Dramatic Portraits by Anna Somewhere

Few words about the photographer:

I was a kid when my father gifted me my first camera and after that I could’t stop taking photos. Studying architecture at University in Russia , I realized how art can change the world and how many wonderful places on our planet Earth. At that moment I desisted that I want to become a professional travel photographer and share the beauty of the world with others. Most recently, I relocated to New York City. In 2019 it was finally time for me to build the website I always dreamed of having to plan my travels.

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Photographer https://anna-somewhere.com

About this location:

“Art Wall” studio 5 in New York has a new floor throughout the entire stage. Nicely finished laminate flooring brings more cozy atmosphere to the stage, so your sessions could run even smoother! Find out more about our new NY Studio 5 “Art Wall”! ‘s pricing and availability by visiting our website!

Become Better Photographer: Feeling Blue with David Bergman

*For more information visit AdoramaTV YT page, and of course you can keep up with David on Instagram and Twitter @DavidBergman. LATEST UPDATE: David opened up new IGTV episodes where you can ask him questions live! find out more at http://www.AskDavidBergman.com

Today’s tip with fabulous photographer David Bergman and AdoramaTV will be about the often overlooked ‘blue hour’.

David explains: “Have you ever taken a picture of a city at night, and it didn’t turn out exactly like you expected? It looks good through your eyes but just looks dark and uninteresting through the camera lens? The reason that pictures often don’t look right is that you’re shooting at the wrong time of day. You might think that it looks best when the sky is dark but then you have no detail in the sky and it’s a lot of wasted space in your photo.”

“Traditionally a good time to shoot is called Golden Hour, which is roughly the first hour after sunrise and the last hour before sunset, so the direct Sun is low in the sky, but a lesser used time of day is called ‘blue hour’, this is the time before sunrise and right after sunset. This is my favorite time of day to make night-time images you may not always see it with your eye, but there’s actually still some light in the sky, when the Sun is just below the horizon. Indirectly it’s lighting it up, and it’s usually a beautiful blue color! One advantage of ‘blue hour’ over ‘golden hour’ is that the buildings lights are already on, adding that genuine nighttime look to your images.”

“You can shoot a blue hour handheld with a fast lens and a high ISO but for the best results use a tripod. Slow down your shutter and drop your ISO. Longer exposures will help to bring out colors that you can’t even see with the naked eye. The next time you want to make a photo at night, get in position a bit earlier, and use the blue hour to bring some cool color into the sky.”

Check out our WORKSHOPS in Los Angeles that teach you hands-on how to make great photos!

Watch the full episode with David Bergman and Adorama TV:

Become Better Photographer: Disappearing Act with David Bergman

In today’s quick tutorial with the amazing David Bergman and his AdoramaTV show we are going to show you how to make a photograph where everyone disappears from a crowded scene.

“Normally when you take a picture you want to freeze the action. Here in New York City’s Times Square we have thousands of people walking around all day long. In the middle of the day you normally use a fast shutter speed, because there’s plenty of light and that will stop people in their tracks. But what if you don’t want to see all of those people? Well, instead of closing down Times Square there is another way to do it as you slow down the shutter speed on your camera, the moving objects will get more blurry!”

“Slow it down enough and you can make them almost disappear completely. But there are some other things you have to do to compensate. First of all you need to stabilize your camera. A tripod is the easiest way, but you can also rest the camera on something like a wall or the ground. A cable release is helpful so you don’t have to shake the camera when you push down on the button.”

“Lastly as you slow your shutter speed you have to compensate for the exposure by lowering your ISO and closing down your aperture. When you get into really long shutter speeds like two or five seconds, or longer, then you should use a neutral density filter over your lens. That cuts down the amount of light hitting the sensor and allows for much longer shutter speed.”

“So in this case I can make the same picture at a 200th of a second at one 5th of a second and at 5 seconds and you can easily see the difference. I’ve created a strangely quiet scene here in the middle of New York City, and it was a lot cheaper and easier than shutting down the streets!”

Check out our WORKSHOPS in Los Angeles that teach you hands-on how to make great photos!

Watch the full episode with David Bergman and Adorama TV:

Become Better Photographer: Metering Madness with David Bergman

New Yorker and photographer David Bergman with Adorama TV is going to talk about your camera’s metering modes and why you really don’t need them any more.

“When we talk about metering modes it’s all about getting proper exposure so that your images aren’t too bright or too dark. Most cameras have a light meter built right in, which reads through the lens and turns your exposure up or down based on whatever it sees. Well that technology is pretty darn cool, the camera doesn’t always know what it’s looking at, and can’t possibly know exactly what you want. To help the camera out, we can set the metering mode that the cameras light meter will use, and most modern cameras have some variation of these three – evaluative, center-weighted and spot.”

“Evaluative looks at the entire frame and evaluates the light it averages out the bright and dark areas and gives you the best settings for the overall scene. This is a really good starting point, and can work well when you want to just grab a picture quickly without taking the time to make any adjustments.”

“Center-weighted looks at the whole image, but assigns more importance to the center of your frame, and works really well if you put your main subject right in the middle. If you’re taking a picture of people in front of a bright or dark background, this mode will help you get your friends exposed properly, while not worrying too much about the background behind them.”

“Spot metering however only looks at one tiny little area in the middle of the frame and completely ignores everything else. This is the way to guarantee that your exposure won’t be thrown off by the light on anything, but that also means you have to constantly make sure to have that little spot exactly in the right place, the whole time.”

“Now that you know what the metering modes do I say you can forget all about it and never have to think about it again! Why? Because these only affect your exposure when you’re shooting in an automatic mode where the camera is picking at least one setting. That includes everything from aperture priority and auto ISO, all the way to full program, we now have the ability to try an exposure, look at the photo on the back of the camera, and then adjust as necessary.”

“I challenge you to learn to shoot in full manual use your eyes and your brain to determine what’s important in the frame. Set your exposure and shoot way, once you get used to doing that you won’t care anything about metering modes ever again!”

Check out our WORKSHOPS in Los Angeles that teach you hands-on how to make great photos!

Watch the full episode with David Bergman and Adorama TV:

Malik Amandla Photography Presents

About the photographer

Malik Amandla is an independent filmmaker who has written and directed a variety of films, commercials, and webisodes. His previous short film, Food For Love, was screened at Cinepolis Luxury Cinemas. In addition to writing and directing, Amandla is a popular art photographer focusing on the natural beauty of women without using photoshop.

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Photographer: Malik Amandla @malikproductions | www.malikamandlafilms.com

Model: @fitjuella

The stage:

Studio Hill 1 has a few distinct features you will not find in any other stages. Facing the west side this stage gets lots of natural light in the afternoon and has amazing lighting conditions during the golden hour. Among included props are industrial wooden table with benches, two antique green chairs and white leather comfy chair. And the bed. The bed that comes with clean sheets (fees apply) and photogenic look, ready for always anticipated, the “bed scene” Besides, Hill 1 comes equipped with black, white and grey backdrops already installed and three strobe lights included in the hourly rate. Have a look at Hill 1 on our website information, prices and availability.

Gel Work by Simon Schreier

About the photographer

I am an amateur photographer and have been taking pictures for about 30 years.
I recently have been trying to take my craft to the next level. To that end I have been trying to perfect my studio lighting skills. In particular the shoot I did in FD studios focused on color gel lighting.

I prefer to take pictures of people, portraits as I like to interact with my subjects and I strive to bring out some of their personalities in my pictures. Taking portraits also gives me the opportunity to meet new people from different walks of life, that I may not normally meet.

About the stage:

Stage B is a benchmark blackout stage designed to provide complete control over the strobe light. Painted all black and with shut off windows this stage preserves complete darkness for your photo and video projects. As any of our stages, B comes equipped with black, gray, and white background paper, three strobe lights and numerous modifiers for your choice. To check the availability for this stage as well as find more helpful information about our rental please see the WEBSITE.

Creative Film Work by Vatche

About the shoot

Story – A woman finds herself in her bathtub, seemingly taking her own life. We follow her decent into the dark parts of her mind, as she explores each stage, she confronts the darkness that lies within her.

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@vatchephoto – Photographer
@Jorchual – Set building
@makeupbyjacqie – HMU
@pnkbtch – Girl in White
@soggybeans – Girl in Black

www.vatchephoto.com
www.squarephotostudio.com

At the location:

Stage Hill 2 is one of our latest additions and the second blackout stage we currently offer. Painted all black from top to bottom with the matte color this stage absorbs the light making it easier to control reflections and have complete control of the light painting. Spacious, nicely conditioned and minimalistic, Hill 2 is perfect for video and photo shoots, big or small crew. As any of our stages, it comes with three paper backdrops preinstalled – white, grey and black, and three strobe lights included. For more information please check stage Hill 2 on our website.

Charles Niles Jr. and Kat Redner

Great studio work and beauty photography submission by a creative duet – photographer Kat Redner and a model Charles Niles, Jr.

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Model Charles Niles, Jr. | @charlesnilesjr

Photographer Kat Redner | @martialkat

About the stage:

Stage Art 4, used for this shoot, is notorious for the high-key white industrial design. It has also been recently adorned with wooden floor section and a wall veneer as well as portable blinds, made of dark wood slats. The latest upgrade the stage received was a nice looking cozy egg like chair and a STAR illuminating across its shape! As any of our stages, Art 4 comes equipped with 3 strobe lights and modifiers as well as backdrop paper of black, white and grey color. Take a look at Stage Art 4 HERE for its availability and pricing!

Fun Yoga by Becca Rillo

About the photographer:

I’m Becca and I’m the owner & principle photographer behind Becca Rillo Photography. While photography is truly my life’s obsession, there’s so much more to me than the role of photographer. I live with my husband and two kids in a small-but-not-so-small, suburban neighborhood in northern Los Angeles with our ADORABLE puppy, two cats, handful of fish, and whatever wildlife I can convince to stick around. I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for critters so I feed anything that happens to wander though my backyard!

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Photographer Becca Rillo | www.beccarillo.com

Model @vbrons

Assistant @kirstenboogaard

At the location:

Stage Art 1 was a choice of location for this session. Adorned with features like white grand piano and three step podium this stage is a tool of versatility, provider of great natural light, benchmark of industrial Downtown minimalistic design. This space has its windows facing South and West and gets beautiful direct light during the PM hours, and great open-shaded light in the morning. Using strobes? No worries, we include 3 strobe lights in the hourly rate along with black, white and grey background available. Take a look at Stage Art 1 HERE to see what equipment is included in the hourly rate, as well as its availability and pricing.