Practical tutorial: Controls for manual flash exposure
Practical tutorial: Manual flash - distance, power, ISO & aperture
The photo above is of Hannah, one of our models at the workshops in Dublin, Ireland. The lighting is off-camera flash via a softbox to camera left, held up on a monopod. In this instance we used TTL flash with Radio Poppers. TTL flash makes it easy to get to great (or close to great) flash exposure immediately. But for consistency, manual flash is usually the best option. There are 4 things controlling flash exposure: - distance from your light source to your subject - power of your flash (including diffusion Read more inside...Romantic wedding portraits with video light
Romantic wedding portraits with video light
By now it should be clear that I'm quite a fan of video lights for the romantic portrait session with a couple. The Incandescent WB of the video light usually matches the existing light fairly well. Because video light has a rapid fall-off in light intensity to the edges of the beam, it doesn't "flatten" out the light like bounce flash would. In addition, the video light can seem quite natural in context of the existing light, and not even look like additional lighting. Somehow the light just appears to be great right there. Here are two Read more inside...Jessica, a portrait in Dublin
Jessica, a portrait in Dublin
Hovering somewhere between a snapshot and a candid portrait, I really like this photograph. We were hanging out in the Temple Bar area in Dublin, late late in the evening after the recent workshops in Dublin. When it started to rain, we took shelter under the canopy in front of one of the many pubs there. As Jessica took the first drag of the cigarette, I playfully lifted my camera as if to take a shot, and she reacted with this suitable sneer. And I like the result. I even think it is the kind of image that would've worked on an album cover by The Read more inside...Bounce flash photography & white balance settings
Bounce flash photography & white balance settings
A question that often comes up, is whether the white balance will change when bouncing flash. The answer is an obvious one - yes, the light will pick up any color cast from a non-white surface. But that is why we need to shoot in RAW. Then the decision about exact White Balance becomes less crucial. The photograph above, is of Roz, and was taken during the recent flash photography workshops in Dublin, Ireland. Roz was Ireland's contestant in the 2010 Miss Universe contest, so it was quite a privilege to have her as one of our Read more inside...recap: Photography workshop – Dublin, Ireland (2011)
recap: Photography workshop - Dublin, Ireland (2011)
It's been a hectic week, flying in to Dublin (Ireland), for two sold-out workshops there over the past weekend. (Sept 17 & 18) Barely any time for sight-seeing, but it's been a fantastic trip over. In the photo, from left to right: Roz, our one model (an entrant for the Miss Universe competition for Ireland!); myself; Hanna, our other model, (an entrant to Ireland and UK's Next Top Model competition for 2011); Liam Ramsell of Pro Foto Training (host of the workshops); Jesssica, my infamous assistant with a 'tood; and Peter Read more inside...Scam – Photography domains for sale
Scam - Photography domains for sale
In addition to the commonly found over-payment scams that target photographers, and the Scam: Domain name registration / SEO service registration scams, there are scams that try to sell you domain names they don't own. Here is an example that crops up regularly, where a domain with important keywords is offered for sale. WebnameSolution is just one of the companies that try their devious hand at this. The best advice I can give here, is that you do your homework first and find out who actually owns the domain name! Do a whois on the domain, Read more inside...photo session: urban ballerina – Oktavia
photo session: urban ballerina - Oktavia
Oktavia is the stunning model on the cover of my book about off-camera flash. We've intended to do another photo shoot ever since then, but busy schedules kept us from that until recently. A theme that Oktavia wanted to explore, was that of the Urban Ballerina. The idea with the urban ballerina is the contextual dissonance of having a graceful dancer in the middle of some urban setting. There's no real meaning to it other than contrasting art & beauty against the harsher urban setting. Read more inside...review: Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II
review: Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II
Canon updated their already highly regarded 300mm lens, with the Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II (B&H / Amazon). For a review of the Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II. I wanted to try something a little different. I wanted to use the wide aperture of the lens, as well as the compression that a 300mm lens offers, to shoot video of a model, Lea Liu. Instead of just photographs, I decided and create a "moving portrait" of her. This will hopefully show some of the magic that you can get with a wide-aperture telephoto lens. The video footage was Read more inside...Be the wedding guest, not the photographer
You're a photographer, but at a wedding as a guest?
A recent article on the Off-Beat Bride blog, dealt with the topic of the unplugged wedding. They mention some brides now request guests switch off their cameras, and rather be in the moment and enjoy the wedding. I truly want every photographer, whether professional, amateur, or at any level, to read that article and take it to heart. If you've been to a wedding and observed the people there, you will surely have noticed the barrage of cameras. It is especially prevalent during key moments such as the bride entering the ceremony Read more inside...- « Previous Page
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