Some ELC action with Marie

This weekend I had the honor to introduce the new Elinchrom ELC units to the press in the Netherlands.
The event was hosted by the Dutch agent for Elinchrom Fotoflits.
I started with a small introduction of the new system after which we walked to an empty warehouse where Marie was waiting for us for some wicked shots showcasing some of the creative effects you can get with the ELCs.

 

The fun part about these strobes is that it really triggers your creativity, if a strobe is just a bit faster or has one or two stops more range that’s just making your work easier but when you have features like : Delay, stroboscopic, high frame rate, option for series and much more it really starts to trigger something in me that is hard to explain but you just want to see what’s possible if for example one strobe is on stroboscopic while in the mean while the first strobe fires and using the modeling light for a second curtain flash effect which ends with the third strobe firing in delay, add some smoke and confetti to that idea and you are doing something that would normally involve some heavy Photoshop work. Timing is important of course and the results you see here are all shot during a short demo so far from perfect…. but I hope it triggers you to think differently about what you can do with strobes.

 

I strongly believe that if you get the ELCs and are creative with them the sky is the limit, so I’m looking forward what kind of stuff we will see from photographers if they start selling them.

 

The first images are pretty straight forward and are just using the freezing power of the ELC and the high frame rate to hit that “one” moment (or several), the last two images actually use one strobe on stroboscopic (very faint) and two strobes for freezing.

Marie fotoflits ELC Maart 8 2014 (35 of 56)-Edit

 

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Catwalk The Photography show

During the Photography show in Birmingham I was asked to also do a demo on the Catwalk stage.
Today I share three of my favorite shots of this demo.

catwalk stage Maart 4 2014-13-Edit

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Now you can download my presets

You’ve asked for it many times…..
“how do you create that look?”

 

Well starting today…. you can do it yourself.
For the first time ever I’ve created full preset packages with all the presets I use for Alien Skin Exposure, DxO filmpack and NIK/Google AEP.

 

Yep you’ve read it correctly, it’s everything, no light versions, or slightly different versions, this is the real deal.

 

All packages are priced at 7.50 euro and are available for direct download.
https://frankdoorhof.com/web/shop-videos-etc/presets/

DxO FilmPack 4

Narrow it down

This is a tip that is very universal and will probably be difficult to execute but trust me it’s worth it.
I see examples of this on a daily basis in both my portfolio reviews as in online presence.
After a shoot you’re very enthusiastic about the results, and I get that, I’m the same way. But when posting the images online make sure you choose the RIGHT images, don’t post 10 images with 2 sets where 80% of the images look the same with subtle chances in poses or expression.
Choose the 1-2 images that really are AWESOME, and keep the “But these are nice too’s” on your harddrive where they will live a long and prosperous life 😀
Impact is made with 1-2 images that rock, the impact will fade with 7-8 extra that are ok.
Don’t get me wrong, I love to see loads of images but a portfolio or a blogpost I think should have the best ones only and not slight alternates that are not really adding to the story or impact. If you want to load them all onto facebook/G+ etc. that’s no problem of course but I think for your portfolio or “presentation” you can better show 10 kick @ss shots than 30 shots that are ok with 10 great ones.

Lightroom