HOME- ABOUT US
- BECOME A MEMBER
- ASSIGNMENT CENTRAL
- GALLERY CENTRAL
- IMAGE ON THE WEEK
- PHOTOGRAPHY CONTESTS
- PHOTO 101
- 3D WORKSHOP
- LEARNING CENTERS
- CALENDAR
- ALLIANCES
- DOUBLE EXPOSURE
- PHOTO WORKSHOP BOOKS
- BOOKS HOME
- RECENT UPLOADS
- RECENT COMMENTS
- HOW IT WORKS
- PORTFOLIOS
- MEMBER PORTFOLIOS
- SEARCH IMAGES
- PORTFOLIO PICKS
- PORTFOLIO SHOW
- MEMBER GALLERIES
- BIO & VISUAL EXCHANGE
- SEARCH IMAGES
- BACKSTAGE
- BROADCAST
- MEMBERS CORNER
- MEMBERS ONLY
- START PAGE
- PHOTOFORUM
- PORTFOLIO UPLOADS
- CRITIQUES
- ASSIGNMENTS
Latest Chapter Assignments
Assignment: Take a Nighttime Portrait with a Flash
Don't be bashful! If you want comments, give comments. You don't need to be an expert photographer to express your opinion about the work of others. You don't need to go into great depth. A simple remark about cropping, composition, color, subject matter, etc. can be of just as much help to a budding photographer as an in-depth critique.
Taking pictures of your family and friends in daylight is easy. Taking great shots of them outdoors at night is a more interesting challenge. But that’s what I’d like you to do for this assignment: Grab your camera (and your accessory flash, if you own one) and a willing human subject, and head outside after sunset. Take a portrait that balances the flash and the existing light. Be sure to study your camera and flash manuals the night before.
I shot this photo of a street performer in Paris early one evening after watching him perform his wonderful clown-like routines for more than an hour. The sun set during his performance and the only light remaining was that in the twilight sky behind him, so I turned on the built-in flash and motioned to him to pose briefly. It took me literally seconds to compose and shoot the scene and then he drifted back into the evening. A great moment for me, and I like the photo a great deal. Taken with an 18-70mm Nikkor zoom lens and exposed for 1/60 sec. at f/4, ISO 200, handheld, using on-camera flash.
