Lighting an on-location photo session – Home Free
Lighting an on-location photo session - Home Free
I had another opportunity to do promotional photos for Home Free, the A Capella group. Some of the previous photo shoot was described in this article - On-location lighting problem solving. This time we met at another location - a farm which also doubled up as a reception venue. This offered us some outdoor areas, as well as a more barn-like area. From the art director and manager's description of what they wanted, as well as photos of the location, I knew that if I flat-lit this with large light sources, it would lose some of the Read more inside...Photographing wide-angle portraits
Photographing wide-angle portraits
In photographing wide-angle portraits, we have to make the decision whether we want to embrace the wide-angle distortion (such as Bill Brandt famously did), or have a more natural approach where the wide-angle is used to show more of the environment and to help with a dynamic composition. With this photo of Anastasiya, I wanted to include these massive billboards 5th Avenue. That meant I had to use a wide focal length. In this example, I had my 24-7mm zoom racked to 24mm. The idea here is that we need to be purposeful. Better to shoot in a Read more inside...People skills for portrait & wedding photographers
People skills for portrait & wedding photographers
The articles on the Tangents blog have focused heavily on the technical aspects of photography - lighting, posing, camera settings and such. But there is another essential ingredient for you as a photographer when you work with people - good social skills. This is invaluable - you can be a phenomenal photographer, but if you don't quite know how to make people immediately comfortable and trust you, then the photo shoot will not be as successful. With New York’s vibrant culture and the imposing architecture, it’s often a Read more inside...Photo shoot: On-location lighting problem solving
Photo shoot: On-location lighting problem solving (with Profoto)
When I photograph on location, many of my decisions on the technical stuff like camera settings and lighting, are based on common sense algorithms. Max flash sync speed, choice of aperture, and direction of light. That forms the basis of decisions, but just as often we, as photographers, have to adapt and go into problem-solving mode. Here's an example during a photo shoot where I had to come up with a different way of using my off-camera lights. It was a big deal for me when I was asked by the management of Home Read more inside...Lighting an on-location Fashion shoot
Lighting an on-location Fashion shoot
Bringing just the necessary photo gear and lighting gear to an on-location shoot, is balanced by the need to bring enough to cover any eventuality and possibility. A tough balance between risking not having the right gear, and being laden down with too much gear. I had the interesting opportunity to work with my friend Daniel Featherstone, and collaborate him with him on the lighting during his photo shoot for New York Fashion designer, SR1990. (The day-long photo shoot was at Opus 40, where I shot also some B&W infrared images during Read more inside...Fitness photo session in the studio
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...Headshot photography – Clam-shell lighting setup
Headshot photography - Clam-shell lighting setup
There isn't only one correct way of lighting portraits or headshots. There are numerous ways to attractively light your subject. My favorite go-to lighting setup involved the large Profoto 5' Octa Softbox, which allowed me fine control over the contrast, by having my subject move slightly forward or back, or rotating slightly. (The linked article explains more.) Using the 5' Octabox though, meant that I had to shoot around the massive light modifier. A simpler way of shooting, which allows me slightly more freedom in how I moved, Read more inside...Dramatic portraits of kids – Lighting and intent
Dramatic portraits of kids - Lighting and intent
When photographing portraits of someone, we can only leave so much up to serendipity. Deliberate action produces deliberate results. While things don't always work out to plan, having a plan helps propel things in a certain direction. With that, we need to be able to pre-visualize the photographs we want. We need to shoot (and use light) with purpose. Even if you are just experimenting and playing with your camera and lighting, you will fare better if you have some intended result in mind. Always that question in mind - what is it Read more inside...Using a gridded stripbox as the main light
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...- « Previous Page
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