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Wedding photography: Controlling those found moments

July 23, 2012 Neil vN 10 Comments

Wedding photography: Controlling those found moments

This photograph of Catherine, during the preparation on her wedding day, triggered a question in album of photos I posted on Facebook. The question was about the focal length I used, and also about how did I get this photo? The answer is that this is a found moment - a candid moment - that I controlled. As I discussed in the article - wedding photography – a photo-journalistic style, or more posed? - I often guide things along on the wedding day. If I see something that I could nudge towards being a better photograph, I have no  Read more inside...

wedding photography: portraits of the bride & bridesmaids

July 15, 2012 Neil vN 17 Comments

wedding photography: portraits of the bride & bridesmaids

Continuing with the theme of photographing great portraits on a wedding day when there aren't beautiful surroundings: when I have the time at the bride's house, I will always try to get individual portraits of the bride with each bridesmaid. I like doing this early in the day already at the bride's house, because everyone's energy levels are still up. Everyone is still excited, and emotions are still high. No one is hungry; with shoes that hurt them. So, with that idea in mind, I like getting as many of these portraits  Read more inside...

Simplifying composition with a fast telephoto zoom

July 6, 2012 Neil vN 13 Comments

Simplifying composition with a fast telephoto zoom

If you can create a good photograph out of seemingly "nowhere", then you can bring a variety to your images that is out of the league of photographers who have to rely on picture-perfect scenery. This is especially true with wedding portraits. We're under pressure for time, and on top of that we can't always control where we shoot. We have to make it work wherever we are. One of the basic techniques I rely on heavily with my wedding photography, is to eliminate distracting elements by shooting with a fast telephoto zoom. The  Read more inside...

Shooting wedding photos in the mid-day sun with off-camera flash

July 5, 2012 Neil vN 27 Comments

Shooting wedding photos in the mid-day sun with off-camera flash

Shooting under the mid-day sun is always a tough scenario we face as photographers. Recent topics here have included photographing wedding portraits in bright sunlight, as well as generally taking photos in hard sunlight. These techniques mostly revolve around adapting to the harsh light. We can often sidestep having to work in the hard sunlight by positioning our subject so the light is more flattering. Sometimes though, these alternatives are out of our hands, and decisions are made for us. Then we have to deal  Read more inside...

Using video lights for outdoor night-time portrait photography

May 24, 2012 Neil vN 9 Comments

Using video lights for outdoor night-time portrait photography

These outdoor night-time portraits of the bide and groom were taken on the streets in Baltimore. We sneaked away briefly from the reception to shoot a few impromptu portraits. With the unpredictable nature of found light out on the streets at night, we had to use additional lighting - and my choice was an LED video light (affiliate). The beauty of these kind of lights is that the White Balance can be changed from Incandescent to Daylight. This helps immeasurably in matching your light to that of the existing  Read more inside...

Bridal portrait – Working with the available light

April 4, 2012 Neil vN 20 Comments

Bridal portrait - Working with the available light

This striking portrait is of Rachel, a bride whose wedding I photographed yesterday. Yes, a Tuesday wedding! The prep was at a hotel on the Jersey shore, and when Rachel was ready, I wanted to shoot a few straight-forward portraits there in the hotel. There was a lot of light in the hotel room itself, but the decor was white - which helps for high-key portraits. But I wanted some variety. So I scouted around, and decided to do some photographs in the passage outside her hotel room. Since it was a wedding on the Jersey shore, and  Read more inside...

Top 5 tips on shooting engagement photo sessions

March 28, 2012 Neil vN 27 Comments

Top 5 tips on shooting engagement photo sessions

I love doing engagement photo sessions because this allows me the opportunity to connect with my clients before their big day. Even more so, in that there's much less pressure and haste during this photo session than there'd be during the wedding day. The engagement photo session is also a good opportunity to impress your clients with your photography. They did sign with you because they liked your style, but it's even better when they love the photos you took of them. Time to shine. Their friends and family will also be  Read more inside...

Romantic wedding portraits – Working with an idea

February 24, 2012 Neil vN 19 Comments

Romantic wedding portraits - Working with an idea

I was down in Baltimore last weekend, photographing a wedding there. The groom, Chris, follows the Tangents blog, and he and Lindsay sought me out as their wedding photographer. While this is hugely flattering, there is now a little extra pressure to live up to and even exceed expectations! We snuck outside during dinner time, and walked around the Lord Baltimore hotel, to get a few urban portraits. During dinner there is a bit of a lull in the reception while the guests enjoy their meals. A good time to get additional romantic  Read more inside...

Bounce flash photography & The Inverse Square Law

February 1, 2012 Neil vN 48 Comments

Bounce flash photography & The Inverse Square Law

After you're done noticing the decorated candles that the bride is holding while dancing with the groom (a tradition in Palestinian weddings), you may well notice how evenly lit this photograph is - from foreground to background. The people visible in the background seen there between the bride and the groom, are nearly as well lit as the bride and groom. Because this was on-camera bounce flash, the background will be brighter than may have been anticipated. If I had used direct flash, or flash with a diffuser cup or bounce  Read more inside...

A simple lighting setup for photographing the wedding formals

January 23, 2012 Neil vN 46 Comments

A simple lighting setup for photographing the wedding formals

Photographing a wedding can be pretty hectic at times, especially as it so often becomes the photographer's de facto responsibility to keep everything on track. The formal photo session specifically is a part of the day that many photographers find challenging. The other challenging part of the wedding day is photographing the wedding processional. You have a narrow margin to get things just right. No second chance. When photographing the family portraits, you can really help yourself by nailing your lighting. Get it  Read more inside...

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