Neil van Niekerk - On-camera flash: techniques for digital wedding and portrait photography

Copyright 2016 by Neil van Niekerk

All rights reserved.

All photographs by the author unless otherwise noted.

Published by:

Amherst Media, Inc., P.O. Box 586, Buffalo, N.Y. 14226, Fax: 716-874-4508

www.AmherstMedia.com

Publisher: Craig Alesse

Senior Editor/Production Manager: Michelle Perkins

Editors: Barbara A. Lynch-Johnt, Harvey Goldstein, Beth Alesse

Associate Publisher: Kate Neaverth

Editorial Assistance from: Carey A. Miller, Sally Jarzab, John S. Loder

Business Manager: Adam Richards

Warehouse and Fulfillment Manager: Roger Singo

ISBN-13: 978-1-60895-955-6

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015939888

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without prior written consent from the publisher.

Notice of Disclaimer: The information contained in this book is based on the authors experience and opinions. The author and publisher will not be held liable for the use or misuse of the information in this book.

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Contents

1. Foreword
   by David A. Williams

Contents

by David A. Williams

Photo by Annie Sullivan Photography.

N eil van Niekerk, originally from Johannesburg, South Africa, is a wedding and portrait photographer based in northern New Jersey. He graduated with a college degree in electronic engineering and worked as a television broadcast engineer in South Africa (while pursuing photography as a parallel career) before deciding to settle in the United States in 2000.

On the topic of what drives him as a photographer, Neil van Niekerk says, I love photography for a variety of reasons. The stimulation and excitement of responding to new situations satisfies both my analytical and creative sides, and I also truly love working with people. I still have that amateurs delight in photography. I want to photograph and experience everything.

Neil van Niekerks Tangents website neilvn.com/tangents/ has become a popular destination for photographers seeking information on the latest equipment and techniques. Visit neilvn.com and oneperfectmoment.com to see more of Van Niekerks photography.

by David A. Williams, M. Photog., FRPS, ALPE

www.davidanthonywilliams.com

A ll photographers know that flash is so, well... complex, artificial, and downright un-arty, right? Available light rules! (Or does it? What do you do when the existing light is garbage?) In professional photography, the facts are often quite a bit different than what people say. There can be a significant divide between what we say and what we really mean. Here are a few translations:

1. I dont use flash because its so unnatural.

Translation: I dont know how to use flash.

2. Off-camera strobe is too much hard work.

Translation: I dont care enough to bother.

3. My customers dont know the difference.

Translation: I dont care enough to bother.

Well, have I got news for you! After reading this book, you will know how to use flash to great effect. After all, you do care about your customers, and you do care about improving, refining, and defining your own workregardless of your position in the greater photographic food chain (and, lets remind ourselves, that does include brides uncles and friends in their first year of art school).

Of course, I really should have written: After reading, studying, digesting, and thoroughly practicing the contents of this book... Ladies and gentlemen, we live in times of great and wonderful technology that has changed our industry more in the last ten years than in the century before. We also live in the age of the quick fixthe give it to me now and I dont do instructional books mentality. Among many photographers, this has resulted in a lack of knowledge about the craft of lighting and, more importantly, how to sculpt lighting. The quick-fix attitude is making many of us into photographic jellyfish, and the dumbing down of things we need to really know about being professionals is making us dull and often oh-so-very similar.

All too often, we think the answer is just to buy that new lens, new background, or the generic action set that promises to turn our images into hero shots without any effort on our parts. But have you ever noticed that under the surface of any top professionals photograph, there is an original capture with great light? So, if you want my simple advice, here it is: The answer is never the gear; its always the light.