Photo homage: A regal portrait with a ferret
Photo homage - Regal Portrait with a Ferret
While on a trip to Denver, I had some time free to meet up with my friend, Lynn Clark, one of the best boudoir photographers in Denver. I had asked her to be a subject for my next book, Lighting & Design, and she indulged me. I want each portrait to reveal something of the person I am photographing, and also have some interesting snippets of info for anyone who dips in the book, and of course, for anyone who follows the Tangents blog. So while Lynn is an accomplished boudoir photographer, I didn't want to go with the obvious idea of Read more inside...Headshot photography in the studio
Headshot photography in the studio
Mike is an actor / musician friend of mine, who also works with the Modern Gypsies at times. We recently updated his headshots with a session in and around the studio. As a working actor in New York, he has appeared on stage, as well as some spots on television. Amusingly enough, while shooting outside the studio against the warehouse building's facade facing the main street, a young boy, walking past us with his mom, turned around and asked Mike, "Are you famous?" Of course we couldn't disappoint the kid. Being a character actor, and shooting Read more inside...review: Nikon 58mm f/1.4G lens
review: Nikon 58mm f/1.4G lens
The Nikon 58mm f/1.4G (B&H / Amazon) is an odd focal length. It's not-50mm. More than that, the Nikon 50mm f/1.4G (affiliate) is only $440, and this new 58mm lens is $1,700 ... yup, that's a pretty hefty difference! The price of the 58mm lens is in line with the 85mm f/1.4G … so could one expect improved performance? I have to admit that the 50mm f/1.4G is my least used lens, along with the fish-eye. I'm just not that excited about using it. The focal length is just not wide enough (like a 35mm might be), nor tighter like a Read more inside...book review: Gregory Heisler – 50 Portraits
book review: Gregory Heisler - 50 Portraits
Gregory Heisler is an undisputed genius when it comes to photographic lighting. If ever you get the opportunity to attend a seminar by him, do yourself a favor. The story behind each portrait, and the motivation and the struggles to create those images, don't just make for entertaining anecdotes - and Gregory Heisler is an entertaining speaker - but the stories are insightful. Educational. But not just educational in a do-this-do-that explanation of technique. It's much more than that. In this book he has collected 50 of his his best Read more inside...Photography composition – Get down lower for a better perspective
Photography composition - Getting down lower for a better perspective
It's a bit of a cliche perhaps, seeing a photographer on the ground, laying on his side, or sprawled on the ground. What might look like a strange form of attention-seeking, is actually a very solid way of improving your composition with full-length portraits. The lazy temptation is to just stand there, camera to the eye, and take the photograph. What happens then (usually), is that the photographer is shooting down on the subject. The best advice generally, is to step back for full-length compositions. When you Read more inside...Photographers – When was the moment the magic happened for you?
When was the magical moment when you first got hooked?
I'm sure we all have similar stories - how we got hooked on photography, and it became less of a mild interest, and more of an over-riding fascination. A fascination bordering on compulsion, where you felt you just had to take photographs of everything around you. What was the moment where you realized you're hooked on photography? Let me kick this off then - My own interest in photography started somewhere during high-school years. I was an avid nature enthusiast as a child, devouring anything to do with animals and nature. Read more inside...Flagging your flash to control back-lighting
Flagging your back-lighting flash with the black foamie thing
My favorite on-camera light modifier, the black foamie thing, is of course, nothing more than a very affordable (and flexible) way to flag your flash. This helps control how the light from your on-camera flash spills. (It's not a flash diffuser!) I also keep one on hand when I use off-camera flash, to flag any direct flash - whether to control it from flaring the lens, or from spilling onto my subject. When I did the photo session for the review of the Canon 600EX-RT, I had to flag the one speedlight so it didn't spill Read more inside...review: Profoto B1 flash
review: Profoto B1 flash
I'm a bit of a fan of Profoto gear. When I first started looking at the more serious on-location lighting systems, my initial purchase was the Profoto 600R. I was drawn by their reputation for reliability and features such as consistent color balance even when you change power settings. The wide variety of light modifiers, as well as the ease of use and setup also had me favor Profoto, even thought it is the more expensive system on the market. Of course, the sleek elegant look of Profoto gear also counted. As far as lighting gear goes, Profoto even looks Read more inside...Controlling off-camera flash with a gridded stripbox / softbox
Controlling off-camera flash with a gridded stripbox / softbox
With this photo session of Carina and Carolina, (yes, they are twins), I decided to start off with a landmark spot in New York - Staple Street. That bridge walkway between the two buildings, and this surprising alley has somehow become a landmark. Yet, it works. That walkway makes a perfect frame at the top of photographs.With the tall buildings in Manhattan, you usually get brighter areas or sky towards the top, or you get more buildings in the background. But here, you get that neat visual border. Nice! Shooting on Read more inside...- « Previous Page
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