Tag Archives: Flash

What you need on the beach

Posted on April 20, 2013 by Michael Willems

…is an umbrella, and an off-camera flash in that umbrella, as I said the other day. Some of you have asked “why” – so here’s why. Bride and dad, with no flash: Same, but with flash in an umbrella: As … Continue reading →

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Building a studio portrait

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Michael Willems

A “standard” studio portrait is very simple to build if you have three or four flashes; and it is entirely repeatable, that is its beauty. Here’s how you do it in six easy steps: ONE set the camera to settings … Continue reading →

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The Outer Limits of Flash

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Michael Willems

When using flash, as you know, I very often use just one off-camera speedlight in an umbrella, like this: But as you have read here before, there will often be limits to what you can do in practice. These limits … Continue reading →

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Rhonda

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Michael Willems

Here, from Friday’s workshop, is a photo of Rhonda: Wonderful smile, truly! So that photo is good before we even start – how can you fail with a subject like that? And yet, we have to get the focus and exposure right. Especially exposure … Continue reading →

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Shampooey Goodness™

Posted on March 23, 2013 by Michael Willems

You have heard the term “hair light”? It’s the Shampooey Goodness™ look that makes hair look alive and wonderful. That is why we use it in portraits. In yesterday’s flash course, I shot a few images of one of the … Continue reading →

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Wednesday Possibilities

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Michael Willems

Today, some shots to get your imagination going – shots that show how much is possible with little effort, and quickly. Shots I took in and between classes in mere seconds, to demonstrate specific points. Like this quick demonstration shot … Continue reading →

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Beginner’s Flash Mistake

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Michael Willems

Has this ever happened to you? You want an outside picture with a blurred background. So you set your aperture to a low number, and click, a nice enough picture. But your subject is a little dark, so then you … Continue reading →

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Simple means (redux)

Posted on March 9, 2013 by Michael Willems

For my new students, in today’s class: as you see, once you kow the techniques, you can keep it simple. Like today’s shots: One minute’s work or less, prior to the class, self portrait. Shot “so the ambient light does … Continue reading →

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Of Indoors Flash, And The Mode You Use

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Michael Willems

When you shoot with a flash indoors, what exposure mode should your camera be in? Of course I would say “manual” – my camera is almost always in manual exposure mode. But why do I say that? Why manual – … Continue reading →

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Light Shifter

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Michael Willems

Your camera, as regular readers here know, is a light shifter. It shifts light to not “what it is”, but “what you want”. So the first question you always (always) ask when doing a flash shot is, what should the … Continue reading →

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