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Photography: Using light fall-off to illuminate your subject

April 10, 2016 Neil vN 5 Comments

Photography: Using light fall-off to illuminate your subject

John collects vintage … oh, everything. His entire house filled with collectibles – it is like stepping out of a time-machine into a different era. I joked with him that the only two things in his house from the 21st century is his fridge and his dog! Most impressive in a way, is John’s workshop where he maintains his two vintage era motorbikes and a Model A Ford. The tools in his workshop are all authentic to the era and are hand tools - no electric tools - and they work. The way John describes it, it actually makes sense  Read more inside...

Fitness photo session in the studio

March 17, 2016 Neil vN 10 Comments

Fitness photo session in the studio

There are always many other ways to light your subject, whether on location or in the studio. With Fitness photography though, you do want to show off the physique of your subject - and this does mean strongly directional light. The main light can be a harder / smaller light source, or even a larger light source such as a softbox, but generally you do need to go for directional light that skims across the physique of your subject. Flat lighting is going to be a difficult approach here. This previous article - Chiaroscuro lighting - shows another  Read more inside...

On-location photo session in New York – BTS video

October 2, 2015 Neil vN 23 Comments

On-location photo session in New York - BTS video

I met Marco when he attended one of my photography workshops - he is charismatic and with that photogenic ruggedness, I thought he'd be a great subject to photograph on location. He was visiting New York from Germany for a few days, and I asked if he would be up for a photo session. And here we are. With this photo session, I also wanted to try out something I saw Dani Diamond does - where he has an on-camera stabilized gimbal for his Go-Pro, to give a wider point of view from the photographer's perspective. A kind of  Read more inside...

Posing and lighting technique

August 24, 2015 Neil vN 3 Comments

Posing and lighting technique - posing in relation to the lighting

When taking a portrait, the pose needs to suit the lighting. And vice versa, the lighting needs to be done in relation to the intended pose. Especially so when the lighting is dramatic. This is such a key idea - lighting and posing are tightly correlated. Started again: you pose the participants in relation to the light. You light the people you photograph, in relation to how you position the light. When lighting a couple, I tend to favor the woman in terms of flattering light. So in setting up a pose, the lighting  Read more inside...

Tips on working with models

August 11, 2015 Neil vN 15 Comments

Tips on working with models

Tips on working with models

One of the best tips I can give you when photographing a professional model - wait for your model to "give" you the photo. Time your photos - don't just arbitrarily fire the shutter. Most models need a moment to settle into position. Watch their movements and pose. At some point they are likely to go through a little mental routine where they might breathe out a bit and then look at the camera. That's the moment. Not the inbetween settling-into-the-pose moments. Photographing a model, Adrienne, for her Daily Fashionista blog, I could again quickly  Read more inside...

Bounce flash photography – be bold!

August 10, 2015 Neil vN 17 Comments

bounce flash photography

Bounce flash photography - be bold!

With on-camera bounce flash photography, there is the initial idea that you need a white wall or ceiling to bounce off. With these examples from an engagement photo session of DaWeon and Toban, I want to show that it is entirely possible to really enhance the available light on location, with some unexpected bounce flash. For those who are just joining us now, here is a tutorial on bounce flash. We're just expanding here on that article. The essential idea from that tutorial - you bounce flash into the direction you want the light to come from.  Read more inside...

Off-camera flash: Rim-lighting and using flare

July 22, 2015 Neil vN 13 Comments

Off-camera flash: Rim-lighting and the intentional use of flare

For these promotional photos for aspiring model twins, Carina and Carolina, we went to a park. There are certain things I look for when working on an location, that I know will immediately give me a better chance at successful portraits.  My book, Lighting and Design for Portrait Photography, looks at exactly that thought-process throughout the 60 chapters in the book. The technique here should be quite obvious by now: A long lens (a 70-200 used closer to the longer end), compressing the perspective. Shooting  Read more inside...

Dramatic lighting effects for portrait photography

July 3, 2015 Neil vN 5 Comments

dramatic lighting effects for portrait photography

Dramatic lighting effects for portrait photography  (model: Jessica Joy)

For this dramatic Hollywoord Glamor inspired portrait sequence of Jessica, I used two Litepanels Sola 4 LED Fresnel Lights  (B&H / Amazon). But there's more that happening here with the lighting than just the main light and the rim light. There is the splash of color in the background, augmenting the blue rim-light coming from behind. Jessica's reaction to the first test shot was amusing - a surprised,"where did that come from?", when she saw the image on the back of my camera. The blue tones and  Read more inside...

Best softbox for on-location headshot photography

July 1, 2015 Neil vN 3 Comments

on-location lighting gear for headshots and portraits

Best portable softbox for on-location headshot photography

I vary the lighting kit that I use for on-location portraits and headshot photography. It could involve multiple lights, or a single-light setup on location. My choice of lighting is most often decided by how complex it need to be, and the logistics of getting to the location and setting up. More than struggling with something, I detest the appearance of struggling with something. Let me explain - when working with clients, it all needs to appear smooth and efficient. Everything in place, and professional. No struggling  Read more inside...

Themes & context in Boudoir Photography

June 26, 2015 Neil vN 7 Comments

urban boudoir photography, NYC

Themes & context in Boudoir Photography - on the streets of NYC

The model in this striking image is my friend, Jessica, a boudoir photographer. Her pose is intentionally this strong and assertive. The concept here is part of an on-going project she had planned for a long while now. She had asked me to collaborate with her in taking the photos. The main idea behind the project (and these are my words and interpretation of what we had discussed) - women are objectified in society, but there is a disconnect in how people respond (or don't) to provocative posters and images of  Read more inside...

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