review: Nikon AF-S 28mm f/1.8G lens
review: Nikon AF-S 28mm f/1.8G lens
To test out the Nikon AF-S 28mm f/1.8G (B&H / Amazon), I met up with Anelisa in Brooklyn to try my hand at some environmental portraiture. With such a wide field-of-view, you inevitably have to include the background. I wanted to show the effect of the shallow depth-of-field of this lens, so I shot at f/1.8 or f/2.0 throughout. When you use a fast (i.e., wide aperture) wide-angle lens, and have sufficient distance between your subject and the background, that shallow depth of field can be used to great effect. It can be tricky Read more inside...Adding rim-lighting to available light, with off-camera flash
Adding rim-lighting to available light, with off-camera flash
Off-camera flash need not be all that complex as it might appear to you if you are new to this. During a lunch-time conversation, a friend told me that she felt intimidated by the on-location flash photography by other photographers. The way to use multiple-flash setups seemed impenetrable to grasp. How would one go about and where do you even start. This made me wonder - just how complicated should photography lighting be? I don't think it has to be complicated. It just has to be enough to be effective or solve a Read more inside...video clip: using the Canon 600EX-RT Speedlites on a photo shoot
BTS video: using the Canon 600EX-RT Speedlites
In my review of the Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT, I raved about the ease of use of the new speedlite by Canon that has built-in radio transmitters. The same with my subsequent review Canon ST-E3-RT Transmitter. This system is going to have huge impact! The behind-the-scenes video clip as I set every thing up, is of the photo session with Molly K where I used Canon 600EX-RT Speedlite (B&H / Amazon), and the Canon ST-E3 Speedlite Transmitter (B&H / Amazon), during an actual shoot. You can actually hear the Read more inside...review: Canon ST-E3-RT Transmitter and Canon 600EX-RT Speedlite
review: Canon ST-E3-RT Speedlite Transmitter and Canon 600EX-RT
In my review of the Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT, I've already raved about the ease of use of the new speedlite - thanks to a menu system that you can follow without having to decipher it via a manual), but mostly because of the built-in radio control of the flash. This elevates the Canon 600EX-RT to a new level. As mentioned in my review, I really think this flashgun will change things in the photo industry. It's huge. The main advantages of the Canon ST-E3 Speedlite Transmitter (B&H / Amazon), is that you Read more inside...Off-camera flash in low light – choosing your shutter speed
Off-camera flash in low light - choosing your shutter speed
With flash photography, the maximum flash sync speed is an important camera setting. It is the best go-to camera setting when you use flash in bright ambient light. But when we shoot in low ambient light levels, then we need to adjust our shutter speed accordingly. We would most likely be at a shutter speed where the ambient light shows up. We want some of the ambient light to register in our photographs, because it gives us context. Allowing more ambient light to appear in our low-light photos where we use flash, enhances Read more inside...review: Impact Quikbox Softbox (24″ x 24″)
review: Impact Quikbox Softbox (24 x 24")
My favorite diffuser / modifier for off-camera flash, is the Lastolite Ezybox 24x24 for speed lights (affiliate). The Lastolite Ezybox has featured often on the Tangents blog. (Here is the review). It's easy to use and super-easy to set up. And in its original configuration, folds up to a surprisingly small bundle. The good news for photographers who have been curious about the Lastolite Ezybox, is that Impact now makes a softbox - the Impact Quikbox 24x24 softbox (affiliate), which is virtually identical, at a lower Read more inside...Reasons to use TTL flash – speed & simplicity
Reasons to use TTL flash - speed & simplicity
Okay, true strobists might recoil in horror, but I often prefer using TTL flash to sweeten an image when shooting on location. I get to the final image faster than if I had gone the more methodical route of manual flash. For some situations, manual flash is the only way to go. For example, when your subject is static in relation to your lights and you have to get consistent lighting and consistent exposures, image after image, then manual flash makes the most sense. But for times where you want to shoot faster, and shoot on the Read more inside...Photography technique – Taking photos in bright sunlight
Taking photos in bright sunlight
Taking photographs of people in hard sunlight will always be one of the more daunting lighting situations we can find ourselves in. Without additional lighting, or the use of scrims, we have a few basic ways of dealing with the harsh sun: - pose our subject into the light, - pose our subject with their back to the sun, or - just suck it up and accept that our photos will look bad. Well, that last option isn't really the way to go if we have any pride in our work as photographers. Which leaves us with the two other options ... Read more inside...Photoshop tip – easy effect for more punch to your photos
Photoshop tip - easy effect for more punch to your photos
Here is a well-known Photoshop technique - one that I like and use on occasion. It desaturates the photograph, while also compressing the tonal range. It creates a modern look that also looks quite trendy. It is also quite easy to apply, by dragging the layers from a reference image once you've set it up. Starting with the original image, I add these two layers: Read more inside...- « Previous Page
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