When I first started moving beyond just using a speedlight, towards off-camera flash and studio level lighting gear, I had a few detours via other brands like Quantum flashes and Lumadyne, but decided at some point to buy into the renowned Profoto brand. My first serious flash unit was the Profoto AcuteB 600R which I eventually upgraded to the Profoto B1 when that was released. From there on I stayed with Profoto via the Profoto B10 and Profoto A1 flash.
If I had to make the decision all over again, having the money to spend again, I Read more inside...
Dynamic off-camera flash - New York elopement wedding
This photo is my favorite taken during Ruth & Philip's New York elopement wedding in Central Park. The genuine affection between them as the couple hugged their children closer during the ceremony in the park.
The essential element in photographing weddings is to capture the revealing moments and all the important points of the event. As a photographer, you can't skip a beat. That's a given. What you add to that in terms of composition and choice of lenses, and how you use light, (as well as post-processing), will define Read more inside...
I had another opportunity to do promotional photos for Home Free, the A Capella group. Some of the previous photo shoot was described in this article - On-location lighting problem solving. This time we met at another location - a farm which also doubled up as a reception venue. This offered us some outdoor areas, as well as a more barn-like area.
From the art director and manager's description of what they wanted, as well as photos of the location, I knew that if I flat-lit this with large light sources, it would lose some of the Read more inside...
Photo shoot with Off-camera flash - Adapting to opportunity
One of the fun elements of the Photo Walks in NYC, is looking for opportunity, and being ready for any serendipitous moments. We were photographing Claudia, using the Profoto B1 TTL flash (affiliate), and a 3' octa-box as our off-camera lighting setup. Of course, we could also shoot available light ... or sweeten it with a touch of off-camera flash. We have options in how we use light. It's all part of the adventure of looking for great photos.
In this instance, there was this reflective metallic wall on three sides of Read more inside...
Bringing just the necessary photo gear and lighting gear to an on-location shoot, is balanced by the need to bring enough to cover any eventuality and possibility. A tough balance between risking not having the right gear, and being laden down with too much gear. I had the interesting opportunity to work with my friend Daniel Featherstone, and collaborate him with him on the lighting during his photo shoot for New York Fashion designer, SR1990. (The day-long photo shoot was at Opus 40, where I shot also some B&W infrared images during Read more inside...
High-speed flash sync (HSS) with the Profoto B1 flash
The already impressive Profoto B1 flash (B&H / Amazon) became even more awesome in Dec 2014 when high-speed flash sync (HSS) capability was added through a firmware update.
The photo above was taken at 1/2000 @ f/1.4 @ 100 ISO. I wanted that super-shallow depth-of-field, and I wanted the light to be more flattering than you'd get from a bare speedlight. In this case, I used a Profoto RFi 1'×3' softbox (affiliate), with the Profoto B1. (I kept both baffles on the softbox.)
The summary: it Read more inside...
Progression of an idea in a photo session - cosplayer, Ger Tysk
For me, there's always some anxiety before a photo session - especially when you have the opportunity to photograph someone quite unusual and photogenic like Ger Tysk, a cosplayer. (She also creates cosplay outfits for others, and has published a book on Cosplay.) Her latest outfit is Black Widow (from Marvel.) Now, the stressful part before a photo session like this, is that there is the pressure of having a great opportunity, and then having to create a photo series that is worthy of the moment. Even if you don't quite Read more inside...
Controlling off-camera flash with a gridded stripbox / softbox
With this photo session of Carina and Carolina, (yes, they are twins), I decided to start off with a landmark spot in New York - Staple Street. That bridge walkway between the two buildings, and this surprising alley has somehow become a landmark. Yet, it works. That walkway makes a perfect frame at the top of photographs.With the tall buildings in Manhattan, you usually get brighter areas or sky towards the top, or you get more buildings in the background. But here, you get that neat visual border. Nice!
Shooting on Read more inside...
Photographing a vintage motorbike on location with Profoto lighting gear
I'm getting to meet so many people while photographing interesting subjects for my book, Lighting & Design, that I was bound to meet some truly interesting characters. John collects vintage ... oh, everything. Most impressive in a way, is John's workshop where he maintains his two vintage era motorbikes and a Model A Ford. The tools in his workshop are all authentic to the era ... and they work. The way John describes it, it actually makes sense in the way he maintains everything with hand-tools and lathes Read more inside...
Regular followers of Tangents, and everyone who has a copy of my book, off-camera flash, should be familiar with the Modern Gypsies. They are a performance group in Brooklyn and I count myself fortunate that I sometimes get to collaborate with them on promotional photos for them. It's always exciting to work with inspiringly creative people. At the start of the month, we got together for another series of photo shoots, of which this is the first of the four. I'll post the other sections in follow-up articles.
The theme here - Silver Read more inside...
