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Photographing People Using Wireless Lighting Techniques (cont.)Advanced Content

© Tom Bol Loading...

© Tom Bol

D700, AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, 1/160 second, f/9, ISO 200, Manual exposure, Matrix metering, SB-900

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And once he started dreaming up ideas, it was hard to turn it off. The cemetery shot, for example, came from the location. "It's near my home in Ft. Collins [Colorado]," Tom says, "and I've driven by a zillion times. I used to run through there on long runs, and one day it was foggy and misty and I thought, there's a shot that has to be done here. I thought, a woman, with a flower, visiting someone." Once again, he used the cool white balance/warming gel technique. "To really compress the tombstones I had to use a long lens—the 200-400mm [AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G IF-ED] at 400mm."

Sometimes the ideas, and the locations, come from the models. The tango dancers, for instance. "The trick was the location," Tom says. "Buenos Aires is a very busy city, but we ran into this couple in a plaza—they were the real thing, real tango dancers, and they knew of a blocked-off road, and it was a beautiful cobblestone street. We walked over at twilight, got the shots and got out of there. They wanted shots for their portfolio, so it worked out beautifully."

All but four of the photos here were done with SB-800s and SB-900s; the exceptions demanded the power and recycle speed of location strobes. For the majority of his work these days, though, Tom says "you can't beat the simplicity and portability of those SB flash units."

Combining flash technology with people as his subject matter has opened up a whole new area of possibilities for Tom. "I can be dramatic with lighting, or playful, or just experiment and dream up ideas. I can be mysterious or puzzling...or anything I want. Light makes it all work."

Tom Bol's website features a variety of his images of people, places and outdoor adventures as well as complete information on his photography workshops. 

Interested in learning more about how color temperature and warming gels can set the mood of a photo? Dave Black has an informative Nikon World column all about it right here.

Tom Bol has been an NPS member since 1996.