About Tom Saimon

Tom Saimon is a fashion and editorial photographer based in Haifa, Israel. You can see more of his spectacular work on his website say hi Facebook and Instagram

What are Canvas backdrops and why you should own one

December 30, 2018 by Tom Saimon 2 Comments

A canvas backdrop is a backdrop made, well, from a canvas. Canvas is a type of fabric that absorbs paint well, so it is often colored with textures, and this is what we are going to talk about today. We used canvases from Artery Backdrops, but what we say probably applies to all canvas backdrops.

I’ve heard canvases described in many ways, from cliche to regal and that really depends on how you use it. Annie Leibovitz has a canvas backdrop signature look, but so does those horrible portraits from the ’80s, so should you get one? Let me try and help.

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How does the Samyang AF 14mm 2.8 stack up against the 3X priced Canon 14mm 2.8 lens

October 15, 2018 by Tom Saimon 4 Comments

When it comes to buying a new lens, the question is always there: Do I buy the Brand’s lens (Canon, Nikon, etc.) or do I buy a third party lens for a fraction for the price. I was wondering the same thing. Specifically with regards to $2,1000 Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM Lens vs the (a third of the price) $700 Samyang Rokinon AF 14mm f/2.8 Lens for Canon EF*. We were surprised by the results. [image above shot with the Samyang lens]

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This shoot only cost us $100 to produce

June 24, 2018 by Tom Saimon 3 Comments

My team and I were given the task to shoot the crew of a nightclub for their “summer” theme, where they open up a huge balcony for partying. While the nightclub organized everything neatly, unforeseen circumstances “killed” the set we were going to use. We took it upon ourselves to still give them a great set to match their summer theme, while still not completely breaking their budget.

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If you can only have one light, strongly consider a big octabox

February 5, 2017 by Tom Saimon 7 Comments

Well, of course, it won’t be just one type of light, you will also have a bare flash to play with. But if you can only have one modifier, I would say get a big octabox. But first, let’s define the octabox or as photographers fondly call her, the Octa.

The Octa is (usually) a fairly big source of light that has an octagonal front surface. Unlike a softbox for example, which has a square or rectangular surface. Of course, there are smaller octaboxs as well, but usually, when photographers want to use an Octa, they want that big semi-round light.

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My quest for the winery photo

August 2, 2016 by Tom Saimon 1 Comment

I found this crazy old winery in the golan (north of israel), and I immediately fell in love with the place. Specifically, the front yard of the winery has some old vines and a gravel road. Those created a wonderful symmetry and a great pallet of color to work with. So with the location set, I started to build a shoot around it.

I set a pan in motion. Starting with a model – Hila Bouskela, a designer – Kamelia Mor Toledano; through deciding on the lighting scheme all the way to planning the time of day to get a perfect sky.

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How I shot this 4X5 large format portrait of Assassin’s Creed’s Altaïr in Akko

June 2, 2016 by Tom Saimon 5 Comments

Bringing something to life is always exciting for me.

One of my friends was playing Assassin’s Creed and I caught a few seconds of the game. (Then minutes…, then hours…). I immediately fell in love with the characters, and we got into an Assassin’s Creed conversation. After a few minutes of talking, my friend told me that the map for the first game was made from the ancient cities Acco and Jerusalem.

I got hooked! I knew that I have to make Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad come alive through my photography.

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