Tangents

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Advantages of Mirrrorless cameras over DSLRs

August 25, 2018 Neil vN 18 Comments

Advantages of Mirrrorless cameras over DSLRs

There has been such an increasing buzz in the past few years, you'd easily think this is all hype. And you would be correct, at least partially. I mean, masterful works of photographic art have been created over the years with lesser cameras than we have available today. There are several things which make the experience of using mirrorless cameras different than DSLRs. Whether these differences add up to advantages that make a difference, will depend on your needs as a photographer. So what then would be the advantages Mirrorless  Read more inside...

Impromptu portrait with bounce flash

August 24, 2018 Neil vN 3 Comments

Impromptu portrait with bounce flash

Faustina, a model, arrived early for the video shoot in the studio today. We chatted while she waited for her team to arrive. She had questions about photography ... so she earned herself a lecture about photography. That's what you get for hanging out with me. Careful what you ask for! On-camera bounce flash, the usual, proper way for awesome light. This really is an impromptu photo - not overly posed, to show her how I use flash. And I think that is the point of this - flash photography can look *this* good with minimal effort. Minimal  Read more inside...

Available light portraits

August 6, 2018 Neil vN 5 Comments

Available light portraits

A theme we have touched on regularly here is that “using the available light” is not a random decision. The best results with portrait photography in available light, is when we are deliberate. Deliberate in how we position our subject in relation to the light. This is the central idea in my book, Direction & Quality of Light - posing and lighting are inter-connected. With available light photography, it becomes a little harder to find light that is flattering - compared to using off-camera flash, where you can sweeten the light most of the time with the  Read more inside...

Review: Canon Speedlite 470EX-AI flash

July 23, 2018 Neil vN 8 Comments

Review: Canon Speedlite 470EX-AI flash

Before we get into this review of the Canon 470EX-AI speedlite (B&H / Amazon), I need to mention that I wanted this review video to be more than just a listing of the features of this flash. We therefore also delve into bounce flash technique. So there is something here even for those photographers who don't shoot Canon, or have no real interest in getting this flash. So please do check the video out. I was really curious to get to play with the Canon 470EX-AI speedlite (B&H / Amazon) for a review,  Read more inside...

Fuji Instax SP-3 printer

July 13, 2018 Neil vN 10 Comments

Fuji Instax SP-3 printer

I’m still loving my Fuji X-H1 that I bought recently. A sweet extra that I added was the Fuji Instax SP-3 printer  (B&H / Amazon). This printer allows you to print directly from the camera itself, giving a 2.4” x 2.4” polaroid. But you don't need a Fuji camera to use it. You can print from your phone as well, to create 2.4  x 2.4" polaroid type prints. This photo above is my first test print - the make-up artist for the photo shoot in the studio today. I know it’s old news for Fuji shooters, but it’s new for me, and I’m kinda excited  Read more inside...

Available light: Boudoir photography & Feminine portraiture

July 8, 2018 Neil vN 6 Comments

Available light: Boudoir photography & Feminine portraiture

The direction of light is an elemental part of portrait photography. We can control how we pose and position our subject in relation to the light - and we might be able even control the direction of light, as we did with this sequence of photos of our model,  Adrienne.  To start off this personal workshop on Lighting for Feminine Portraiture and Boudoir Photography, we used only the available light that was streaming through the large windows in my studio. This painted canvas backdrop is on a roller stand.  Read more inside...

Studio photo session with a dancer – gelled flash

July 2, 2018 Neil vN 4 Comments

Studio photo session with a dancer - gelled flash

Following on the article showing the Outdoor photo session with a dancer, Ella - here is a studio photo session with another dancer - Grace. For this particular sequence, I decided on using gels to add a splash of color to the images. Grace is impressively elegant, with powerful movements when she jumped. As far as the poses and movements were concerned, I again let myself be guided by the expert here - the dancer herself. Similar to how I described the collaborations with Ella (previous linked article), and with Anna Russel, and  Read more inside...

Outdoor photo session with a dancer

June 30, 2018 Neil vN 8 Comments

Outdoor photo session with a dancer - Ella

An additional challenge when photographing dancers in movement, is the exact timing. That fleeting pose in mid-air needs to be captured at the exact moment when their feet, hands and the entire body is positioned in ideal way. Some advice about this was given in a previous article on photographing dancers - tips on photographing dancers and ballerinas - but much of it relies on constantly conferring with the dancer, who will know exactly what they want. Ella is a dancer, with a delightfully confident personality - especially so for  Read more inside...

Silent Shutter / Electronic shutter vs mechanical shutter

June 18, 2018 Neil vN 9 Comments

Silent Shutter / Electronic shutter vs mechanical shutter

I “accidentally” bought a new camera recently. I had no real intent to. This is going to be a long story ... or a short review. The story starts when I dropped the small camera Fuji X-T20 (affiliate) that I use on a gimbal. While it was still in for repairs, so I went in to my local camera store, to see what I could rent for a gig that upcoming weekend. I idly asked to see the new Fuji X-H1 (affiliate) ... and the moment I tripped the shutter, I knew this was the camera I had been looking for. It has the  Read more inside...

New York infrared B&W photos

June 4, 2018 Neil vN 6 Comments

New York infrared B&W photos

It’s Summer again and (intermittently) sunny outside, and the trees are green ... or snow-white as in this B&W infrared photo. The contrasty tones, and the dark skies with bright foliage are typical of B&W infrared photographs. Last year, in this article on mirrorless cameras and B&W infrared, I mentioned how I had searched for a Fuji camera & lens combination that worked without giving me a central hot-spot. I found the Fuji 14mm f/2.8 lens (B&H / Amazon) worked beautifully on my infra-red converted Fuji X-E2,  Read more inside...

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