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Search Results for: bouncing flash behind me

Bouncing your flash

Flash Photography Techniques Dragging the shutter  ~  Bouncing your flash  ~  On-camera flash outdoors

How to bounce your flash

The camera settings for this image: 1/160 @ f3.2 @ 800 ISO - using TTL flash; FEC at 0 EV. Those specific numerical values are less important to achieving that quality of light, than the thought-process about how to use the light. Ultimately, this really is about the Direction & Quality of Light. A single flashgun, used directly, gives hard shadows because it is a small light source. The only way to soften the light, is to make the source of  Read more inside...

Flash + Ambient light

Flash Photography Techniques Natural looking flash  ~  Flash & Ambient light  ~  Dragging the shutter

Adding flash to ambient 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 mostly flagged on-camera bounce flash. Flagging the flash stops direct flash from hitting him, as you can see by looking at the light pattern on his face. With a bit of thought, and understanding of some essential techniques, using flash need not look unnatural, nor spoil the ambient  Read more inside...

Natural looking flash

Flash photography techniques Intro page  ~  Natural looking flash  ~  Flash & ambient light

Making flash not look like flash

I use flash very often in my professional work and personal work.  But I try and make the use of flash not appear intrusive in the photograph.  I nearly always have an on-camera flash, but I try to diffuse it or bounce it wherever possible. I use as little direct flash as I can, except outdoors where I try and use available light, and use flash only to lift the shadows and reduce the contrast. However, sometimes it is just best to overpower the  Read more inside...

Bounce flash photography: Problem-solving by improvising

June 25, 2006 Neil vN 2 Comments

Bounce flash photography: Problem solving with improvised lighting

I received an email from Dr. Joel Studin in April '06, where he asked for help in setting up photographic lighting in his examination room at his offices. Dr. Studin is a renowned cosmetic surgeon based in Long Island, NY and he needs to do specific 'before' and 'after' photographs of his patients for his records. But there was a problem - despite guidelines from the plastic surgery society on standardizing photography, the results weren't consistent, and just didn't look good. Fortunately, I was able to help  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...

Wedding portrait ideas

February 20, 2019 Neil vN 9 Comments

Wedding portrait ideas

The part of photographing the wedding day that I enjoy the most, is the romantic portraits. I believe this is where photographers are more able to assert a style. Especially in comparison to photographing the ceremony as an example, where you have to record the proceedings, as they are presented. Sure, the final result would depend on composition and timing - all crucial elements. But there isn't a way for the photographer to really influence the look of the ceremony photos as compared to what is possible in photographing the wedding portraits, and specifically  Read more inside...

What’s in my bag – lighting gear for headshots on location

February 7, 2018 Neil vN 17 Comments

What's in my bag - lighting gear for headshots on location

In one of the previous articles dealing with lighting gear for headshots on location - headshot photography lighting on location - I showed the need to be flexible. There I showed a number of the setups I have used, depending on the client's needs, and also dependent on where we are shooting. With this article now, I want to more specifically show the lighting gear I have in my lighting roller case - my usual minimum setup. As you might expect by now, my lighting choice is based on the Profoto B1 and A1 flashes. It is a  Read more inside...

Easy lighting setup for headshot photography

April 15, 2017 Neil vN 7 Comments

Easy lighting setup for headshot photography

For headshot photography in the studio, I have a (flexible) default lighting setup - clam-shell lighting setup.  On location (but still working indoors), I have another setup -  studio  lighting setup for headshots. Nothing is really specific - as long as the final results look flattering and your client loves the images. Your lighting setup should match what your client expects. Then there is also the question of logistics. I'm often asked if all that equipment is a necessity. It's not. Here is my favorite, most simple setup .... bounce  Read more inside...

Photo session – Intimate male portraiture

January 29, 2017 Neil vN 1 Comment

Photo session - Intimate male portraiture

The motive behind this photo session with Nick Mathews, is explained in the intro of the behind-the-scenes video clip of the photo session. One subject, one studio, two photographers and two different styles. We shot this in Cate's studio - she used available light, and I ended up using two Profoto B1 flashes (affiliate), and gridded stripboxes to control the light. The video clip shows some of how we directed Nick during the shoot, and as a professional model and actor, he was supremely easy to work with. With this article, I'd like to  Read more inside...

recap: Photography workshop – Charlotte, NC (2015)

July 27, 2015 Neil vN 9 Comments

flash photography workshop

recap: Photography workshop - Charlotte, NC (2015)

A group of photographers in Charlotte asked if I would like to present a flash photography workshop there. We arranged a really nice venue - The Getty Center, in Rock Hill, SC -  and settled on a date, July 25th (Sat). Everything in place for this, the first workshop away from NJ / NY since the workshop in Amsterdam two years ago. With two models, and a relatively small group of 8 people - just how I prefer the workshop size, we could cover the photography workshop syllabus in a relaxed tempo, and be sure everyone had the  Read more inside...

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