Gelling your flash, and post-processing for deep blue skies
Gelling your flash, and post-processing for deep blue skies
The warm light from the nearly-setting sun, accentuated with gelled flash. Towards the end of the recent photography workshop, we were shooting on the rooftop - the warm tone of the sunlight contrasting beautifully with the blue sky. To punch it even more, we added gelled flash via an off-camera speedlight in a softbox. We had to gel the speedlight of course, to make sure the blue color balance of the flash didn't kill the natural light. We used a 1/2 CTS gel here which brought the flash's WB down to around 3700K. (This Read more inside...Posing technique – Adjusting a pose with incremental changes
Posing technique - Adjusting a pose with incremental changes
I'm not a huge fan of "flow posing" where someone is rigidly posed according to formula. I feel this doesn't allow as much for personality and individuality as a more organic approach. I much more prefer a low-stress approach where a pose is adjusted, to where it looks good, and looks flattering. This does mean that I have to find that balance between allowing "faults" and finessing a pose. Sometimes it just works better for the flow of a photo session to not micro-adjust to the point where your subject might feel it as Read more inside...Wedding photography lighting – Shooting in partial sunlight & shade
Wedding photography lighting - Shooting in partial sunlight & shade
I strongly believe that when you have the ability to control a photo session, that you pick your battles. You don't have to try and make everything work. Set up portrait shots in light that favors you. Of course, off-camera flash really helps you in being able to pick where you want that light that favors you. Solid advice that I adhere to, is to not have a person or a group of people half in the sun, half in shade. It's a recipe for disaster, or a tough battle to fight, lighting wise. But then, slightly Read more inside...Will flash freeze movement at slow shutter speeds?
Will flash freeze movement at slow shutter speeds?
Does flash freeze motion at slow shutter speeds (in low light)? The answer is ... maybe. Perhaps. It depends. There are several factors which will determine whether flash will freeze motion at slow shutter speeds. It is difficult giving a definitive answer because it depends on the scenario. In short - if your subject isn't lit by much available light (with ambient light 4 stops or less than your flash exposure), then flash will freeze the action ... if there is no bright background. Probably. But it depends on the type of Read more inside...Gear updated: Flash photography workshops
update: New gear for flash photography workshops
The material covered, and the gear used in the flash photography workshops, are constantly being fine-tuned and adapted with each workshop. With the first workshops (around 2006) centered around bounce flash photography. Over time the workshops expanded from that fairly simple premise, into what is a more comprehensive on-location lighting course. The past two years there has been a surge in the various brands and types of flash. For example, Canon used to be just the 580 speedlights and wireless system. There's now the 600EX Read more inside...Online video class: Off-camera flash photography
Online video class: Off-camera flash photography
The second video tutorial series in conjunction with Craftsy, is on the topic of: Off-Camera Flash Photography. Craftsy is a company that produces professional looking online video tutorials, and with their help, we created what is a kind of online workshop. The first class is Portraits with On-Camera Speedlight, and has received great feedback from those who enrolled. This follow-up class is about using Off-Camera Flash and is now available. The online classroom has a platform where anyone who is subscribed can ask questions. So Read more inside...Camera settings: Photo session with a couple in bright sunlight
Camera & flash settings: Photo session in bright sunlight
Analyzing other photographer's work to figure out how they got the result, and figure out how to re-create it if you want, is a solid exercise. I do it often. It's part of expanding your understanding of photography and lighting, and a way of expanding your technique and your repertoire. The challenge to figure out the camera settings and additional lighting for a sequence of photos from an engagement photo session - reverse engineering an image - had some interesting guess-work, and some good sleuthing. Let's have a 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...Reverse engineer a photo: Photo session in bright sunlight
Reverse engineer a photo: Photo session with a couple in bright sunlight
When I posted this sequence of photos on Facebook of Jessica and Tony's engagement photo session in New York, there were a flurry of questions. Which lens? 50mm? 85mm? What type of lighting? What were my camera settings? Well, this stuff has been covered before with numerous articles here. So by now, anyone who regularly follows the Tangents blog, and have done some reading, will be able to figure this out. So here's your challenge - look at the photos, look at the location, and reverse engineer the camera Read more inside...- « Previous Page
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