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Exposure metering – Let your background blow out!

January 16, 2012 Neil vN 12 Comments

Exposure metering - Let your background blow out!

Too often there's the desire for us to bring the detail in our backgrounds back in by adding flash. But there are times when the image will be stronger if we just allow the background to completely blow out. It especially works in our favor if the background is cluttered, because then by letting the background completely over-expose, we can simplify our composition. The key here then is to expose for your subject with careful exposure metering.  Read more inside...

Wedding photography – Using bounce flash outside

January 10, 2012 Neil vN 31 Comments

Wedding photography - Using bounce flash outside

When working with a couple during the romantic portrait session, there's the need to bring variety to the images - not just in posing and composition, but also in terms of light & lighting. For this reason I use a variety - available light; video light; off-camera flash and on-camera bounce flash. I really like using on-camera bounce flash since it is such an easy light source to use, always at hand. There was a recent article on using bounce flash outdoors, but I'd like to add another example where I used bounce flash outside a  Read more inside...

2011 overview – My favorite wedding photographs

January 3, 2012 Neil vN 12 Comments

Best wedding images of 2011 – NJ wedding photographer

2011 was another busy year for me as a wedding photographer. This slideshow features some of my favorite wedding and engagement session images of 2011. If you are interested in using me as your wedding photographer, please have a look at my wedding portfolio and contact me. soundtrack courtesy of TripleScoopMusic wedding photography tutorials New Jersey wedding photographer    Read more inside...

Alli & Scott – their wedding day – fusion clip

December 28, 2011 Neil vN 17 Comments

Alli & Scott - their wedding day - fusion clip

The latest Fusion clip where we blend video and stills to give a short form overview of the wedding day, is of Alli & Scott – their wedding day – Temple Israel of Lawrence, NY . They were also the couple in the recent article on photographing the bride & groom's portraits with video light. The Fusion clip was edited in iMovie, with the soundtrack from Triple Scoop Music. [ For more videos, follow me on Vimeo / YouTube ] More interesting is the thought-process that went into choosing the camera settings for the Canon  Read more inside...

Wedding photography – Tips on posing – asymmetry

December 15, 2011 Neil vN 11 Comments

Wedding photography - Tips on posing - asymmetry

When working with a bride and groom for their portraits, there are a few ideas that I know will work. You have to have somewhere to start. Some fail-safe ideas for poses that allow you to at least get the essential images. From there on, I try to improvise a little, depending on the personalities of the couple, and also the place where we find ourselves, and the light. So opportunity does sway the portrait session a fair amount. I prefer working this way, rather than applying a more mechanical "flow posing" technique. I feel that  Read more inside...

Back-lighting with flash for silhouetted wedding portraits

December 12, 2011 Neil vN 11 Comments

Back-lighting with flash for silhouetted wedding portraits

One of the easiest ways to create dramatic light for a silhouette when photographing the wedding portraits, is to add a flash behind the couple. The beauty of this is that there is a fair amount of leeway as to what would work. We need not be all that exact, but there are some a few things we should check ...  Read more inside...

wedding photography: bride & groom portraits with video light

November 25, 2011 Neil vN 11 Comments

wedding photography: bride & groom portraits with video light

For that dramatic Hollywood look, a video light is probably the easiest light to use, especially when there is the need to work fast like on a wedding day. With Alli & Scott's engagement photo session, I knew I'd be working with a couple that would easily go along with any ideas that we'd come up with. We worked indoors at the Temple Israel in Long Island, New York, and there were all kinds of interesting nooks to explore.  Read more inside...

Wedding photography – Style, technique & choice of gear

November 14, 2011 Neil vN 15 Comments

Wedding photography - Style, technique & choice of gear

With Manhattan as a back-drop, I wanted a cinematic look for the photograph of Nima and Peter. A magnificent view behind them as they snuggle in. While I approach wedding photography with my eye on telling the story of the day, for me, where a photographer really reveals a specific style, is in the portraits of the bride and groom. I wanted a romantic look to this sequence of images, so there were specific choices to be made in terms of equipment, camera settings and the lighting. So let's run through the  Read more inside...

wedding photography – those key moments

November 2, 2011 Neil vN 12 Comments

wedding photography - looking for those key moments

Wedding photography has become more modern in style over the past decade or so. Instead of overly posed images, the general trend is now more of a story-telling (or photo-journalistic) style. It's now as important to capture the day's events as it unfolds, as it is to get beautiful portraits of the couple and families.  As photographers we're now much more focused on the moments and the gestures that tell the story. With this intent, I really try and observe the day as closely as I can, capturing what I hope are the key moments.  Read more inside...

Wedding photography: Night-time city lights & off-camera flash

October 19, 2011 Neil vN 28 Comments

Wedding photography: Night-time city lights & off-camera flash

For the romantic portraits, I often take a couple around the venue - the light is just different than during the day. This is where video light comes into its own. Here though, I wanted some of the city lights and light from the traffic outside the venue to appear in the background. The way I envisioned it, was as a stream of cars behind them, but in the first few test images, the cars were too distinct, even at f2.8 and 200mm focal length. Looking at how the approaching cars lined up at the traffic intersection, I  Read more inside...

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