Available light portraits
Available light portraits
A theme we have touched on regularly here is that “using the available light” is not a random decision. The best results with portrait photography in available light, is when we are deliberate. Deliberate in how we position our subject in relation to the light. This is the central idea in my book, Direction & Quality of Light - posing and lighting are inter-connected. With available light photography, it becomes a little harder to find light that is flattering - compared to using off-camera flash, where you can sweeten the light most of the time with the Read more inside...Review: Canon Speedlite 470EX-AI flash
Review: Canon Speedlite 470EX-AI flash
Before we get into this review of the Canon 470EX-AI speedlite (B&H / Amazon), I need to mention that I wanted this review video to be more than just a listing of the features of this flash. We therefore also delve into bounce flash technique. So there is something here even for those photographers who don't shoot Canon, or have no real interest in getting this flash. So please do check the video out. I was really curious to get to play with the Canon 470EX-AI speedlite (B&H / Amazon) for a review, Read more inside...Available light: Boudoir photography & Feminine portraiture
Available light: Boudoir photography & Feminine portraiture
The direction of light is an elemental part of portrait photography. We can control how we pose and position our subject in relation to the light - and we might be able even control the direction of light, as we did with this sequence of photos of our model, Adrienne. To start off this personal workshop on Lighting for Feminine Portraiture and Boudoir Photography, we used only the available light that was streaming through the large windows in my studio. This painted canvas backdrop is on a roller stand. Read more inside...recap: Studio photography workshop NJ / NYC
recap: Studio photography workshop NJ / NYC
A small group of people met up with Anelisa and myself in my studio for what turned out to be the first Studio Lighting Workshop of the year. On the drive home afterwards, I decided to add another 2nd date this year, for a workshop on Nov 18th. The format of the workshop depends on it being a small group of people - everyone gets time to photograph our model. But more importantly, everyone gets time to hands-on, adjust the studio lights. In the morning we go through the building blocks of lighting. Short Lighting & Broad Lighting. Read more inside...Lens review: Trioplan 100mm f/2.8
Lens review: Trioplan 100mm f/2.8
My favorite adventure in photography for the past year or so, has been to explore vintage lenses. Many of these lenses render the background in an interesting or unusual way which makes them appealing in helping to create a distinctive look to your photography. A recent purchase was the Trioplan 100mm f/2.8 lens (affiliate) for use with my Sony A7ii camera. The Trioplan 100mm f/2.8 is well known as the 'soap-bubble bokeh' lens. Created by the Meyer Optik Görlitz company, it gives perfectly spherical circles in the background when used in Read more inside...Focal length comparison: 645 format vs 35mm format
Focal length comparison: 645 format vs 35mm format
We all know know that when you use a full-frame lens on a crop-sensor camera, that we can consider there to be a new “effective focal length” of the lens on the crop sensor because the field of view changes. When we now change our composition with the crop-sensor camera to match that of the 35mm camera, we change our own position, we then effectively get thane 1.5x or 1.6x focal length increase. This has been explored in the article: Full-frame vs Crop-sensor comparison : Depth-of-field & perspective. But now what happens when Read more inside...Tips on photographing dancers and ballerinas
Tips on photographing dancers and ballerinas
Photographing a talented dancer / model, Anna L Russel (Instagram), in the studio, I wanted to think further than just sequences. Recently I have moved more to thinking in terms of larger projects or longer-term projects, even if just over a single photo session. I liked the results from the first few jumps Anna did - explosive movements within which she momentally holds a pose before landing again. I don't know much about dance movements or what would be the perfect execution of a dance move ... which would then affect my timing Read more inside...review: Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 Lens
review: Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 Lens
I'm a bit of snob when it comes to the sharpness of lenses. Vintage lenses and lenses such as the Mitakon Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 are the exceptions - they have a specific character. Modern lenses though - I want them sharp. As a friend once said, there's sharp, and then there's stuff you can shave with. Until now, I’ve had no native Sony lenses - just a drawer full of vintage lenses for the Sony - so I had to go out and buy a proper Sony FE lens to use with the only A7R III. Since I use Nikon cameras for the serious work, I couldn't justify the Read more inside...review: Mitakon Zhongyi Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 lens
review: Mitakon Zhongyi Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 lens
The Mitakon Zhongyi Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95 (B&H / Amazon), is an immediately impressive lens - it has that unusually wide aperture. Zero point nine five. Just how good is it then, you may well ask. Lenses with super-wide apertures tend to show some softness and optical aberrations when used wide open. Similarly then with the Mitakon Zhyongi - there are definite optical flaws, but this also adds to the character of the images you get with this lens. It's not just the super-shallow depth-field that defines Read more inside...- « Previous Page
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