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Which image resolution – 72 dpi or 300 dpi?

October 10, 2017 Neil vN 7 Comments

Which image resolution?  72 dpi /ppi, or 300 ppi / dpi?

I feel that as modern photographers who shoot with digital cameras, there are a few basics which we absolutely need to know and understand. Some concepts that are so intrinsic to the digital format, that we have no excuse not to grasp them. One of these things would be the resolution of images - the image size. Not in kilobytes or megabytes (since this is rooted in a more archaic form where images were scanned) - but image resolution as in pixel dimensions. Megapixel size. That kind of thing. The confudled question often then  Read more inside...

Using a gridded stripbox as the main light

January 20, 2016 Neil vN 7 Comments

Using a gridded stripbox as the main light

As I show in the video clip how to use gridded strip boxes as the main light, I love how I can flexibly shape the light falling on and around my subject. Specifically in the studio, I mostly use the large gridded Profoto 1’x6 strip-box  (B&H / Amazon). It is simultaneously capable of dramatic light and soft light. Or an interesting combination of that. More than that, I can vary the interplay between light and shade, by how I swing the softbox around, or rotate it. I often do this while shooting so that I continuously  Read more inside...

Lingerie photo session in the studio – Lighting, light & textures

February 5, 2015 Neil vN 7 Comments

lingerie photo session in the studio – light, lighting & textures

Lingerie photo session in the studio - lighting, light & textures

This photograph of Melanie, one of my favorite models, is one of a sequence where we played with different lights and lighting styles in the studio. I wanted lighting that was both soft and dramatic. Both feminine and bold. The lighting is the same idea - using a big gridded strip-box / soft-box - as I used in a previous photo session with another model, Anita DeBauch. The final image above, is the result of adding texture layers in Photoshop. I wanted to retain her shadow and other detail in the wall, while  Read more inside...

Bounce flash portrait & post-processing

December 24, 2012 Neil vN 10 Comments

Bounce flash portrait & Photoshop retouching technique

When we were done with the studio shoot with Ulorin Vex, we still had a few minutes left, so I thought I could do a bounce flash portrait as well. Just for a comparison of sorts to show that on-camera bounce flash can give interesting results too. Here is the low-key portraits we did with the Profoto set-up. The only semi-interesting background I could find in the studio (that wasn't a white wall), was this grungy green door to one of the store-rooms. I thought it might work as a gritty urban setting. I shot about eight  Read more inside...

Night-time photo session using off-camera flash

December 3, 2012 Neil vN 18 Comments

Night-time photo session using off-camera flash

Sarah and Mark were in New York, dressed to the nines, to attend the Rockettes show. And while they were dressed up, and with some time before the show they were attending, we did a photo session. You might remember them as the couple in my book, off-camera flash. I've also photographed Sarah on other occasions. I thought that the New York skyline at dusk would work as a perfect backdrop to how stylish they were dressed. (I did ask Mark if he felt like James Bond, all suited up like that in his tux.) The lighting setup was  Read more inside...

Mac: Quick fix for Adobe Bridge CS5 / CS6 memory leak

November 7, 2012 Neil vN 24 Comments

A quick fix for memory leak problems with Adobe Bridge (Mac)

While I do have Lightroom and Aperture, I have a preference still for using Adobe Bridge to view (and edit) individual images or groups of images. What makes Bridge easy, is that the edits (via the .xmp files), are read by both Lightroom and Bridge. There has been one problem that has been driving me crazy on my Mac when I use Bridge ... the apparent memory leak with Bridge that eventually eats up all the Free Memory on my system. I used a program called iFreeMem to regularly free up memory on both my Macs, but the  Read more inside...

High-key studio lighting for portraits

July 31, 2012 Neil vN 21 Comments

High-key studio lighting for portraits

One of the models that replied to my casting call for a model at my workshops in San Francisco in 2011, happened to be Ulorin Vex. I immediately recognized her, since I've seen photos of her in various portfolios. I was both surprised and very happy, since I regarded her as a bit of a superstar. I scheduled a photo session with her for the day after the two workshops in SF, and the images from those sessions appeared a few times on Tangents, and I'd consider them among the best work I had ever done. It helps to have an inspiring model! Ulorin  Read more inside...

Photoshop tip – easy effect for more punch to your photos

April 9, 2012 Neil vN 7 Comments

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...

Photoshop actions – the secret sauce to make your images pop

November 9, 2011 Neil vN 17 Comments

Photoshop fairy dust / Neil's secret sauce

As much as I believe in the "get it right in camera" ethos, it is near inescapable that most images can use some sweetening in Photoshop. My own preference is for fairly subtle retouching of photographs. The photograph above is one I've shown a few times as a great example of how good on-camera bounce flash can look. I did have to adjust the WB and exposure as part of my usual RAW post-processing workflow. And for the image on the left, I also removed some skin blemishes with the Healing Tool. So it does look pretty good .. but it can be  Read more inside...

Photoshop actions to help with Post Processing after RAW conversion

August 31, 2011 Neil vN 37 Comments

Adrian, a regular follower of the Tangents blog, (better known as the ever-helpful Trev in the Tangents forum), has the guest spot this week. Adrian has expanded on his explanation of the actions that he mentioned in the comments section of the recent article on Selective Sharpening in Photoshop. Even better, he has made it available as two downloadable actions as well.

Photoshop actions to help with Post Processing (free download)

guest post by Adrian, at Five Star Studios wedding photographer, Mackay, Queensland in Australia The following downloadable  Read more inside...

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