How to create depth in a scenic backdrop set

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Using a scenic backdrop can be great on its own, but when. you want to add some real depth the image... well in this blogpost I share some tips and examples.

A quick test shoot

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For the workshops we are always looking for new models, and sometimes you find someone via the net/social media, in a restaurant or in your own studio 😀 Janice as modelling for friends of us and I could not resist to also shoot some images. And guess what... she lives close by so she will probably pop up more regularly during the workshops in 2025.

Focus your light

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Shadows can be tricky when you start out but in the end it's the glue that sticks everything together and makes an image look more realistic and also creates depth. Of course we need light to create shadows, and the smaller the light source the faster the edge transfer (difference between shadow and light). In other words smaller light means sharper shadow edges.

How to very easily find out your flash duration

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One of the things I always love to do during photoshoots is adding some motion to the shots. Now if you ever tried this you will probably know it's all about timing, but even than you probably noticed that sometimes the images are razor sharp and sometimes maybe a bit blurred, how is this possible when you use the same strobes?

Are you really that “shallow” ?

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This also means that when I see someone responding on an add using my images or videos I try to help out and reply, but sometimes it's getting really weird, and because I hate to repeat myself 1000x I thought it would be fun and frustrating (if you are one of those) blog post about some of the weirdest conversations I had about Topaz PhotoAI.

Black Friday offers from our partners 2024

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Black Friday Deals 2024   For our Dutch audience, we…

Using the foreground to add dimension to your images

During the workshop "on location in Emmeloord" the challenge is to find locations that look not so interesting but still create some cool images. If you ever visited our studio you know there always was an old building just in front of our studio, it didn't look nice but it had some great walls to shoot against 😀 one of them actually made it into my signature ClickBackDrop backgrounds.

Working on location with strobes and making something boring interesting

During the workshop "on location in Emmeloord" we scout for locations that look not so interesting but the challenge is to create some cool images anyway. This is a great training exercise because let's be honest in most cases working on location is not as superb as often hoped for, but we are still expected to deliver awesome images. 

Working with strobes on location and how to kill the ambient light part II

One of the techniques I love to use on location is Day2Night. With Day2Night we mimic a night or evening scene during day time. As you can imagine you need some powerful lights to achieve this, or some cool tricks.

A cool set with clickbackdrops

Using a set in your photoshoot adds a lot. When I started out with modelphotography I mostly shot on seamless (paper) and although it was a lot of fun working with different colors at one point you get a bit bored with it and I started with using custom walls with paint, structure or wallpaper.

How I approach a business shoot

Most of the work I post is from our workshops model photography or street/travel photography. But we do a lot more of course, including business shoots. Today I want to share some tips on how I approach our clients and why we score the shoots.

Adding something really special to a photoshoot with a gobo projector

I love the old fashioned photography, think about photographers like George Hurrell or for example the world famous Harcourt studios. In the 30's and 40's you often saw harsh light combined with hard shadows, this can be for example a plant, branches, chair, ladder or whatever you want to project on the background.

MacBookPro M4 Pro Display performance nano texture

As creators we of course demand the absolute best from our screens. Of course it's always better to use a dedicated monitor. For example the BenQ monitors I use have a hardware calibration option and are tracking very close to the AdobeRGB colorspace. (and they have a great anti glare coating :D) but does that mean that you can't use your laptop screen for editing ?

On location photoshoots : how to kill the ambient light part I

Locations are awesome But what if they are not? Well it's up to you to make them awesome. Sounds difficult? Well it can be, but with the proper lighting and lighting techniques you can create stunning images on locations that are far from awesome.

Audio is one of the most important things in video

When the audio is bad I often stop the video In all honesty I can watch a video that is not perfect for the image quality, but if the audio is bad I'm out. For years I've been using a Sennheiser wireless lovelier microphone. I always bring this to shows and use it during almost all videos and live streams, and it just sounds awesome and it never failed me. But it's expensive, and for most starting creators it will be overkill, plus in all honesty you always have to put the wireless transmitter somewhere, and it's not a super small device, plus over time I've had several cables replaced.

Directional light is so much cooler

We recently filmed a brand new class for KelbyOne with our model Claudia. The video is all about using one strobe and how you can still create totally different looks by changing light-shapers and angles. Today I wanted to show one of the sets in which I show one of my favourite setups.

An awesome new backdrop from ClickBackDrops

Building a set can be tricky But a small set can really set the mood in a shot. You can of course just build a set, but sometimes you simple don't have the room to build a complete set, or you want to offer your client different options. This is where our scenic backdrops from ClickBackDrops really shine.

How to murder your Husband, a Halloween Frank Doorhof Special

When it's Halloween it's time for some cool images of course. We already showed you the video this morning but now it's time to see those gory photos in full glory. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did creating them, and trust me this was one of those workshops where the group totally went for it, I can't wait for you guys to see the images popping up on their timelines 😀

It’s story time for Halloween…. are you ready for some horror?

Today we are doing things slightly different. In the first blogpost today I share the video we made for this workshop, and later today I'll share the images separately so you can see them in all their gory glory LD

It’s almost Halloween

I LOVE Halloween, not only as a horror fan but also as a photographer. There is so much fun you can have with the theme and I can already tell you that for tomorrow we have something really special planned on both the blog and our YouTube channel, and trust me you don't want to miss this.