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Video lights for wedding details

December 4, 2015 Neil vN 9 Comments

Video lights for wedding details

A versatile lighting tool that is always in my camera bag - a video light. With a video light you can localize how you light up something like details at an event. Unlike bounce flash, it doesn't light up the entire scene - just where you point the video light at. Eg: bounce flash vs video light. I love LED video lights (affiliate), since they are compact, don’t run hot, and the color balance can be continuously changed from 3200K tungsten (Incandescent) to 5600K Daylight. Light is produced flicker free at any frame rate or shutter  Read more inside...

My best advice for wedding photographers

November 4, 2015 Neil vN 9 Comments

My best advice for wedding photographers

An interesting conversation I had with another photographer a few years back, had a surprisingly energizing effect on him. At a get-together at one of the photo conventions we struck up a conversation, and he told me how as a newer photographer, he was completely intimidated by the magnificent images he sees on the best photographers' websites and on their FB pages. He felt he would never be able to match those. My comment was that he doesn't have to match those at every wedding. What we are seeing are the cherry-picked "hero" shots. We  Read more inside...

Wedding photography – products delivered to clients

August 17, 2015 Neil vN 14 Comments

Wedding photography - products delivered to clients

I often get asked what album company I use, and what other products I offer my clients. When I first set up my business as a wedding photographer, I was completely green when it came to branding, marketing, as well as the products I could deliver to my clients. Albums, prints, cards, canvases, and all sorts of deliverables I could offer. I was overwhelmed by all the options I found at the various photography trade shows. So many album companies and print labs. Without much of an idea of branding and consistency, this overwhelming  Read more inside...

Wedding photography moments – Anticipation & being ready

July 16, 2015 Neil vN 8 Comments

Wedding photography moments - anticipation & being ready

Wedding photography moments - Anticipation & being ready

Wedding photography has fortunately come a long way since the times when it was more portrait dominant. Now there's more emphasis on the story-telling aspect - the photojournalism - where the moments that happen as the day unfolds, gets rightful attention. Obviously this means you need to have a watchful eye, and be ready to respond. This also means you have to have your camera ready - appropriate settings, and an appropriate choice of lens. You have to be able to anticipate what is likely to happen where you are right  Read more inside...

How to overpower bright sunlight with on-camera flash

June 3, 2015 Neil vN 34 Comments

how to overpower bright sunlight with on-camera flash

How to overpower bright sunlight with on-camera flash

The photograph on the left shows one of the toughest lighting conditions you get to deal with. Your subjects are half in the sun / half in the shade ... and there is no way you could interrupt and change things in your favor. There is no way to have the flower-girls move. No way to bring in additional, off-camera lighting. You can't scrim the sunlight either with large reflectors. There are these times when your options are limited, but you still have to get the best out of this challenging situation. There is one viable option  Read more inside...

Podcast interview w/ Wedding Photographers Unite

March 7, 2015 Neil vN 2 Comments

Podcast interview w/ Wedding Photographers Unite!

Looking at previous podcasts I've participated in, it would seem that the opportunity to sound off in some podcast comes around about once a year. This time I get to chat with Neil Urban and Andy Buscemi who hosts the Wedding Photographers Unite podcast. And I do have opinions! Wedding Photographers Unite - episode 5 - interview with Neil van Niekerk We touch on various topics, including how the wedding photography business has changed over the years. Neil Urban questioned me a week or so later about a comment I made in the  Read more inside...

Wedding photography: posing and lighting – a consistent style

February 9, 2015 Neil vN 10 Comments

wedding photography: posing and lighting – aiming for a consistent style

Wedding photography: posing and lighting - aiming for a consistent style

The two images were taken about half an hour apart, with entire different lighting setups - yet there is a consistent look. The photo on the left was shot using video light with an Incandescent white balance. A video light is a small light source, so the lighting is usually quite contrasty - so you need to take care with the posing to have your main subject posing into the light. With a bridal couple, I will nearly always favor the bride for the more flattering light. Hence, I will invariably pose the bride  Read more inside...

Flash photography: How far can you bounce your flash?

January 3, 2015 Neil vN 36 Comments

flash photography: how far can you bounce your flash?

Flash photography: How far can you bounce your flash?

The question regularly comes up: how far can you bounce your flash? The answer is quite straight-forward: It depends on the power of your flash, the bounce distance (and surfaces), ISO and aperture. Power, distance, aperture and ISO - the four things that control flash exposure. Yup, we can't really escape this. So how far can you bounce your flash? It depends on how far (and reflective) the surfaces are that you are bouncing your flash off; as well as how high you're willing to take your ISO and how wide you can take your  Read more inside...

Slideshow: Favorite wedding photos of 2014

December 26, 2014 Neil vN 8 Comments

favorite wedding photos 2014 slideshow

Slideshow: Favorite wedding photos of 2014

2014 was an incredible year with so much happening. I traveled around the north-eastern parts of the USA to photograph weddings - Connecticut, Vermont, New York, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. I even had the wonderful opportunity to travel abroad, where I photographed a wedding in Australia! Of course my photography involved the usual mix of portraits, families and headshots, as well as commercial work and corporate photography. For me though, weddings always stand out because they are such emotional experiences. As a thank you to  Read more inside...

Wedding reception lighting with one flash

November 22, 2014 Neil vN 33 Comments

Wedding reception lighting with one flash

The last wedding of the year just behind me, I want to use one of my favorite images to touch again on the recent topic of high-ISO bounce flash with on-camera speedlight. I want to show that the results aren't a fluke - but that with a consistent approach to bounce flash photography, you can get consistent results. However, since we shoot under various scenario changes, we have to adapt a bit. The venue was this hotel reception room with massively high ceilings ... but with the walls closer by. Easy enough to bounce on-camera flash off.  Read more inside...

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