An organization recently asked me to do event photography for a high-profile fundraising event. I accepted, despite never having done it before. It went quite well. Here’s how I went about doing it the first time out. “Can you take some photographs for us?” The Development Director of a large
If you’re ready to make your portraits stand out from the crowd, you should take a look at these easy-to-use rechargeable strobes. Are you ready to start working with off-camera flash? Good for you! Adding external lighting to your workflow will help you create dynamic images that will stand out
Living down in Florida, Mother Nature puts on a show at sunset almost daily. Big puffy clouds with reds, pinks and oranges make a beautiful backdrop against the teal water. This makes sunset at the beach one of my favorite places to take a portrait. To me, there is no
Let’s have a little look at photographing flowers and other things with a flash outdoors. While you might question why you need a flash outdoors while shooting in natural light, using a low-power flash can be very handy. Why use a flash or speedlight outside Even with available light, if
I love nighttime photography. There is such a sense of magic in capturing a scene despite the lack of visible light. In this walk-through, I will show you how I created this photo with a long exposure and flash. It’s really pretty simple, and a lot of fun, so give
Speedlights are a great lighting solution for portability. Much less power than studio strobes and no modeling lamp to see where the light is falling on your subject can make them difficult to use especially for a new photographer. In this video, “Lighting a Portrait with a Speedlight” from the
Let’s photograph a lit candle and not. It’s simple right? Well, maybe … The setup When I start to photograph anything, I ask myself “What is it?” By that I mean describe its properties. Looking at the candle, I see it’s round. No. Make that cylindrical. It’s reflective. It has
In many ways, I am a creature of habit. Whenever I make a purchase decision, I research it thoroughly. I read reviews, blogs and opinions. I try to make purchase decisions based on what I will get the most long-term use out of. Balanced, of course, with the budget. My
Yes, the snoot, the most underrated and underutilized light modifier I’ve been a professional photographer since 2005 and in that time I’ve tried a TON of different lighting modifiers. Umbrellas, softboxes, scrims, translucent umbrellas, umbrellas with diffusion, octo boxes, light spheres, barn doors, flags … you name it. But recently,
When you first get started with photography, you might only have an on-camera flash. Or, you might be limited and need to be mobile with your lighting. Using a flash on top of your camera can still be a powerful tool. And while pointing it toward the ceiling is a
Fill flash is a great way to work with the weather and lighting conditions we have at the moment. Oftentimes we can’t schedule our photoshoots around perfect sky conditions. Especially during the summer, the long days and high sun becomes challenging, leaving you guessing at having clouds in the sky,
In addition to the a7 IV announcement this morning, Sony has also announced two new flashes, the HVL-F60RM2 and the HVL-F46RM. Both are powerful wireless flashes made to offer precise control, enhanced high-speed and intuitive operability. They are designed to meet the needs of both professional and advanced content creators
