{"id":3698,"date":"2010-06-21T21:09:19","date_gmt":"2010-06-22T01:09:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/?p=3698"},"modified":"2018-01-03T22:04:58","modified_gmt":"2018-01-04T02:04:58","slug":"using-available-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/using-available-light\/","title":{"rendered":"photography using the available light"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

photography using only the existing light<\/h1>\n

Instead of a photo session where I had to rely on\u00a0off-camera lighting to give some color and snap to the photos<\/a>, I want to show a photo session where I used no additional lighting or reflectors. \u00a0Just the available light. \u00a0This photo session was shot in same area as the previous one, but a week later \u00a0with different light and a different couple, Kristy and Tom. \u00a0They were just as great to photograph with tons of personality, making my work easier. \u00a0But I still had to look for opportunity and great backgrounds.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Using off-camera flash makes a photo session relatively easier, since you can have fantastic light on the couple pretty much anywhere you place them. \u00a0Then it is a simple matter of finding an interesting or complementary background, and then try and capture some element of your subject – in this case, some part of the couple’s relationship with each other.<\/p>\n

For this photo session however, I decided to work on my own,
\nand rely on finding great existing light …<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Details for the image at the top:
\n1\/250 @ f3.5 @ 1600 ISO
\nNikon D3; Nikon 70-200 mm f2.8 AF-S VR II \u2026 at 100mm<\/span><\/p>\n

Details for the next two images:
\n<\/span>1\/160 @ f2.8 @ 1600 ISO
\nNikon D3; Nikon 70-200 mm f2.8 AF-S VR II \u2026 at 70mm<\/span><\/p>\n

The high ISO was necessary for these images, since the light, even though it looks very bright in the top image, was starting to get low. \u00a0And I needed a relatively high shutter speed to stop their movement. \u00a0I don’t get much digital noise with the Nikon D3 and will happily push the ISO up higher if need be – the idea is that it I can fix digital noise, but I can’t fix an unsharp image. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

When I mentioned looking for ‘great light’ in relation to portraits, I’m generally referring to not having dark eye sockets, or harsh uneven light on my subjects. \u00a0So in a case like this, with the hard sunlight on them, I posed the couple so that the light falls evenly on their faces.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

1\/200 @ f8 @ 400 ISO
\nNikon D3; Nikon 70-200 mm f2.8 AF-S VR II \u2026 at 70mm<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

With backlight, it becomes a lot easier. \u00a0The open shade gives soft light, while the light from behind gives rim-lighting, which helps separate them from the background.<\/p>\n

1\/250 @ f4 @ 400 ISO
\nNikon D3; Nikon 70-200 mm f2.8 AF-S VR II \u2026 at 120mm<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

So much of the photo session’s success depends on the energy of the couple. \u00a0The photographer can’t fake it or force it. \u00a0If a couple has dynamic personalities and easily interact with each other, then the session can only have great results. \u00a0Now it just depends on the photographer’s composition, use of light and timing.<\/p>\n

1\/400 @ f4 @ 1250 ISO
\nNikon D3; Nikon 70-200 mm f2.8 AF-S VR II \u2026 at 150mm<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I easily let the lens flare, giving that warm golden glow<\/a>. \u00a0The image then needs adjusting in post-production though to bring the exposure down, and increase the contrast.<\/p>\n

1\/400 @ f4 @ 1250 ISO
\nNikon D3; Nikon 70-200 mm f2.8 AF-S VR II \u2026 at 200mm<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

1\/320 @ f4 @ 640 ISO
\nNikon D3; Nikon 70-200 mm f2.8 AF-S VR II \u2026 at 200mm<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If this setting here might look familiar, it is because I used the images I took of Kristy here as illustration for the article on choice of the camera’s white balance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

1\/160 @ f3.5 @ 1600 ISO
\nNikon D3; Nikon 70-200 mm f2.8 AF-S VR II \u2026 at 175mm<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

1\/200 @ f4 @ 1000 ISO
\nNikon D3; Nikon 70-200 mm f2.8 AF-S VR II \u2026 at 150mm<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Here I specifically wanted a similar pose and image as I used the week before with the other couple<\/a>. Mostly because it is a cool background, but also as a comparison to the photo where I used flash in a softbox to clean up the light.<\/p>\n

1\/250 @ f4 @ 1250 ISO
\nNikon D3; Nikon 70-200 mm f2.8 AF-S VR II \u2026 at 125mm<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

1\/160 @ f2.8 @ 1600 ISO
\nNikon D3; Nikon 70-200 mm f2.8 AF-S VR II \u2026 at 180mm<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

For the final sequence of images, I wanted the yellow New York taxi cabs in the background. \u00a0For color, but also for their headlights creating interesting patterns and shapes .. and providing some rim-lighting.<\/p>\n

1\/160 @ f2.8 @ 1600 ISO
\nNikon D3; Nikon 70-200 mm f2.8 AF-S VR II \u2026 at 185mm<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For the closing image, I chose one where I waited for the taxi cab’s headlights to reflect in the cobblestones behind them. \u00a0That accent of warm color helps break the monotonous grey paving.<\/p>\n

1\/100 @ f2.8 @ 1600 ISO
\nNikon D3; Nikon 70-200 mm f2.8 AF-S VR II \u2026 at 160mm<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

As a final note, I want to make the observation that by observing the existing light – the quality and direction of the light – it was possible to come up with a variety of images that would please my clients. \u00a0In taking care during<\/strong> the shoot to look for good opportunities and great light, it was possible to set up the photos so that the images needed a minimum of post-processing work. \u00a0No need to remove ugly shadows and casts. \u00a0Just the use of the existing light, carefully considered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

photography using only the existing light Instead of a photo session where I had to rely on\u00a0off-camera lighting to give some color and snap to the photos, I want to show a photo session where I used no additional lighting or reflectors. \u00a0Just the available light. \u00a0This photo session was shot in same area as Read more inside…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22,31,42,1],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3698","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-lighting","8":"category-photo-shoot","9":"category-technique","10":"category-uncategorized","11":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3698"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3698"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33477,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3698\/revisions\/33477"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3698"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=3698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}