I’ve been very happy with the older 70-200mm f2.8 VR telephoto zoom. Even even though the edges are softer than the center, it never bothered me. With weddings, I am mostly only interested in the center portions of the image being super-crisp. Similarly, the vignetting didn’t bother me. I usually add more vignetting in post-processing anyway.
Doing a few test shots around the house, and was immediately impressed. It is sharp! I like sharp. Every thing about this lens is good news. Focusing is faster, and flare is very well controlled. There has been considerable debate about the shortening of focal length with this lens as you focus closer and closer. Yet, I would never have noticed it if I hadn’t been told about it. For my work, a total non-issue.
One of the features of this new lens, is that it has even more aggressive vibration reduction / stabilization. So even though I do take my shutter speeds low at times, my advice is always that if you want sharp images, the first thing you need to do is make your shutter speed much faster. Now, I’ve never been one to really be able to hold my camera steady without careful control or with steadying myself against a wall. So for me, vibration reduction is an essential feature on long lenses .. especially since I don’t work with a tripod for the style of photography I do.
At a wedding on Saturday, where I was the second shooter for a friend, I was able to see how the VR worked during an actual photo shoot. During the ceremony I took photos of the guests sitting in the dark temple. How dark? 1/6 th @ f2.8 @ 2000 ISO kinda dark …
This striking photograph was taken by Stephanie Zettl, who as our guest blogger this time, tells us more about how this image came to be …
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Can you identify what inspires you and your work?
by Stephanie Zettl
Inspiration should not be confined to one thing. The more we study and experience art, music, and films the more material we have to enhance the style and impact of our photography.
My most recent magazine cover was based on my love for music. The different musical genres influenced the style of the dress, hair and makeup of the shoot.
The cover photo is my homage to Herman Leonard – a photographer famous for his photos of jazz musicians – and all those wonderful jazz movies of the 1940s and 50s. I wanted my model to take the role of a Jazz Diva singing in a lounge. In order to emulate this look, I knew that I would be shooting in black and white, my lighting would have the look of strong directional stage light, and a little grain or “noise” would not be a bad thing.
That being said, this was still a fashion shoot and I wanted the main light on my model to still have a beauty light aspect to it and show off the dress and styling in a flattering way.
The stage that we were working on was equipped with four spot lights that could be slightly directed to illuminate the stage and the musicians. Because the dark lounge also had some wall sconces that I wanted to make sure showed in the photo, I had to make sure my metering took them into account. I think they add to the mood of the photo and give a sense of space.
I brought my Profoto lighting kit, but found that because of the light levels for the existing lights, I could just use the modeling lights to balance with the other lights. They effectively became “hot lights” or constant source lights instead of strobes. Though there are some disadvantages, I actually like working with hot lights when possible because what you see is what you get when directing and shaping your lighting. (Video lights, like the Lowel ID light, are also considered constant light sources and you can find several of Neil’s articles on their use here.)
I had one light in a soft box to camera right on the model to provide soft frontal beauty light. There was a second light without a diffuser placed behind the trumpet player to provide separation from the background and rim light on my subjects. It also helped to further enhance that feeling of being on stage.
To give the intimate feel of a lounge setting I shot through the piano player to frame my model. The final shot was made at 1/60 sec, f2.8 at 1000 ISO.
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Stephanie Zettl and Chuck Arlund will be teaching a workshop entitled, “Inspiration, Application and Advice” February 10, 2010 in Nashville, TN. The workshop will include a morning seminar, an afternoon of shooting great models and an evening review of the photographs created during the workshop. The morning seminar will focus on finding inspiration and developing your style in a saturated market. During the day there will also be great advice about interacting with your clients for the best results and of course lots of great lighting demonstrations.
My entry this week for the Alive for 365 project is this enigmatic landscape.
While on a hike in Magoebaskloof in South Africa (Dec ‘89), I wanted to portray some of the eeriness of walking through the misty forest that morning. I remember it being very quiet. I kept looking for *something* to photograph .. something that I could focus my attention on. But there wasn’t anything specific. Just the trees and the sloping mountainside fading away into nothing as your gaze wandered further. Then I realized that that is exactly what I wanted to encapsulate in a photograph.
So instead of trying to find a specific “thing” or a specific part of the landscape, or geometry or pattern or composition … this was just how it was … stark trees in the mist. Nothing else.
This is why this particular image appeals to me. I felt that this simple lateral movement in my mindset, got me closer to photographing the essential aspect of this particular landscape.
In finishing the image for the Alive for 365 site, I simplified the original image slightly …
I’m constantly amazed when I check my webstats and see this site referred to and discussed on the photography forums across the world. It’s also hugely flattering and humbling that photographers across the world have offered to do translations of various pages on this site. Currently there are translations into Chinese, Italian, French, Romanian, Polish and German.
The translations so far have mostly been published on other sites. However, I would like a more coherent structure to all the various translations. What I intend is to run parallel blogs, all with the same layout and structure. Due to the nature of any blog, the order of the blog posts will be very different between all the others.
Here is the German translation of the Tangents blog posts and articles. Thank you to Michael Krause who did the work here!
I still need to improve the actual look of the blog. At the moment it is just the barebones structure. But the material is there. I’ll finesse the look of the blogs in the next few weeks. In fact, if a reader of this blog is well versed with the Thesis wordpress theme, let me know. I could use the help.
I have the frameworks ready for the Russian blog, and a Spanish blog, as well as one for the intended Dutch translation. I’ll make them active once the material has been collated properly and posted.
The current translations spread across various sites will be gradually copied to the new blogs, and I would like all future translations to be posted there to keep it all coherent and organized.
With this new system, the brunt of the work won’t necessarily fall on the shoulders of just one person. There can be a number of people working on any particular blog, translating different posts and articles. To enable this, I can create Editor accounts for those who are doing the translations, so that they can edit the material directly on the different translation blogs. Contact me if you’re interested in helping.
I look forward to working with everyone in expanding this. Thank you!
Until recently, I’ve been a PC user. I didn’t have much interest in using a Mac, although I dearly loooove my iPhone and iPod. I also have a high appreciation for Apple’s minimalist design and aesthetics. Macs do look very cool.
Yet I didn’t feel the need or desire for a Mac. PCs run fast. It’s a stable platform with a wide choice of programs. On top of that, there were some things which put me off the Mac. The thing I found most annoying was the fanboyism of the Mac enthusiasts. Any problem you’d encounter on a PC, you’d get a gloating chorus of, ”just use a Mac.” Equally aggravating was the assertion that Macs are sooo intuitive. You know what? If Macs were so intuitive you wouldn’t have to explain their operation to me, would you?
Initially I was a little under-whelmed with the Mac experience, but then a few things fell into place for me in terms of software and hardware options … and then I switched my main computer that I work on (ie the laptop), over to the MacBook Pro. Suddenly it all made sense!
All of this will be old news to Mac lovers. When I was gushing about my new setup to a friend of mine last week, she just laughed, “Where have you been all this time?”.
The things that fell into place for me had a big impact on my post-production workflow and efficiency, and I’d like to share some of my observations and new experience …
I am sure the designer of this phonebox intended for it to have this distinctly cartoon-like face. When I saw this, it instantly drew my attention. It really looked to me like a constantly-surprised wide-eyed face. Something out of Disney’s animated movie, Beauty & The Beast. This then is my choice then for this week’s entry in the Alive for 365 project.
The photograph had some Photoshop work done to it to give it much more snap than the straight-out-of-the-camera version. Oh, and the lighting was bounce flash with available light …
An icy cold day in the Meatpacking District in Manhattan … and a brave model that insisted on going bare feet. That’s just a glimpse of the latest NYC Photog Shootout gathering that took place on Saturday. This shootout is part of the ongoing series of events arranged by Rob Nicholson. There were many familiar faces in today’s group amongst the new. Good opportunity to say hi to old friends, and make a few new ones.
As with the previous NYC shootout in June 2009 , I gave some instruction on some of the basics of manual off-camera flash to the groups. We worked with a Q-flash and a softbox (and sometimes without the softbox), and a bunch of Pocketwizards that I handed to anyone in the group who didn’t have. Strange thing – I ended up with one more pocketwizard than I started out with. Bonus! (Actually, if you were there and you’re missing one, let me know.)
It was a bit of the Wild West out there with the huge groups of photographers firing away.
The second group had an interesting addition to the shoot …
Francesco showed me this image on Facebook, rightfully proud of this captivating portrait. He mentioned that he used some of the techniques mentioned on this website. Since those techniques are accessible to every photographer , and the results can be so striking, I asked Francesco to expand a bit on how he shot this. He also explains a little about his post-processing in Photoshop.
Sometimes it is true that the best experiences are the result of an unplanned event. Whenever possible I always carry my camera bag with me. In it is a quick portrait setup consisting mainly of my Nikon D700 with the Nikon 70-200mm 2.8 VR lens, and a SB900 speedlight … and of course a handmade half snoot made with a black piece of cardboard velcroed to the flashgun.
The opportunity for this picture came while at work when one of my friends and former colleague decided to visit us with his beautiful little son. I do not work full time in a photo studio. Nothing was scheduled nor planned ahead, but I can say this made this picture even more rewarding …
My entry this week for the Alive for 365 project, is this image taken in Cork, Ireland during my trip there last year. I visited Cork for a few days to present two workshops on flash photography, and immediately fell in love with the historic city. It was a simultaneous pleasure just exploring the place, and taking a short break from a hectic schedule.
The reason why this image is my choice for the week? It was by request. (Check the comments at the end of that page.)
The one type of photo session where I work the most at getting my lighting just right, is with a boudoir session. I find these intimate photo sessions quite a challenge. I have to get a variety of looks in a short time. For this I have to not only concentrate on posing and angles but also concentrate on the lighting. On top of that, I have to make sure my model or client is comfortable and relaxed at all times. The session has to be fun and really show her off at her best.
I bring a variety of lighting equipment to these shoots – speedlights to be used on camera, and as a softbox setup. I also favour video lights.
But I keep the equipment portable and compact and easy to set up .. which means that I mostly use available light where I can. By closely looking at the direction of the various light sources in a room, I can position my subject in relation to the light (eg, a window), or simply move the light source if it is a bedside table lamp.
With the light levels fairly low indoors, this necessitates fast optics and high-ISO capable cameras. The style that I prefer is sensual and romantic. Sexy without being overly sexual. With boudoir photography, I feel that a ‘hint’ works better than being more direct. But styles and tastes vary of course.
An example of where I used the soft light coming through the window as the main light source. I didn’t add any light to this. The window light was soft, and it was the dominant light source from this viewpoint. Easy to use. Now I could concentrate on directing the flow of her movement.
The image above was shot ‘with’ the direction of light, giving even light on her. It is also good to break it up a bit and shoot ‘against’ a light source, or at an angle to a main light source …
