Tangents

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Dramatic portrait & headshot lighting in the studio

February 23, 2020 Neil vN 2 Comments

Dramatic portrait & headshot lighting in the studio

Working with the Profoto Spot Small (affiliate), I wanted to create portraits for my portfolio that showed a more dramatic light for portraits. I think these could even be used as secondary headshots in a portfolio. For this photo session, I had actor / model Andy Peeke (Instagram) in the studio. He has the cheekbones for this! For other results from the Profoto Spot Small light modifier, also check out this article: Dramatic studio lighting with the Profoto Spot Small In adapting the lighting setup  Read more inside...

Dramatic studio lighting with the Profoto Spot Small

February 20, 2020 Neil vN 1 Comment

Dramatic studio lighting with the Profoto Spot Small

For portrait photography, soft, flattering light is easy to work with. You can more easily pose your subject compared to when the light source is small. Also, it is more immediately flattering to you subject. You have to be really specific in how you pose and position your subject when you use a harder / smaller light source.  This is true whether you use available light or studio lighting or off-camera lighting. For example, much of what I do with on-camera bounce flash, is to create directional soft light from what starts out as  Read more inside...

Video tutorial – High Speed Flash Sync (HSS)

January 13, 2020 Neil vN 17 Comments

Video tutorial - High Speed Flash Sync (HSS)

High Speed Flash Sync is a topic we have covered several times over time here. With this tutorial though, I wanted to visually run through the settings and discuss the implications of the settings, and what we see on the back of our flash. There is a certain consistency here that will help us evade guesswork, and that will help bring a systematic approach to our flash photography. So here it is -- a video tutorial on High Speed Flash Sync. As always, I welcome questions and further discussion in the comments. Two of the previous  Read more inside...

Photo gear for sale (and some for free)

January 10, 2020 Neil vN Leave a Comment

Photo gear for sale (and some for free)

It is time again to clear out the shelves in the studio, and sell various pieces of photo gear - cameras, lenses, flashes and a bunch of random stuff. Have a look around. I'm only selling in the continental USA, and the shipping will be via UPS ground.    

Lastolite Ezybox 24 x 24

This sells for around $130 on B&H. I would like $80 for it, excl shipping. It is unused. Then there is this Lastolite Strobo Beauty Box - click through on the image for the larger version. It is like the Ezybox but with a  Read more inside...

Best photography purchases of 2019

December 29, 2019 Neil vN 47 Comments

Best photography purchases of 2019

It's that time of the year again, where we look at our best photography purchases. I have become increasingly careful with what I buy -- I mean, this stuff is so expensive -- that there isn't anything that really stands out that I was disappointed with. I have even cut down on the number of self-indulgent purchases. Most of what I bought are things that I can solidly justify for my photography work. However, a trend that becomes obvious, especially when I look over the previous years' entries for  best photography purchases, is that even when I love  Read more inside...

Available light photography – looking for good light

December 27, 2019 Neil vN 7 Comments

Available light photography - looking for good light

When shooting for fun on location with a model, and have the time, I have this personal challenge - to find interesting sources of light. Those spots of found light where a little bit of magic happens. This photo of Anastasiya was taken in Grand Central, New York. While the station's architecture is impressive, the light levels there are very low, and quite flat. It's a place you want to take photos at, because it is so beautiful inside - but it is a challenge. The light there just don't lend itself to good portraits in an obvious  Read more inside...

Photography workshops

December 1, 2019 Neil vN 9 Comments

Photography Workshops in NJ / NYC

I present personal workshops and tutoring sessions which are tailored to your needs and to your schedule. These individual workshops are available as well throughout the year, depending on both of our schedules. My studio is only 17 miles from Manhattan. Just a short hop from New York and quite accessible by bus. Oh, and there's parking at the studio. Free parking. If you are limited in how far you can travel, we can do an online tutoring session via Zoom, to help you get a much better understanding of photography and lighting techniques. For  Read more inside...

Lighting for on-location headshot photography

November 19, 2019 Neil vN 8 Comments

Lighting for on-location headshot photography

For headshot photography in New York, where we might roam around, a static setup with light-stands isn't that feasible. It would slow us down from getting a variety of images when we are on the move. For that, I like to keep the lighting setup small and portable. My preference for lighting for on-location headshot photography, is the Profoto B10 flash  (B&H / Amazon) coupled with the Profoto OCF Beauty Dish (24")  (B&H / Amazon). Here is a pull-back shot to show the lighting setup  Read more inside...

Electronic / silent shutter of the Sony A9 vs Sony A7iii + A7Riii

November 13, 2019 Neil vN 9 Comments

Electronic / silent shutter of the Sony A9 / A9ii vs Sony A7iii / A7Riii

Both the Sony A7iii and Sony A9 / A9ii offer a silent / electronic shutter. Just like the Nikon Z6 and Z7 and Canon EOS R. But there are specific differences which might affect your decision about which camera best suits your needs. What sets the Sony A9 (B&H / Amazon) apart from any of the other cameras mentioned, is that it is very resistant to banding in some artificial lighting. The sensor readout is (as far as I can figure out) 1/160th of a second, while it is 1/40th for the Sony  Read more inside...

Posing into the light for better portraits

October 31, 2019 Neil vN 6 Comments

Posing into the light for better portraits

This is a simple illustration again of the idea that posing and light(ing) go hand-in-hand. You can't really separate these two aspects when photographing people. When there is a video team at a wedding, I have to accommodate them in not using flash when they are shooting their sequences during the romantic portrait session with the bride and groom. Then I have to rely entirely on just the available light. In this example, they had the bride, Amanda, walk down the jetty twice - a good opportunity for me to shoot some extra images to pad  Read more inside...

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