Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips
There are times when you have to use a flash when shooting a wedding or portrait session. For example, if you are shooting outside and the sun has gone down completely, or if you are shooting inside with dim overhead lighting, a flash is a necessity. But whenever I can avoid it, I prefer taking advantage of natural light, even if it is waning in the half hour after sunset.
To get the most out of your camera, follow these guidelines: [Read more…]
A couple weeks back we saw a video from Karl Taylor where he gave a very straightforward and understandable explanation for the inverse square law of light. The above video is the second and final part of the discussion from Karl.
To reinforce Karl’s video again, the inverse square law in photographic lighting says: the intensity of light radiating from a source is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source.
As a result, an object 2 meters away from a light source, receives only one-quarter the light as an object that is 1 meter away from the source.
Check out this video from Karl Taylor as he shoots photos of a model with window light, studio lighting, then adds makeup and then adds post-production in Photoshop. It provides a pretty powerful demonstration of what not only Photoshop can do, but also what quality studio lighting can do for portraits.
Karl Taylor is back with another solid video. This time he’s breaking down the sometimes difficult-to-comprehend concept of the inverse square law into more understandable terms.
The inverse square law in photographic lighting says, the intensity of light radiating from a source is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the source. As a result, an object 2 meters away from a light source, receives only one-quarter the light as an object that is 1 meter away from the source.
Check out Karl’s video embedded above for a practical demonstration of this principle. And notice how Karl demonstrates it by shortening the ratio of distance between the two subjects and the light source.
Check out this video from Karl Taylor that covers flash sync speeds and why you can’t synchronize your flash on a higher shutter speed. He breaks down details of how focal plane and leaf shutters operate, as well as understanding how high speed sync works at the much higher shutter speeds (up to 1/8000s on some cameras).
Lighting companies are really starting to do some cool things with LED lights. Several companies are starting to offer LED fresnel lights that run cool and deliver high outputs of light on a minimal power draw. Lumos’ Hawk line was on display at NAB 2014, where it was showing off a 150w and a 50w version of the LED fresnel lights. [Read more…]
The Elinchrom BXR series has been a staple monolight for several years, earning respect and logging hours from many pro and enthusiast photographers. The BXR line is now discontinued and the new ELC Pro HD line takes up the mantle. [Read more…]
Last week, we covered Amazon‘s patent for studio photography on a white background. Stephen Colbert caught wind of the patent and had a little fun on his program yesterday. Check out the clip from last night’s show below. [Read more…]
We know lighting can change the overall mood and feel of images. It is also amazing just how much it can change the appearance of a person. In this teaser for Opale’s Sparkles and Wine music video, the cinematographer moves the light source rapidly around the face of the star, which causes her face to change as you watch it. [Read more…]
Amazon has had some pretty revolutionary ideas over the years. The Kindle is awesome. Prime is a great service. And drone delivery may be on the horizon. However, Amazon has gone a bit too far with one of its latest “inventions.”
Amazon Technologies, Inc. (a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc.) has legitimately patented studio the common studio photography method of photographing subjects on a seamless white background using a cyclorama and the USPTO actually granted the patent. [Read more…]