recap: New York photo walks – Meatpacking District, NYC
Our model during today's photo walk in NYC - the divine Diana Chesk. Typically for this kind of dramatic light, I under-exposed the available light somewhat, and let the Profoto B1 flash (affiliate) pick up the slack in the exposure. The softbox used here was the Profoto OCF Beauty Dish (24?) (B&H / Amazon). It's small enough to make it easy to handle when we have to negotiate our way around, yet large enough to give soft-edged light.
The rain was coming down as a continual drizzle Read more inside...
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...
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...
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...
People skills for portrait & wedding photographers
The articles on the Tangents blog have focused heavily on the technical aspects of photography - lighting, posing, camera settings and such. But there is another essential ingredient for you as a photographer when you work with people - good social skills. This is invaluable - you can be a phenomenal photographer, but if you don't quite know how to make people immediately comfortable and trust you, then the photo shoot will not be as successful.
With New York’s vibrant culture and the imposing architecture, it’s often a 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...
