Photography – Creating foreground bokeh effects
Creating foreground bokeh effects in-camera
The closer you move to a foreground object, the more it's shape and color and opacity will affect the image … in unpredictable ways. It's a well-established technique then to create unusual color splashes and shapes in the image by creating flare highlights. It is often called "foreground bokeh effect". Ulorin Vex is an unusually photogenic model that I have photographed on a few occasions. When Ulorin visited the East Coast again recently, I jumped at the opportunity to meet up with her again and play in the studio. Her striking looks Read more inside...85mm f/1.4 portraits in the studio
Studio portraits with an 85mm f/1.4 lens
Shooting portraits with fast lenses for that distinctive shallow depth-of-field look, works in the studio too. In fact, it works exceptionally well. But it is perhaps an unexpected way of working in the studio - the usual way is to work with apertures in the range of f/8 or f/11 for great depth-of-field and superb image sharpness. That super-fast aperture portrait lens - such as the 85mm f/1.4 - really focuses the attention exactly where you want it … Read more inside...Portraits with continuous lighting – Westcott Spiderlites
Portraits with continuous lighting - Westcott Spiderlites
This striking portrait of Lauraine is a combination of that sparkling mischievousness … and on the techie side, the selective focus of a wider aperture lens, and the flexibility of continuous lighting. The f/1.4 deliciousness of an 85mm – the best lens to change your portrait photography - really brings her eyes to attention. During this part of the photo session in the studio, I decided to use continuous lighting. Lauraine is new to modeling for the camera and working in the studio, and the lack of flashes popping, helped Read more inside...Headshot photography in the studio
Headshot photography in the studio
Mike is an actor / musician friend of mine, who also works with the Modern Gypsies at times. We recently updated his headshots with a session in and around the studio. As a working actor in New York, he has appeared on stage, as well as some spots on television. Amusingly enough, while shooting outside the studio against the warehouse building's facade facing the main street, a young boy, walking past us with his mom, turned around and asked Mike, "Are you famous?" Of course we couldn't disappoint the kid. Being a character actor, and shooting Read more inside...Studio photography: Low-key lighting for a dramatic portrait
Studio photography: Low-key lighting for a dramatic portrait
Randy has a look reminiscent of Ava Gardner, so I asked her to be a subject for my book, Lighting & Design. I wanted to create a portrait of Randy in the Hollywood Glamor style of lighting, similar to the vintage styled boudoir photo session (with Olena). And it looked great! But while I had someone so photogenic and with such dramatic styling, I wanted to take further photos of Randy, and she happily indulged me. For one of the setups, I wanted to explore again using the Profoto beauty dish (affiliate) as a Read more inside...Thoughts on using a beauty dish (light modifier)
Thoughts on using a beauty dish as a single light source
A beauty dish is one of those light modifiers that sound attractive just by name already. And when photographers start exploring other options than direct off-camera flash and umbrellas or a softbox, a beauty dish is usually one of the first alternate light modifiers that catches attention. Mine too. Right after I bought my first Profoto kit, I purchased a beauty dish for it and started exploring using a beauty dish. A beauty dish is ideally used at a closer distance for portraits, with the light "focused" on the face, Read more inside...Simple lighting setup with speedlights & white seamless backdrop
A simple lighting setup with speedlights & white seamless backdrop
A question on the Tangents forum asked about setting up and using two SB-910 speedlights against white seamless. It's a topic we've covered in a previous article - a simple lighting setup for studio photography - but it might be good to revisit this again. The article on that simple lighting setup with two speedlights, explained our choice of camera and flash settings in detail, so we'll only briefly cover it this time. Still, a different explanation from a different angle might trigger new ideas and questions. Read more inside...Studio photography – Creating sun-flare images
Studio photography - Creating sun-flare images
One of the sequences I photographed of Anelisa for the video clip of a photo session in the studio, was to create this kind of sun-drenched flared image. I wanted it to look bright and airy and summery. There was a studio flash behind her to (partially) create the flare. I had to keep adjusting my movement just so that the flash-head wouldn't be entirely hidden, or entirely revealed. There was a total of four flashes used, and the pull-back shot shows their positioning. Read more inside...Studio lighting: harder light = dramatic light
Studio lighting: harder light = dramatic light
When I first started exploring bounce flash, and then off-camera flash and then progressing towards studio photography, my tendency was also instinctively towards softer light. A large light source gives you softer light, which is also more forgiving in terms of how you position your subject and yourself in relation to the light. A large light source is easy to work with because it creates softer light that easily wraps around your subject. Soft light is flattering. But it soon became obvious that I was missing out on that dramatic Read more inside...- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- Next Page »