When we think of off-camera lighting, we usually immediately think of off-camera flash. But there is another option: off-camera continuous lighting. One main advantage that continuous light for portraits has over flash is the WYWIG aspect - what you see is what you get. It is easier and faster to position the light to better effect for your portraits. This of course is only viable when working in relatively low light. In brighter light, you'd obviously be better of using proper flash photography.
With a photo session in New Read more inside...
With a headshot / business portrait photo session in Manhattan with Yana, we spent most of the time outside, using the New York cityscape as an out of focus background. But then we also had access the library / lounge area of the apartment complex Yana lives in.
The outdoor session was mostly the ambient light outside, with some fill-flash from an off-camera flash. The B10 was more than powerful enough to work with the existing light like that.
Profoto B10X flash (B&H / Amazon)
Profoto OCF Beauty Dish Read more inside...
The use of video lights is a regular theme on the Tangents blog. Specifically, the best LED video light is a versatile must-have piece of gear in my camera bag. Not only do I use it at weddings, I also use it on location shoots. For example, while photographing the interior of one of the largest hardware stores in Manhattan, I used an LED video light to bring up some detail in the more shadowy areas in the shelves and corners. Easier to just point the hand-held video light than to set up off-camera lighting. Especially because the Read more inside...
Using the Profoto B1 modeling lamp as a video light
Looking through the past articles on this blog, you'll notice that I love using a video light for low-light photography. A video light adds that sense of drama to portraits, and very often blends better with the existing ambient light, than flash would.
Lately though, I haven't bothered to bring a video light to weddings for the romantic portraits - I already have the Profoto B1 there with a substantial enough modeling light! Less gear to carry with me! Since I rely heavily on my Profoto B1 flashes (B&H / Amazon), I Read more inside...
The dramatic look that video lights lend to photographs, is a regularly explored topic on Tangents. I also cover the use of video light in my book Direction and Quality of Light.
The video lights that I have been favoring, are the Lowel ID-Light (affiliate), but like other halogen video lights, it tends to run hot. LED video lights (affiliate) that are meant to be hand-held or mounted on a camera, also tend to be under-powered for some uses. And since video lights tend to be small light sources, their light is quite Read more inside...
Using video lights for outdoor night-time portrait photography
These outdoor night-time portraits of the bide and groom were taken on the streets in Baltimore. We sneaked away briefly from the reception to shoot a few impromptu portraits. With the unpredictable nature of found light out on the streets at night, we had to use additional lighting - and my choice was an LED video light (affiliate). The beauty of these kind of lights is that the White Balance can be changed from Incandescent to Daylight. This helps immeasurably in matching your light to that of the existing Read more inside...
