Boudoir photography: Couples boudoir – gesture and connection
Boudoir photography: Couples boudoir - gesture and connection
With portraits of a couple, the way they connect with each other is often the main factor whether the image is compelling. It could be through gesture and touch. The gesture might even be subtle - if a couple snuggles in, they don't have to look at each other - it's entirely possible to give that sense of connectedness, even with a downward glance. As long a it looks like they are concentrating on each other or responding to each other, it works. With the image at the top, Olena and Austin are directly looking at each Read more inside...Hot-air balloon ride
Hot-air balloon ride
During my visit to South Africa, two of my friends, Jerry & Linde, arranged a surprise for me - an early-morning ride in a hot-air balloon in the Magaliesberg area. This was a first time for me - and I have to wonder now why I had never done this before - it is exhilarating! (This must be old news for those who have done this before.) With this entire 2-week visit to South Africa, I decided to forego all the heavier, bulkier camera gear, and only take my Fuji X100s (affiliate). It's a specific decision where I forego the versatility of getting Read more inside...Using interesting available light & White Balance options
Finding interesting available light & White Balance options
It's always a feel-good moment to discover interesting available light while out on a photo shoot. Something unusual to add a new flavor to a different sequence of images. While photographing a model with Tilo Gockel and Mike Silberreis (both from Germany on a visit to NYC), we started off with off-camera flash to help with the strong sunlight. (You might remember Tilo from a recent guest article on product photography on a budget.) Then, while positioning Olena, I saw part of her dress had a patch of bright light Read more inside...Portrait photography: Dramatic lighting with LED Fresnel lights
Portrait photography: Dramatic lighting with LED Fresnel lights
For the portrait session of Jennifer Rozenbaum, I wanted to show her in her "office" - the studio where she shoots boudoir images of her clients. But instead of photographing Jennifer in a boudoir style, I wanted this to be portraits of her, the boudoir photographer, where she works. Her office as such. Still, it needed to be sexy, a little feral, yet sweet, and very much her. Read more inside...Using tele-converters: Extra lens compression for tighter portraits
Using tele-converters: Extra lens compression for tighter portraits
One of the techniques to have your subject really stand out from the background, is to use the longest focal length on your 70-200mm telephoto zoom. One of the first things I do, is to zoom to maximum focal length, and then step backwards to find the composition … and then only zoom wider if necessary. Doing it this way, forces you to use the longest focal length. This compression focuses attention on your subject by creating separation from the background. To extend the range of my 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, I always Read more inside...Headshot photography: Studio lighting – Westcott Eyelighter
Headshot photography: Studio lighting - Westcott Eyelighter
With portrait lighting for head shots, there are so many configurations - all the way from dramatic lighting, to very even light - but always keeping in mind that the lighting needs to look flattering. It is all in how we balance the various lights, and how we add fill-light. Westcott has released a curved reflector, the Eyelighter (B&H / Amazon), and it is quite versatile: Read more inside...Post-processing workflow: Removing color banding in photos
Post-processing workflow: Removing color banding in photos
Photographing people in the studio against a darker background, I've been plagued with banding problems. Some of it had to do with the limitation of working in an 8-bit environment in Photoshop. As described in this article - how to deal with color banding - a work-around was to editing images as TIFF, and thereby skipping a few steps where I would previously just have edited the JPG. The additional info in the TIFF file minimized color banding. But then with darker backgrounds which have a bit of color in them, the Read more inside...Photographic composition – A few guidelines, (but no rules!)
Photographic composition - A few guidelines (but no rules!)
“There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.” - Ansel Adams For me, if a photograph is intended for an audience, and not just my own records and memories - then its success hinges around impact. Does the photograph make you stop for a few seconds at least to take it in? Then you're at least in part successful already with the portrait. With portraits so many elements kick in to make a photograph resonate with us: The moment. The expression. Gesture. Movement. Pose and position. Read more inside...Gelling your flash, and post-processing for deep blue skies
Gelling your flash, and post-processing for deep blue skies
The warm light from the nearly-setting sun, accentuated with gelled flash. Towards the end of the recent photography workshop, we were shooting on the rooftop - the warm tone of the sunlight contrasting beautifully with the blue sky. To punch it even more, we added gelled flash via an off-camera speedlight in a softbox. We had to gel the speedlight of course, to make sure the blue color balance of the flash didn't kill the natural light. We used a 1/2 CTS gel here which brought the flash's WB down to around 3700K. (This Read more inside...- « Previous Page
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