Finding interesting available light & White Balance options
It's always a feel-good moment to discover interesting available light while out on a photo shoot. Something unusual to add a new flavor to a different sequence of images.
While photographing a model with Tilo Gockel and Mike Silberreis (both from Germany on a visit to NYC), we started off with off-camera flash to help with the strong sunlight. (You might remember Tilo from a recent guest article on product photography on a budget.)
Then, while positioning Olena, I saw part of her dress had a patch of bright light Read more inside...
Over time I noticed that my style in photographing portraits have gravitated to a specific look where everything is quite simplified - the lighting, the background and the framing of the shot. Whether I use the available light, or video light, or off-camera flash, or even on-camera bounce flash, there's a certain uncomplicated look. I'd like to think of it as elegant unfussy simplicity.
Analyzing this, it is easy to see there's a specific method here. It's a method which helps especially when under pressure. Here, even allowing Read more inside...
a favorite image - before & after (and the how to)
There's something about this photograph that I really like ... aside from Anelisa being one of my favorite models. It is slightly surreal with Anelisa's apparent levitation. The dress and hat is reminiscent of a 1950's Fashion, and Anelisa's mid-air pose is also reminiscent of Philippe Halsman's iconic jumping images. All that, combined with the sun flaring across her face and the washed-out background, all adds to this wonderfully nostalgic mood. Read more inside...
Available light photography: Posing into the light
A topic that we've given more and more attention to here on Tangents, is available light photography - but specifically the idea that in using available light, it isn't just a random way of taking photos, but that consideration has to be given to the direction of light. When you work with someone you want to take a portrait of, it is crucial that you pose someone in flattering light. This often means posing someone into the light, with the one shoulder toward the direction of light. This idea works for even the simplest of cameras - Read more inside...
Taking photographs of people in hard sunlight will always be one of the more daunting lighting situations we can find ourselves in. Without additional lighting, or the use of scrims, we have a few basic ways of dealing with the harsh sun:
- pose our subject into the light,
- pose our subject with their back to the sun, or
- just suck it up and accept that our photos will look bad.
Well, that last option isn't really the way to go if we have any pride in our work as photographers. Which leaves us with the two other options ... Read more inside...
Photographing in bright sunlight - find the shade!
Hard sunlight must be one of the most difficult lighting scenarios to work under. But with a bit of thought, we can work around it and still easily get photos that look great. It's a topic that we've touched on a number of times on the Tangents blog, (see related articles at the end here). Where I can though, the simplest approach for me though, is where I can, is to just not deal with the hard sunlight. I find shade.
This maternity portrait session of Amy was taken on a bright day, and I wanted to avoid her squinting in Read more inside...
Bridal portrait - Working with the available light
This striking portrait is of Rachel, a bride whose wedding I photographed yesterday. Yes, a Tuesday wedding! The prep was at a hotel on the Jersey shore, and when Rachel was ready, I wanted to shoot a few straight-forward portraits there in the hotel. There was a lot of light in the hotel room itself, but the decor was white - which helps for high-key portraits. But I wanted some variety.
So I scouted around, and decided to do some photographs in the passage outside her hotel room. Since it was a wedding on the Jersey shore, and Read more inside...
Even with high ISO settings, you still need good light
Still having fun with the Canon 5D Mark III (B&H / Amazon), I met up with Elmira again in New York. Elmira is the model I used in my initial tests of the Canon 5D Mark III high-ISO performance. Being a delightful model to work with, I decided to use her again as a subject. New York was cold on this day, so shooting indoors just seemed a lot more attractive. We went to Grand Central Station - a grandiose building, but with light levels quite low. Low enough that I was glad that I brought the Canon EF 35mm Read more inside...
Too often there's the desire for us to bring the detail in our backgrounds back in by adding flash. But there are times when the image will be stronger if we just allow the background to completely blow out. It especially works in our favor if the background is cluttered, because then by letting the background completely over-expose, we can simplify our composition.
The key here then is to expose for your subject with careful exposure metering. Read more inside...
Short Lighting with available light - and adding a little bit of flash
When working with available light or flash or video light or any kind of additional light, the most important aspect of the light is the direction of the light. We need to take a moment and observe the light. Where do the light sources come from? What is the quality of the light? As a short-cut idea, I usually aim for Short Lighting, whether I am using flash or available light.
More on the topic of Short Lighting:
- Off-camera flash: Short lighting vs. Broad lighting
- Bounce flash photography – Short Read more inside...
