Using lens flare for effect
Using lens flare for effect
While we often try and avoid lens flare, controlled use of lens flare can enhance the mood of a photograph. The question came up during a workshop last week - how exactly do you get lens flare. It is quite easy to get flare - shoot towards the sun, or any bright light source. Removing any filter will help in not washing out the image. Controlling the flare is more difficult though. Different lenses flare in different ways. The choice of aperture also affects how flare appears. As an example, one of my favorite lenses, the Canon 24-105mm f4L Read more inside...finding (and using) interesting available light
finding (and using) interesting available light
I hope that no one thinks that the flash photography and lighting techniques that I describe on the Tangents blog are only applicable to wedding photography. In a recent post I described where I photographed a model in an alley way when I noticed a splash of sunlight (reflected from a window) falling onto the wall. In recognizing that interesting splash of light, and using it, I got an image which was different than I would've had if I had just used the even shaded light in the alley. I used this very same idea at a recent wedding in Read more inside...using narrow depth-of-field & great bokeh
creating a background with narrow depth-of-field & great bokeh
Shooting images for the review of the Nikon 85mm f1.4G AF-S lens, it struck me how truly superb this lens is. It improves on the legendary Nikon 85mm f1.4 AF-D lens in some key areas. (For me the updated lens was an immediate upgrade.) But ultimately, you could get similarly beautiful images with any short portrait lens that gives you a very narrow depth-of-field AND has great bokeh. (Just to reinforce that again .. narrow DoF and bokeh are not the same thing. But I digress.) So, whether you're shooting with a Read more inside...Exposure metering for the bride’s dress
Exposure metering - bride & the bride's dress
From a technical point of view, photographing a bride in her dress can be a challenge ... depending on the lighting. If everything is under your control as the photographer, and you're lighting the formal portraits with off-camera manual flash, then it is essentially a study of the zone system. The simplest way for me then to get accurate exposure, is to use the histogram. I place my brightest relevant tone at the edge of the histogram. All the other tones will fall into place. (It is clearly explained in that linked article, Read more inside...Shutter speed, Aperture and ISO
Camera settings: Shutter speed, Aperture & ISO
A presentation that I've given on several occasions, is called 'Just Give Me The F-Stop'. The presentation is based on the perception that many photographers, in trying to get to grips with flash photography, try to break it down into what they think are the understandable elements – the numerical values of the settings used. They want numbers, believing that in knowing a certain image was taken at 1/125th @ f4.5 @ 400 ISO, that they might get closer to understanding lighting. They want the f-stop. However, the scenarios we Read more inside...photographic composition – the neon sky
composition: finding the perfect background for photographs
Photographers and clients alike regularly comment on this photograph in my portfolio, and the question invariably asked is whether this is a Photoshop effect. Far from it - this image is straight out of the camera ... Read more inside...Using a video light for wedding portraits
Using a video light for wedding portraits
When possible during a lull in the wedding reception, I like to sneak the bride and groom away for a few minutes to do romantic portraits. Since time is usually tight, and the couple wants to enjoy as much of their reception as possible, I like to work efficiently. Jessica and Michael had their reception at a venue where I hadn't worked before, so during dinner time, I quickly went around the venue with my assistant, to scout a few places to photograph the couple. In the basement of this venue, I noticed the light shining through gates ... Read more inside...the moment after ‘the kiss’
favorite image from the weekend – the moment after the kiss
I'm normally in the center aisle when I work as a solo photographer at a wedding. But with the wedding on Saturday, I knew I could trust my 2nd shooter to nail the photographs I needed. This allowed me the opportunity to move around, looking for other angles. I was hoping that Lori-Ann would hug her husband, George, in the first seconds after The First Kiss. I was hoping to get her expression in that hug. She did hug him, but with her face over his other shoulder. I had a 50% chance of guessing that right! So I didn't Read more inside...photography: finding interesting available light
photography: using interesting found light / available light
Photographing Kerri in an alley that I've used a few times before, I was looking for other interesting angles and backgrounds. This one stretch of white-washed wall was particularly bland ... but then I noticed small splashes of light ... Read more inside...- « Previous Page
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