Tangents

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Dramatic portraits: Hollywood Portrait Lighting

November 30, 2017 Neil vN 4 Comments

Dramatic portraits: Hollywood Portrait Lighting

Shooting for my portfolio in the studio with a model, Kimberly Jay, I wanted to create sets of feminine portraits that looked dramatic, and straddled the boudoir photography genre and had a Film Noir look to them. The classic look of Hollywood portrait lighting has long drawn me, and with a set of  Litepanels Sola 4 LED Fresnel Lights  (B&H / Amazon), it is a look that I am still trying to finesse. Other photo sessions where I have drawn on the Hollywood look: Lighting a vintage styled boudoir photo session  (model:  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...

Themes & context in Boudoir Photography

June 26, 2015 Neil vN 7 Comments

urban boudoir photography, NYC

Themes & context in Boudoir Photography - on the streets of NYC

The model in this striking image is my friend, Jessica, a boudoir photographer. Her pose is intentionally this strong and assertive. The concept here is part of an on-going project she had planned for a long while now. She had asked me to collaborate with her in taking the photos. The main idea behind the project (and these are my words and interpretation of what we had discussed) - women are objectified in society, but there is a disconnect in how people respond (or don't) to provocative posters and images of  Read more inside...

Lingerie photo session: Video light & Studio flash

February 14, 2013 Neil vN 8 Comments

Lingerie photo session: Video light & Studio flash

Olena is a wonderful model that I love working with because of her natural instinct for posing. So for a test shoot in my new studio space, she was an easy choice. (Here is Olena's model mayhem portfolio.) We shot several outfits, using different lighting setups. This one is interesting because of the simplicity of the setup - using a gridded Profoto RFi 1’×4? softbox (affiliate) to control the light, and a Lowel ID-Light (affiliate) as a back-light to give that warm glow to her hair. It really helped enhance  Read more inside...

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