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Using lens bokeh as a design element

May 23, 2014 Neil vN 25 Comments

Using lens bokeh as a design element

In previous articles we could see how a fast 85mm can be used for shallow depth-of-field to shoot nearly anywhere by melting away the background. There's another aspect to this - the bokeh of the lens. The bokeh is a reference to how the quality of the background blur is rendered by a lens. It can be smooth, or have "jittery" patterns to the edges of objects, and the highlights. Do note though that bokeh and shallow depth-of-field are not quite the same thing. While the DoF / choice of aperture does affect the appearance of the bokeh of  Read more inside...

Reverse engineer a photo: Photo session in bright sunlight

May 22, 2014 Neil vN 110 Comments

Reverse engineer a photo: Photo session with a couple in bright sunlight

When I posted this sequence of photos on Facebook of Jessica and Tony's engagement photo session in New York, there were a flurry of questions. Which lens? 50mm? 85mm? What type of lighting? What were my camera settings? Well, this stuff has been covered before with numerous articles here. So by now, anyone who regularly follows the Tangents blog, and have done some reading, will be able to figure this out. So here's your challenge - look at the photos, look at the location, and reverse engineer the camera  Read more inside...

Posing tips: Pose the hands – asymmetry

May 15, 2014 Neil vN 4 Comments

Posing tips: Pose the hands - asymmetry

Similar to the recent post with Jessica J as the model, where I placed her feet in an asymmetrical position for a more dynamic pose, I did the same when posing Anita DeBauch's hands during a photo session. In the companion photograph, you will notice that her hands are symmetrical around her face. While the pose does look cute, an asymmetrical positioning of her hands and fingers improved the pose.  Read more inside...

NvN on photography – interviewed by Ed Verosky

May 14, 2014 Neil vN 10 Comments

Interview: NvN on photography

I met up with Ed Verosky in his studio to chat about photography and the direction I'm taking. Here's a summary of the conversation. I already am aware that I use my hands to talk. In fact, it would be tough for me to explain something without moving my hands around in semaphore. But apparently I also use my eyebrows to express what I am trying to get across. Other podcast interviews with me    Read more inside...

Photographers, you don’t know anything

May 13, 2014 Neil vN 42 Comments

I am probably the only person who will ever give you the following comments, but then again, I am probably one of the only photographers capable of looking at your work and who knows how little you know. You have no idea about posing whatsoever. Not to worry, most photographers don't know anything either so you are safe.  Read more inside...

Boudoir photography: Tips on posing & dealing with mixed lighting

May 12, 2014 Neil vN 6 Comments

Boudoir photography: Dealing with mixed light - daylight & incandescent

Boudoir photo sessions can be nerve-wracking - not just for your subject or client who undoutably feels vulnerable, but also for you as the photographer. You have to juggle speed in shooting, with meticulous posing and (hopefully) impeccable lighting .... and still keep the flow of the shoot going, and also keep your subject's confidence up. With this boudoir photo session in a NYC studio, I photographed my friend, Jessica Joy. I wanted to use this window of  course, and incorporate the boxes. It all just  Read more inside...

Bounce flash vs. Available light vs. Videographer’s light

May 10, 2014 Neil vN 23 Comments

Bounce flash vs. Available light vs. Using the videographer's light

The expressive trumpet player in the band at a wedding - a simple portrait of this musician, sweetened with some bounce flash. The light on his face, is by now perhaps predictably, on-camera bounce flash with the black foamie thing.  Looking at the light pattern on his face, you'll see there was no direct flash of any kind. camera settings:  1/60 @ f2.8 @ 2000 ISO // TTL flash Nikon D3; Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 AF-S VR II;   Nikon SB-910 Speedlight In comparison, here are a few other images.  One with no flash,  Read more inside...

Studio photography: Never shoot at 320 ISO @ f/5.6 with white seamless

May 9, 2014 Neil vN 21 Comments

 

Never shoot at 320 ISO @ f/5.6 with white seamless

...  because Amazon's patent on how to shoot against a white background, 
(with camera settings given as "about 320 ISO" and "about f/5.6" ) 
has been granted to them by the US Patents office.  Yes, I know, this makes no sense. One of the oldest studio photography techniques - shooting against a white backdrop - has been patented by Amazon.  Udi Tirosh at DIY photo reported on this. So I guess the easiest way to circumvent this, (aside from easily proving  Read more inside...

Photography: Posing tips – the leaning pose

May 4, 2014 Neil vN 11 Comments

Photography: Posing tips - the leaning pose

Even when you're photographing a bride as graceful as Patricia, there's still a need to adjust and guide the pose. I liked the roughness and color of this gate, and I also knew the background would be an out-of-focus mush behind her. When you ask someone to lean against something, they tend to fall back onto the wall or object, with both shoulders and their back flat agains the surface. My starting point with this pose, is that I show what I want. Remember, people don't usually know what you're after, and they most definitely don't  Read more inside...

Photographers, what have you done today for your business?

May 2, 2014 Neil vN 19 Comments

Photographers, what have YOU done today to advance your business?

How serious are you about succeeding as a photographer in your business, whether part-time or full-time? I know, I know, we are all serious about photography. After all, we all have a passion for photography. So there's that. But really, how serious are you, and what are you doing to advance your photography career? A while back I did a presentation to a group of photographers, and as usual, there are distractions that you as the presenter have to overcome and work against. Distractions can be as crazy as competing  Read more inside...

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