Tangents

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tangents photography blog
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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...

Informal / candid portraits on the street – Applying what you know

May 15, 2015 Neil vN 2 Comments

informal / candid portraits on the street

Informal / candid portraits on the street - Applying what you know

New York City abounds with characters - interesting and colorful people. This is one of those constants if you're out on the streets in NYC, especially when taking photos or busy with a photo session ... or as in this case, during one of the individual photography workshops in NYC. This man approached us to sell his artwork ... and we ended up taking a few photos of him. With a few quick, automatic steps, the informal portrait is improved. I'm one of those people, who, if tourists in Times Square give me their  Read more inside...

Photographing portraits with a personal connection

May 5, 2015 Neil vN 6 Comments

photographing portraits with a personal connection

Photographing portraits with a personal connection

Of all the portraits I've taken over the years, this photo is one of those that I am most proud of - my friend Petra Herrmann. This photograph shows her strength as well as vulnerability. I'd mention her sense of humor, and her warmth and kindness .. but she'd just tell me to fuck off. So there's that. But it's true. She's a remarkable person and friend ... and I am glad she's going to be around much, much longer. Petra is a well-known boudoir photographer in Kansas City. Somewhere late in 2014, she was diagnosed with breast  Read more inside...

review: Best light modifiers for on-camera flash

April 30, 2015 Neil vN 55 Comments

review: comparing various light modifiers for on-camera flash

review: Best light modifiers for on-camera flash

Many of the tutorials and articles on the Tangents blog deals with getting the best from your on-camera flash. My approach has always been one of - what technique would give me the best light? Of course, there are so many different scenarios we could find ourselves in - so we have to adapt to where we are, and what we want to achieve. With on-camera flash, I've always pushed back against the idea of there being a single do-everything device that will make your flash photography look better. Specifically with light and lighting, We  Read more inside...

Scam – Domain name registration / SEO service registration

April 13, 2015 Neil vN 2 Comments

scam: domain name registration / SEO service registration

Scam - Domain name registration / SEO service registration

As if the e-mail scams aren't bad enough, they are now texting photographers with the same scam! But there is another scam that has been going around for years now - but it is so obvious that I doubt many people will fall for it. But just in case anyone has any doubt, or may be a touch too inattentive, this next one is also a scam - fake domain renewals / SEO service registration. If you have a website - and this means everyone - then you have received these emails, warning you to renew your domain. There are also  Read more inside...

Dramatic studio lighting: Using the beauty dish as a single light source

April 9, 2015 Neil vN 9 Comments

dramatic studio lighting: using the beauty dish as a single light source

Dramatic studio lighting: Using the beauty dish as a single light source

I love the forgiving nature of large light modifiers - you don't have such precision with a huge softbox as you do with a smaller, more contrasty light modifier.  But you also have less opportunity for dramatic light, as you do with smaller light sources. In line with the idea that a smaller light = harder light = dramatic light, I wanted to create a series of portraits that had a darker, moodier feel. Brian Calabrese, a photographer friend of mine, met up with me in my studio, and through various iterations  Read more inside...

review: Profoto B2 Off-Camera Flash – photo shoot

March 31, 2015 Neil vN 73 Comments

review: Profoto B2 Off-Camera Flash – photo shoot

review: Profoto B2 Off-Camera Flash - photo shoot

Over the years I have used a variety of off-camera lights on location shoots and at weddings, and have worked my way up from Dynalite and Quantum flashes (and speedlights), to the Profoto B1. The Profoto B1 (affiliate) has made such a difference for me in the ease of use, the speed of setting up, and the sheer power of 500Ws of light. I love my B1 flash. For example, here is how I used the Profoto B1 flash at a wedding. Profoto has now released the Profoto B2 250Ws Air TTL Flash, and it comes as two options: -  Profoto B2  Read more inside...

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