Building techniques, always improving and unexpected uses of past work...

So how do I catch up on here on the last six months?

I have been building a business while handling everything life throws at one. The last few months saw me doing many shoots for agencies and government bodies.

The downside to this is that I am not allowed to use these images. The upside is that I can eat. I am sure you will understand that I am not complaining too much.

I do find myself lusting over better lighting and I am privileged to use the best of Profoto on occasion. Their OCF systems are not cheap but, oh boy, do they work well!

As for the most I rely on my on-camera flash. Yes, you read that right, my ON-CAMERA flash. It is small, portable and highly effective when used with some thought.

Moving around and shooting on very tight time frames, every shoot holds a surprise or three. There is no time for studio type lighting set-ups.

Weather? You have to work with what you get. The deadline does not wait.

This has forced me to keep honing my technique. I would like to mention Neil van Niekerk again. If you want to learn truckloads about improving your lighting, go spend some time on his site. Go and search for his black cloth trick. If you photograph people you really want to have this Ace up your sleeve.

But ON-camera flash you say? You better believe it!

It does not matter if ceilings are too high to bounce off. That brown brick wall might be dirty but it will do the job. After all, what is the alternative?

A stack of brown cardboard boxes behind you? No problem, use them! Yes, good hotshoe flashes can manoeuvre into many wonderful angles.

There are many other little things I could share and I would love to but I lack the images to use in support of what I say. Yes I could recreate and shoot them but I do not have the time to do that. You will have to take my word for it. By all means go test and try what I say and if I had it wrong, tell me. That way we all learn.

Since we are talking about on-camera flash, let's mention neon lights.

If ever you find yourself in an environment where you shoot under or near neon lighting, switch them off. This is true for shooting with and without flash. I say this for reasons beyond white balance.

If it is not possible to switch them off - often if not always the case - be sure to watch your shutter speed. You want to use a shutter speed of 1/60 or 1/30. Neon lights work at around 60Hz. This means that they pulse around sixty times per second. This is fast enough so human eyes perceive constant light.

Apart from the sickly green cast neon lighting causes, flash brings another can of worms to the party. Sure, neon lights come in warm white and cool white but they are white, right? Uhhmmm no...

You see, the problem with flash and neon light lies in shutter synchronization. Most modern cameras will synchronize the shutter and flash at a shutter speed of around 1/200 or 1/250 of a second. This captures only a small fraction of the complete pulse cycle emitted by neon lighting.

The result? Very interesting colour shifts even if the flash overpowers the neon.

For this reason a 1/30 of a second would be the ideal shutter speed. It captures two complete pulse cycles emitted by the neon light. A shutter speed of 1/60 would also work since this will capture one complete pulse cycle.

In saying this, remember that you will also need to consider the focal length of the lens you are using. If you shoot a 70-200mm lens at 200mm even a 1/60 second shutter could be a problem. Practice often and know your limits. Review your results on-camera as you go and do zoom in. Reshooting is rarely an option.

As for sharing images I recently worked through some images of the last decade or so. I found this specific one of a family member who passed away in the last few days.

Losing a loved one in the family is always sad and traumatic regardless of the facts. As photographers we collect and curate images that may have value years down the line. Make it a goal to do this with the best results you possibly can. Always push yourself to get results that little bit better.

Somewhere in the future someone will be thankful that you did!