Tangents

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Themes & context in Boudoir Photography

June 26, 2015 Neil vN 7 Comments

urban boudoir photography, NYC

Themes & context in Boudoir Photography - on the streets of NYC

The model in this striking image is my friend, Jessica, a boudoir photographer. Her pose is intentionally this strong and assertive. The concept here is part of an on-going project she had planned for a long while now. She had asked me to collaborate with her in taking the photos. The main idea behind the project (and these are my words and interpretation of what we had discussed) - women are objectified in society, but there is a disconnect in how people respond (or don't) to provocative posters and images of  Read more inside...

Why use a high-resolution camera?

June 11, 2015 Neil vN 31 Comments

Why use a high-resolution camera?

The Nikon D810 (affiliate) is a camera that surprised me for how much I liked using it. The high resolution of this camera was a drawback for me initially. But it had very responsive AF. Also, super-crisp images because of the improved sensor and due to the lack of the anti-aliasing filter. Ergonomics. (I have big hands.) But I didn't anticipate that I would love the D810 as much as I do. For a long while though I kicked against the idea of using a camera with a very high resolution. But then the Nikon D810 convinced me. There's a story  Read more inside...

Posing people: Tips for improving your portrait photos

June 8, 2015 Neil vN 12 Comments

posing people: tips for improving your portrait photos

Posing people: Tips for improving your portrait photos

Throughout the numerous articles on the Tangents blog, I'm often asked about how I go about posing people. I've described some of it in the article, adjusting a pose with incremental changes. Instead of a traditional way of posing, it's mostly a "feel" thing, looking at my subject and seeing if there are elements that could be better balanced. This studio portrait of a model, Adrienne, doesn't follow rigid guidelines of formal portraiture. Her shoulder is a little scrunched up, and her head is tilted to the side. Yet, to my eyes,  Read more inside...

New York cityscapes – B&W infrared photographs

June 5, 2015 Neil vN 9 Comments

NYC cityscapes – infra-red B&W photography

New York cityscapes - B&W infrared photographs

After a long hard winter and a slow warming up to summer (and a busy schedule), I finally squeezed some time to wander around New York City again with an infra-red B&W camera. I tried it out once during winter, but it just didn't work - without the sun and without heat, the images were dull and flat. Nothing there. Infra-red B&W needs bright light and contrast. Infra-red B&W photography seems dominated by landscapes where the trees and grass turn white, and the skies darker. But what I like about using this camera in  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...

recap: Boudoir photography workshop – Albany, NY (2015)

June 2, 2015 Neil vN 3 Comments

recap: Boudoir photography workshop - Albany, NY (2015)

Teaming up with Genine Gullickson, one of the best boudoir photographers I know, we co-presented an all-day workshop in Feminine Portraiture and Boudoir Photography. The workshop was held in Genine's studio in Schenectady, NY on May 31st. We had two lovely modes, and two stylists who took care of make-up and hair styling. We had a fun group of 7 photographers who attended this workshop. Genine's place - Clique Studio - is a loft-styled studio offering a variety of backgrounds and settings. (This immediately made the images  Read more inside...

Engagement photo sessions: Posing, lighting & context

May 27, 2015 Neil vN 20 Comments

engagement photo sessions: posing, lighting & context

Engagement photo sessions: Posing, lighting & context

I love this photo! I also like how it came together. This was within minutes of meeting DaWeon and Toban for their engagement photo session in Philadelphia. We had only chatted on Skype before. Embarrassingly enough, I arrived late to the meeting place for their engagement session through my misunderstanding about the address. No excuses there. But it did mean I had to work fast - the setting sun was lighting up the Philadelphia skyline, and I had to nail a series of photos very quickly. DaWeon and Toban had said they  Read more inside...

Flash photography tutorial: Balancing flash & ambient exposure

May 22, 2015 Neil vN 47 Comments

flash photography tutorial: balancing flash and ambient exposure

Flash photography tutorial: Balancing flash & ambient exposure

This topic - balancing flash and ambient exposure - seems to one that many newer photographers struggle with. The big hurdle seems to be the basic starting point - how do you decide on the exposure for each? I'd like to explore this topic a bit with this post. The trigger for this was a question that someone emailed me regarding an image in one of my books on flash photography. Instead of answering the question directly, I thought that a wider answer might be more illuminating. We're still on that perpetual quest  Read more inside...

Creative portrait photography on location

May 18, 2015 Neil vN 7 Comments

creative portrait photography on location

Creative portrait photography - Allowing opportunities to happen

There was an interesting challenge for me during a recent individual photography workshop in NYC - Don (who arranged the workshop), already knew the essentials of lighting techniques, and said what he really wanted was insight into the way that I see a photo before I take it.  How do I know something will work or not. Don was particularly impressed with the series of photos of Anelisa that I shot for the review of the Profoto B2 Flash. The shallow depth-of-field images was a particular draw-card. Serendipity - I love  Read more inside...

recap: Flash photography workshops – New Jersey / NJ

May 17, 2015 Neil vN 1 Comment

flash photography workshops – New Jersey / NJ

recap: Flash photography workshops – New Jersey / NJ (2015)

The format of the flash photography workshops that I present, are constantly evolving. Gradual changes as I adapt the program to be fluent. Always with the ideal that anyone who attends will see a marked improvement in their understanding and use of flash, and on-location lighting. I wanted to give a glimpse again of one of these workshops - in this case a Personal Workshop attended by two photographers, with Adrienne as our model. The tempo of the workshop is nice and relaxed, giving everyone time to shoot and practice,  Read more inside...

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