San Antonio Portrait Session with Dave

Dave, a local attorney and friend came to me asking about portraits for an update to his website and profile pages.  In “keeping it real” we decided to use the Bexar County Courthouse as the backdrop for the photo session.  Plus I am thrilled anytime I get to shoot in downtown San Antonio. We went for a number of different looks throughout the shoot and overall we were both really excited with the results.

In typical fashion I used a couple of speedlights to add a little drama and dimension to the scene.  Since the speedlights are small, quick, and easy to setup, they are great for location photo sessions.  The drawback is they lack the high power light output of larger strobes but since we were not shooting under midday sun I had plenty of power to get the lighting and look we were going for.

Behind the Scenes of Beatrice’s Bridal Session

Back in September 2011 I had a fantastic time of working with Beatrice on her bridal photos.  Given the blistering summer we had here in San Antonio, we opted for a morning shoot at the McNay Art Museum.  An added bonus was the opportunity to shoot unencumbered by the throngs of other photographers who would show up later, it pays to not sleep in.  Of course I posted some of the images on the blog after the wedding, but I wanted to throw a couple more up for fun.

The first image is a behind the scenes shot.  Unfortunately I did not get my lighting set-up in this shot, but it was rather simple.  I was using two speedlights, one to camera left at a 45′ angle to Beatrice with an umbrella to soften the light.  I had the second bare speedlight set up camera right and just behind her to throw some highlight on her dress.  Of course I balanced everything with the sunlight to get a dramatic looking image.  The behind the scenes image was a quick shot to get an idea of the exposure for the sky.  The second image is the result of the setup.

Adding light to make an amazing photo

 

For a photographer lighting is what brings his art to life.  It is critically important to understand and work with the light within an environment, but it is also important to fashion light to work for you.  The onelight, and more generally, the speedlighting movement is about creating and molding light to provide the atmosphere for an image.

I came across this article on the Nikon blog regarding Sam Barker and his photography.  The article goes into explanation of how Sam has used his equipment and Nikon speedlights (flashes) to produce some stunning travel images.

The principles discussed in the article are not far removed from wedding photography and can be carried over into the typical wedding event.  In wedding photography the lighting is always dictated by the venue and location.  Add to this the fact that many weddings will include a variety of lighting scenarios, which may likely change as the day progresses.  Wedding photographers have to be versatile and show a good understanding of light and how to maximize what is there along with providing additional atmosphere when needed.

With the newer technology it is much easier today to add additional light to a scene.  The equipment is much smaller and lighter, and technology has reduced the amount of equipment needed.  If you are interested in knowing more about how onelight is used in my style of shooting for wedding events, click here to see my articles on the subject.