Steve Bedell

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Lighting NewsLighting Reviews
The Ultimate Light Box From Harbor Digital Design: Affordable And Customizable
Steve Bedell  |  Apr 19, 2013  |  First Published: Mar 01, 2013  |  1 comments

Like most photographers, I’m always trying to see just how versatile I can make my dedicated speedlights. In my case that would be Nikon SB-800 Speedlights. And when I really want to create a unique look I’ll sometimes use off-camera flash so I can vary the exposure on my subject in relation to the overall scene. That usually involves me adding light to my subject to either match or overpower the ambient light. When I do that I like to have a little more control over the quantity and quality of the light than what I’d have if I just aimed my flash at my subject with no modification.

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Tim Kelly
A Master Of Medium Format Goes Digital
Steve Bedell  |  Jan 01, 2003  |  0 comments

Tim Kelly...
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Portraiture
Traditional Portraiture And Beyond
Technological Advances Create New Uses For 35mm
Steve Bedell  |  May 01, 2000  |  0 comments

Traditional Portraiture And Beyond

It doesn't matter if your interest lies in women, men, or children, I'm going to tell you right now that not having a "big" camera is no longer an excuse for not getting...

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Lighting
Traveling Light
Great Shots With Less Gear
Steve Bedell  |  May 01, 2002  |  0 comments

I must admit that when I travel I usually don't bring along a lot of camera gear. Depending on my mood and how much I've been shooting before I travel, I can bring anything from a full medium format system with back up to a point-and-shoot 35.

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We Tried It
Red Wing Quick Stand
Steve Bedell  |  Mar 01, 1999  |  0 comments

Let me state right at the beginning of this piece that I am not an equipment freak. But like most photographers, I do get excited about gear that can help me do my job better or do something I couldn't do before. That excitement is usually reserved for lenses--long, wide, fast, zoom, soft...

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Wedding Photographers Face The Digital Dilemma
Is Now The Time To Go Filmless
Steve Bedell  |  Apr 01, 2002  |  0 comments

About two years ago I stated in a previous article that I thought most of photography would be "filmless" in 2005. Can I revise that statement? I think that there are not many who accurately predicted just how quickly digital photography went...

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Pro Techniques
Wedding Photography Roundtable; Four Top Shooters Give Us Their Take
Steve Bedell  |  Apr 01, 2010  |  0 comments

If you are a wedding photographer, you already know what I’m about to tell you. The advent of inexpensive digital cameras that can produce amazingly good photos has shaken up the wedding market. With that and other matters in mind, I interviewed four of the top wedding photographers in the US and asked them some hard questions about where the wedding market might be headed. Our top shooters...

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What’s In Their Bag? A Look Inside Top Wedding Pros’ Kits
Steve Bedell  |  Apr 01, 2006  |  0 comments

Have you ever wondered what top wedding photographers carry in their bag? We spoke with four seasoned wedding photographers and got them to open up their bag of tools for us. One thing you'll notice is that they don't all carry the same gear. Some use Canon, others Nikon, the two brands that seem ensconced at the top of the professional camera...

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Lens NewsLens Reviews
Why I Need Pro Lenses; (And Why You May Or May Not Need Them Yourself)
Steve Bedell  |  Aug 01, 2009  |  0 comments

“Most pro lenses have much sturdier construction than their consumer counterparts.”

 

I’m a pro photographer and have been for about 30 years. I mostly shoot portraits and a few weddings. I’m not one of those guys who will be first in line for the latest 15-800mm f/1.2 lens. As a matter of fact, I’m pretty much an equipment minimalist. But when I need a lens, I...

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Lens NewsLens Reviews
Wide-Angle Portraits: Sigma 8-16mm F4.5-5.6 DC HSM Lens Fits The Bill
Steve Bedell  |  Sep 14, 2011  |  First Published: Aug 01, 2011  |  0 comments

I really like extreme lenses. Extremely wide, extremely fast, and extremely long lenses will all allow you to create unique images that stand out from the crowd. When I heard about the Sigma 8-16mm lens I wanted to get my hands on one and start shooting, so I asked my editor if I could borrow one from Sigma for testing. He wanted to know what I was going to do with it, so naturally I told him: take portraits. You might, as he did, find this a little odd—taking portraits with a wide-angle lens, and a very wide lens at that. After all, don’t photographers usually use long lenses for portraits?

 

Why are photographers taught to use long lenses for portraits? There are four basic tenets behind this reasoning: narrow angle of view, shallow depth of field, flattering perspective, and a comfortable working distance between you and your subject. However, flip these “rules” on their head and you’ll see why I like working with wides: wide angle of view, great potential depth of field, unique perspective, and, oddly enough, working right in your subject’s face. In short, I use the special nature of a wide lens to give my portraits a new and unique look.

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