Tangents

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using multiple speedlights with high-speed flash sync

December 6, 2010 Neil vN 56 Comments

using multiple speedlights with high-speed flash sync

This photo of Angelique, our model, was taken at 1/8000 @ f2 @ 100 ISO. Yes, an eight-thousand-th of a second.  The accompanying wide aperture (with an ultra-wide angle lens), gives a unique look to the image. The shallow depth-of-field and high shutter speed are mutually dependent effects in shooting in bright light. Working with a fast shutter speed, brought us into high-speed flash sync (HSS) territory. Do keep in mind that this shoot was more of a technical exercise to work through the settings and see how the flash behaves  Read more inside...

off-camera flash photography: feathering the light

December 4, 2010 Neil vN 17 Comments

off-camera flash: feathering the light

Comparing those two images, you should notice two things immediately: - the sky is brighter in the top image. - the grass in front of the group is more lit in the bottom photo.  In other words, the accent is more on the guys in the top photo, since grass in front of them are less well lit. Both images were lit by a single off-camera softbox, using a speedlight. My on-camera speedlight was set to Master, but with its output disabled. Therefore only the Slave flash (in the softbox) was lighting the group.  I liked the exposure on them  Read more inside...

reverse engineering an image (3) – a contest!

December 1, 2010 Neil vN

wedding portraits with multiple light sources

edited on Dec 08, 2010 : contest winner has been announced, with feedback from Josh about this photograph When we've previously featured photographs that we tried to reverse engineer, there was a great response by readers of the Tangents blog. Similarly, many participated in the recent Photoshop contest. So I've decided that we should combine the two. Maybe even make it a regular event. The contest then is to reverse engineer this photograph in terms of the lighting. The winner gets a $50 B&H gift  Read more inside...

lighting ideas for romantic wedding portraits

November 29, 2010 Neil vN 15 Comments

lighting the romantic portraits of the bride & groom

Scouting around the location during dinner time, I peered over the edge of this spiraling staircase and thought it would be a good idea to get some light on the couple, seated on the couch. I posed Melissa so that  she lounged back with her head on Dennis' lap. There is no way to get light on them from my position with on-camera bounce flash, and definitely not if my intention is to get light only on them. It needed off-camera flash. To add some variety,  I also thought of a few other things to try with the lighting, using  Read more inside...

off-camera fill-flash in bright sunlight

November 19, 2010 Neil vN 29 Comments

shooting in bright sunlight with off-camera fill-flash

This adorable kid looked at the camera briefly because I was singing to him.  Kids are devious little creatures. They know when you're calling them and will purposely ignore you.  So you have to be crafty too in getting their attention. Of course, you have to be ready for the moment ... and shoot a lot. Sometimes that Decisive Moment is to be found in the edit. The photo session was from 12 noon to 1pm. So the sun was high overhead. We're often told that the sun directly overhead isn't the best time to take photographs.  While  Read more inside...

Photographing on location: Photo permits in Hoboken, NJ

November 17, 2010 Neil vN 45 Comments

Photographing on location: Photo permits in Hoboken, NJ

Photographing a model in Hoboken can be complicated. A few weeks ago in October, a friend and I arranged to photograph Kerri, the model shown here. My friend had just bought a Nikon D3s and some serious glass, so I thought that instead of me just telling her about the camera's functions and settings, it would be more interesting to hire a model to photograph. Then we get to play with the new toys, and get some photos. More fun than just being lectured by me. So the two of us picked Kerri up along the way to Hoboken, to shoot  Read more inside...

portrait: Janine vN

November 15, 2010 Neil vN 11 Comments

portrait using a gridded softbox

It's been about a year since I last took a more formal portrait of my daughter Janine. Last year it was her with the steam-punk goggles, when I used a beauty dish (with a sock) as lighting. During a restaurant dinner last night I noticed Janine had 'LOVE' scribbled on both her forearms with a felt marker. I asked her about it, and she explained the idea behind 'To Write Love On Her Arms'. So I decided to include this tonight in the portrait of her. Lighting her and the words on her arms was a slight challenge. I wanted a moody portrait, instead of  Read more inside...

Using lens flare for effect

November 14, 2010 Neil vN 7 Comments

Using lens flare for effect

While we often try and avoid lens flare, controlled use of lens flare can enhance the mood of a photograph. The question came up during a workshop last week - how exactly do you get lens flare. It is quite easy to get flare - shoot towards the sun, or any bright light source. Removing any filter will help in not washing out the image. Controlling the flare is more difficult though. Different lenses flare in different ways. The choice of aperture also affects how flare appears. As an example, one of my favorite lenses, the Canon 24-105mm f4L  Read more inside...

tips on posing people / working with a model

November 10, 2010 Neil vN 23 Comments

tips for posing people / working with a model

So you have a great camera and lens; and someone who is willing to be photographed and willing to work with you; and you have a great idea for a setting or backdrop ... but now what? Posing your subject is something that can be quite intimidating to a newer photographer.  The pressure is now on YOU to create magic .. or at least an arresting image. Leaving everything up to the model or your subject to do, or for them to come up with ideas ... while you just click the shutter, makes you just an owner of a camera, and not a  Read more inside...

Nikon focusing modes – Nikon D300 / D700 / D3 / D3s

November 6, 2010 Neil vN 72 Comments

Nikon focusing modes - Nikon D300 / D700 / D3 / D3s

The current line-up of top Nikon D-SLRs offer a range of AF settings.  The combination's in settings seem daunting at first.  But with other settings on my D3 bodies, I keep it fairly simple.  Instead of flip-flopping between numerous settings, I keep it simple by generally using the AF settings in just two ways.  This depends on what whether my subject is static or moving. First of, we're keeping manual focus out of this discussion.  If you need to focus in manual for some reason, eg, doing macro work, the choice to do so will  Read more inside...

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