Posts from the category Photographic technique
Blog posts
There’s a lot of criticism in the world of photography. Not just the personal opinion of someone who likes or dislikes your photo, but also more general criticism on the subject of such things as originality and inspiration, equipment, or what makes a “photograph” as opposed to an creative image. The biggest argument used to…
The Blue Hour
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The time between sunset and complete darkness is known in photographic circles as “the blue hour”.
Ezybox Speed-Light
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First experiences with my new ultra-compact and ultra-light Ezybox Speed-Light softbox.
It’s not about the tool you use
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Pro photographer Zack Arias is thrown down the challenge of taking street portraits using nothing but a point-and-shoot camera and an optically-triggered second flash gun. Zack’s ebullient approach and the results we see towards the end of the film show that photography isn’t about using really expensive equipment.
Thank heavens for digital tone mapping
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You may recall that I wrote about HDR technique some time ago, and a technique I employed at a wedding last weekend reminded me to write about the alternative: Tone Mapping and Zone System exposure.
The second of two photographic portraiture and lighting days this summer will take place at the Rolex Learning Centre on the grounds of the EPFL in Lausanne on Sunday 19th August.
Free lighting and portraiture day
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After a break of almost two years, and a handful of small lighting courses both on location and in the studio, I’ve decided to organize another free day of photography and learning in the style of the Swiss Strobist days.
Photographing groups
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Tips on lighting, herding and photographing groups of people when time is limited.
Lens sharpness across a range of apertures
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I’ve been disappointed by the image quality of my landscape photographs from time to time, where the images viewed at full size on my computer screen at home are lacking in detail and very soft. However, I’ve also noted that the results vary from shoot to shoot and occasionally from shot to shot. Having reviewed…
Studio workshop
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I ran the latest of my photographic workshops last weekend and chose (mainly because of the time of year) to hold it in the studio. Thanks to the ready availability of the studio space at Satzart in Bern, we were able to use the spacious room to cover basic introduction to the Elinchrom equipment and…
Studio training course in Bern
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I ran a course earlier in the year on the subject of portraiture and lighting, which was very well received by the attendees and which I really enjoyed organizing. I’ve been planning to run a similar photo course for a while now, and have decided that the next event will take place on the weekend…
Inspiration: Gregory Crewdson
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Whilst presenting my One Frame Movie photos at the Open Show in Lausanne this week, I mentioned Gregory Crewdson. I first became aware of his work in 2008 via David Hobby’s blog and have admired his process ever since. He’s technically more of a film director than a photographer, albeit that the result of his…
Swiss Strobist – the next level
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I’m happy to announce that starting in June, I’ll be taking the Swisss Strobist workshops to the next level. Moving away from the previous days with large groups of attendees, I’ll be leading affordable half- and one day courses both on location and in the studio. Each course is specially prepared for photographers who have…
Fountain Court, Hampton Court Palace
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Sometimes, there’s more to a picture than meets the eye, and the natural surroundings need a little help. Whilst I do my best to eliminate fakery in my landscape and architectural photography, sometimes a little patience, lateral thinking and light use of Photoshop can work wonders.
Out of the blue
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Jo posed for me in the stairwell to an underground car park during last Sunday’s Swiss Strobist practical day, whilst I fiddled with the camera white balance to create an unusual effect.
Take the tourist shot
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When I first planned to hike to Bachalp above Grindelwald, I had envisaged not taking the photo above. However, the reception which the photo has received since posting it to Flickr has made me glad that I did.
Fun with timelapse photography
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I’ve tinkered with timelapse photography at several points over the past few years, and have begun to refine my technique using a digital SLR over the past few weeks. This article explains how, with an example sequence of a cruise ship leaving Invergordon in Scotland.
Strobism isn’t everything
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I’ve learned a lot about artificial lighting over the past few years and invested a great deal of time to hone my skill. However, I feel that it’s time to put the equipment to one side for a while and focus on using more natural light.
Ewok View
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Shallow depth of field brings a special feeling to a photograph, altering scale and reality so it looks just a little unusual. By setting a wider aperture in your camera, the depth of field will become smaller and the areas nearer to and further away from the camera will be more and more out of…
Experiments in HDR
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I’ve been meaning to spend a little time to sit down and really get to grips with the High Dynamic Range editing process. For the unititiated, the HDR is a photo which contains detail within a much wider range of tones than is possible through an individual shot, from deep shadows to bright highlights.
