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What are Canvas backdrops and why you should own one

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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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Light painting tools war: PixelStick Vs Magilight

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A few years back I heard of an interesting photography device. The Pixel Stick. It is a light painting tool that can “paint” images in the air based on jpgs. When it was launched, there was nothing quite like it in the market, and it made $600,000 on Kickstarter, which was very impressive for the time. The Pixel stick was a one of a kind for a very long time, but about a year ago, a similar contraption came to the market, The Magilight. Like the Pixelstick it was launched via crowdfunding and made just over half a mil. We took both tools to the desert for head to head test. Here are our thoughts:

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

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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

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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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This photo illustrates the impact of angle and photographic vision

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If you’ve been in the photography field for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard it. It’s not the gear, it’s the brains. And good photographers can see potential where others see dullness.

Take this Save The Date shoot from Tom Saimon (previously). No clouds, boring skies. Now, many photographers would have just used that scenery to create a nice set of sunset photos.

Tom, however, looks for the right place -a puddle, and the right angle – super low. Combining the two made for a slightly different shot that the usual sunset-in-the-background image.

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Four lighting setup for a dynamic fashion / sports shoot

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A while back Tom Saimon and I took the Godox AD600 for a spin. It was an awesome shoot of a sports trainer, and the results were quite satisfying. We got some great feedback on the shoot, along with some lighting questions, so we created these four lighting diagrams to help fellow photographers understand each scenario. Watch the movie, then hit the jump to see how each shot was created. Of course, when making your own, don’t just copy those, instead use them as a base for creating your own exciting work.

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We took the Godox AD600 for a test in the sand dunes

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We have heard quite a bit about the Godox AD600 and just had to take it for a test. We accompanied photographer Tom Saimon in a sports apparel shoot to see how the strobe performs in a harsh outdoors environment.

Overall, we were very impressed, both with performance and especially performance compared to price point. More sports photos and the full review after the jump.

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

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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

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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

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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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