a favorite image – before & after (model: Anelisa)
a favorite image - before & after (and the how to)
There's something about this photograph that I really like ... aside from Anelisa being one of my favorite models. It is slightly surreal with Anelisa's apparent levitation. The dress and hat is reminiscent of a 1950's Fashion, and Anelisa's mid-air pose is also reminiscent of Philippe Halsman's iconic jumping images. All that, combined with the sun flaring across her face and the washed-out background, all adds to this wonderfully nostalgic mood. Read more inside...review: Westcott Rapid Box – 26″ Octa Softbox
review: Westcott Rapid Box - 26" Octa Softbox
The Westcott Rapidbox - 26" Octa Softbox (B&H / Amazon) caught my attention, even among the huge variety of light modifiers available for off-camera speedlights. I bought one of these softboxes to try out at the most recent on-location photography lighting workshop in New York. And I like it a lot! It is relatively fast to set up, and collapses to a compact size and comes in a handy carry bag. Here is another photograph, with the comparative shot at the same camera settings, that shows exactly what impact the light had Read more inside...Off-camera flash with a small softbox
Off-camera flash with a small softbox
Most of the images shot as part of the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG lens review, were with available light only. But for one sequence, I used off-camera flash. I didn't intend carrying a lot of equipment, so I stripped it down to the minimum. That meant forgoing my usual softbox, the Lastolite EZYBOX 24×24" softbox (affiliate). Instead, I opted for the much smaller Lastolite 8.75" speedlight softbox (affiliate). And instead of a light-stand, Nicole's friend, Andrew helped out on the day by holding the softbox and slave speedlight. In Read more inside...review: Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART lens
review: Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART lens
I have to admit upfront that I am a lens snob. Not so much for a lens being esoteric or collectible, but rather that I have a particularly strong preference for the name brand lenses. When I shot with Pentax way way back, I only used Pentax lenses. Similarly, I only have Canon lenses for my Canon bodies, and Nikon lenses for my Nikon cameras. Part of it is that the styling of the lens and camera is more consistent. Yes, I do like my cameras to have a certain aesthetic appeal. I know, I know ... how pretty a lens looks has no real correlation to Read more inside...Flash photography tip – Adding flash to ambient light
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...Exposure metering for a backlit subject, using the histogram
Exposure metering for a backlit subject, using the histogram
When our subject is backlit, we have a number of options: expose for the background, and then either: -- go for a (semi) silhouette, -- add light to your subject to balance their exposure with that of the background. expose carefully for our subject, and let the background blow out. This is the "ambient-light-only" option. anything somewhere inbetween those two choices, where *we* decide how we want to balance the exposure between our subject and background. Exposing for our subject, very often gives us this Read more inside...Simple lighting setup with speedlights & white seamless backdrop
A simple lighting setup with speedlights & white seamless backdrop
A question on the Tangents forum asked about setting up and using two SB-910 speedlights against white seamless. It's a topic we've covered in a previous article - a simple lighting setup for studio photography - but it might be good to revisit this again. The article on that simple lighting setup with two speedlights, explained our choice of camera and flash settings in detail, so we'll only briefly cover it this time. Still, a different explanation from a different angle might trigger new ideas and questions. Read more inside...Camera & flash settings: What do you want to achieve?
Camera & flash settings: What do you want to achieve?
In one of the multitude of photography groups on Facebook, I saw a newcomer to off-camera flash say that she bought an Alien-Bee set, but she has no idea what to set it to. My reply was that she needed a light-meter. My thinking is that then she'd know what the specific output of the flash or strobe would be, and then be able to set her camera to it. But then, thinking about it some more, I realized if there is hesitation there or confusion, it is about what specific camera settings (mostly aperture) should be in the first Read more inside...Using a neutral density (ND) filter to control DoF with flash
Using a neutral density (ND) filter to control DoF with flash
When working in bright sunlight with flash units that can't go into high-speed flash sync, we have a ceiling in terms of our shutter speed / aperture combination. The shutter speed limitation then would be our maximum flash sync speed. The bright daylight would then imply a small aperture - most likely around f/11 Why f/11 ? The Sunny 16 Rule dictates that in bright sunlight, we're most likely working at 1/100 @ f/16 @ 100 ISO. This translates into a handy short-cut of: 1/200 @ f/11 @ 100 ISO, where 1/200 is the maximum Read more inside...- « Previous Page
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