection" and Read more inside...Photography: questions & answers (FAQ) – Exposure metering
Photography questions & answers (FAQ) - Exposure metering
Looking at some of the questions about photography that appear via Google searches, I wanted to more directly answer some of the questions. This article is a selection of questions that I decided to amalgamate into one longer article. The questions mostly center around exposure metering and selection of camera settings. A related page looks specifically at questions about flash photography. Read more inside...Photographic composition – A few guidelines, (but no rules!)
Photographic composition - A few guidelines (but no rules!)
“There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.” - Ansel Adams For me, if a photograph is intended for an audience, and not just my own records and memories - then its success hinges around impact. Does the photograph make you stop for a few seconds at least to take it in? Then you're at least in part successful already with the portrait. With portraits so many elements kick in to make a photograph resonate with us: The moment. The expression. Gesture. Movement. Pose and position. Read more inside...On-location portraits – When simplicity counts
On-location portraits - When simplicity counts
This is one of those images - a portrait which is simplicity itself - and yet there is something about it, with Anelisa's riveting gaze and her pose, the muted complimentary colors - and the photograph just falls together somehow in a way that makes it one of my favorite photos that I've shot in a while. Even the lighting is simplicity itself - an off-camera flash in a softbox. But this didn't need anything more complex than that. Perhaps it is the juxtaposition of the rough texture of the wall, and the soft look of her skin Read more inside...Off-camera flash – Two speedlight setup for back-lighting
Off-camera flash - Two speedlight setup for back-lighting
Once you're comfortable using a single off-camera light-source, such as a softbox (or un-diffused flash), there's an easy next step to add a little bit of zing to the image. Rim-lighting! I most often work with just a single softbox when photographing portraits on location. Having the sun behind your subject, creates a natural rim-lighting. This helps separate your subject from the background. It's not just the shallow depth-of-field that helps create that near-3D effect where your subjects just pops out from the background Read more inside...- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- …
- 6
- Next Page »