40 of the Most Powerful Photographs Captured in the Last Century |  |
- 40 of the Most Powerful Photographs Captured in the Last Century
- Position of Light in Photography
- Portable Butterfly Lighting Setup for Headshots (Video)
| 40 of the Most Powerful Photographs Captured in the Last Century Posted: 05 Nov 2013 04:27 PM PST It’s often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. More than words, though, photographs can stir up countless feelings. Photojournalists are especially skilled at choosing just the right time and angle to suspend time and set a compelling scene. This compilation of 40 of the most powerful pictures ever taken will flood you with a sea of emotion (for those of you reading this by email, the photo album can be seen here): These images, which range from devastating losses to celebratory reunions, are a testimony to the idea that pictures are worth more than words. One split second in time, recorded by an astute photographer, can forever evoke tears of joy or sorrow. Photographs are capable of capturing a piece of the human spirit. Which iconic photograph is most powerful to you? Go to full article: 40 of the Most Powerful Photographs Captured in the Last Century |
| Position of Light in Photography Posted: 05 Nov 2013 01:25 PM PST In today’s article, we shall look at how the position of light affects photography. As a photographer, I am frequently asked, how do I get such blue skies in my photographs. Some people go to the extent of suspecting that I am capable of turning white sky blue. There is no such thing, of course. The surest way to get a blue sky in your photograph is to shoot your photo when the sky is blue. Having said that, there are a few things you need to be aware of when you’re taking photographs, especially when you are traveling.  “Admiring the Landscape” captured by Alex Lewis (Click Image to See More From Alex Lewis) Always be aware of the direction of the sun. This is so important that when I arrange a tour, I try to find out the direction of the sun and time it so it is in the best possible position when I visit. The sun is our ultimate light source, and the result of our travel photographs are often heavily dependent on where it happens to be. Generally, you want the sun behind you when you take photos. That’s when you are more likely to get a blue sky, and shadows are all pushed away from you. Find out the direction that a tourist sight faces. If it faces east, visit it in the morning part of the day. If it faces west, visit it in the afternoon part of the day. If you are taking a photograph of people standing in front of a sight, the people should face the sun. That way, their faces are illuminated. Also, ask them to stand in the sun, so that their faces are not hidden in shadows. Visiting during the wrong time of the day can really spoil your shots, and you may just get the site in shadows. Unfortunately, some times you don’t have a choice – I know so often that I have to accept less than perfect situations, whether the sky wasn’t as blue as I wish it should be, of simply, the sun was not in the right direction. When we travel, we don’t have the luxury of returning to the same sight again and again if the weather wasn’t right. Under such circumstances, we have to just make do with what we have. Of course, in my case, I do my best to arrange the tours to coincide with the best time to see the places, to get the best weather, as well as to get the best lighting position. If you arrive at a place at the wrong time of the day, walk around and look for fresh angles. If the sun is not illuminating the best angle, find other interesting angles where you can still take your photograph. You may just come up with highly original shots of the sight that no one has thought of before. When taking outdoor shots, avoid mid-day. That’s when the sun is right at the top in the sky. The effect is rather “flat” photographs. Flat, but not flattering. If you have to continue shooting during mid day, then move indoors. Avoid situation where you have to depend on the sun for illumination.  “florie” captured by Flo Fairweather (Click Image to See More From Flo Fairweather) Sunrise and sunsets are two instances when you would break the rule of having the sun behind you. During sunrise and sunset, if you want the tourist sight to appear in profile or silhouette, you would position it in front of the sun. Such artistic shots don’t work well to add people standing in front of it. If you stand people with a sunset or sunrise behind them, for sure their faces are going to be in shadow. One way to prevent the people coming out in darkness is to use a fill-in flash. But better still, remove the people all together. About the Author Go to full article: Position of Light in Photography |
| Portable Butterfly Lighting Setup for Headshots (Video) Posted: 05 Nov 2013 11:44 AM PST Advertising is a funny thing. Its goal is to entice the viewer to purchase or otherwise further engage with the person, product, or service being sold. To do that often requires semantic trickery, as is the case of the following video, which is essentially a three minute advertisement for Matthews Studio Equipment masquerading as an instructional photography video. Yes, host and photographer Mark Wallace does give some valuable instruction on a Butterfly lighting setup, but check out this video, and you tell me just how portable this contraption really is: The hub of Wallace’s set up, as he is sure to point out, is the Matthews stand, the Baby Junior Triple Riser Stand with Wheels, from Matthews, he says again, probably to make good on a contractual obligation to drop the name as much as possible. And if you didn’t catch it when he said it either time, the makers of this video put up a Home Shopping Channel style screen, complete with the Matthews logo and some specifications, with links flashing on the screen directing you where to go buy it. And if you just noticed that I linked the product name above with a PictureCorrect affiliate link to purchase the stand on Amazon after criticizing the video above for doing pretty much the exact same thing, well….capitalism is a fickle mistress, and we all need to buy her some flowers now and again. But, Wallace is giving some good information here, and the more resourceful among us will figure out a way to DIY this thing on the cheap; it seems a real useful setup.
The riser stand is outfitted with a beauty dish up top, and a silver reflector jutting out below the light coming from the dish. The ability to roll on its wheels—from one side of a studio to the other—appears to be what merits the description “portable.” One look at the thick power cable dangling off it and trailing across the floor should dispel any notions you may have had about bringing this rig out into the forest for a shoot. But it’s nice to be able roll it around, moving it out of the way when it isn’t needed, and positioning it in front of your model when it’s time to start shooting again. As Wallace points out, the beauty of this system is that because everything is so close together—the lighting rig is brought as close as possible to the model, and the photographer stands just behind the light, shooting through the setup—metering is only required once. Once you’ve set your camera for the proper exposure, you can move your model around, experimenting with different backgrounds, and the lighting will easily follow. There’s no need to keep re-metering and adjusting your aperture or shutter speed for exposure. Like the Lord of the Ring Lights, there is one setting to rule them all. If you’re not sure what Butterfly Lighting is, check out one of earlier posts describing it and why you’d want to use it for head shots and portraits. Go to full article: Portable Butterfly Lighting Setup for Headshots (Video) |
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