The problem with a global shutter that a lot of people will miss

So what's the big deal with a global shutter? In short.... There is no real limit anymore. You would be able to shoot strobes up to 1/16000 or even 1/80000 when using Sony compatible strobes. Sounds awesome right? And it is, but there is one limit I have to tell you about that will prevent some nasty surprises.

Calibrations demystified

A lot of people ask me which profile to use when opening files in Photoshop from Lightroom, the monitor profile or the camera profile? Well both are wrong, how weird it might sound, you can't use any of them.

A step by step workshop with Nadine and using Geekoto strobes outside

Probably one of the first questions people ask when they want to know more about my workshops. And let's immediately take the bull by the horns, it sometimes seems everyone is teaching workshops and the quality is often not what people expect. A guided photoshoot is not a workshop.

Colors and how they connect

You probably have been hearing me say that a lot. And that's because color is incredibly important to give images/video/film a certain mood. But also for logo's, design, cars, buildings, interiors, clothing, colors are used everywhere to get a feeling, or make you feel a certain way. So for us as content creators it's vital to make sure that our designs, photos, videos etc. all look accurate. So when someone orders a red scarf and a red sweater they look the same as in the brochure or website. Luckily this is pretty easy.

Geekoto softboxes compared: results from the Digital Classroom with Jannaika

In todays blog the results from the Digital classroom episode with Jannaike in which I explained the differences between softboxes. Do remember that these were shot during a live broadcast with loads of ambient light so it's a bit harder to set the light perfectly. But I'm very happy with the results.

That setting that drives you nuts during the calibration process on Mac (and windows)

Even with easy software it's sometimes easy to get an error that... well you can't fix. You checked everything, and although you know your brand new monitor should really be perfect, it's far from. Or maybe you don't know how to read the rapports and just wonder why there is so much fuzz about professional monitors.

The difference between modifiers

Want to know how to predict your light? And of course how to use the different modifiers to create some images with impact? Than this is the digital classroom for you. In almost 2 hours I show you the difference between a lantern, normal softbox, striplights and our new Geekoto Quicky softbox.
Black Screen when using strobes

Never the black screen again when using strobes

"This camera is unusable for studio use, that's insane for such an expensive camera.... etc" Countless of these kind of bashing cameras can be found online, especially when the EVF in a camera was not as widely used as now. So what's going on here. In the older cameras we used the sensor only as a replacement for film. The image was still split to a part where you see the image, focus is done etc. and a part where it's hitting the sensor. With the mirrorless cameras everything changed. First of all we could get super accurate focus (well not at first, it was terrible at times) because you literally focus on the sensor, but we could now also use the viewfinder in a completely new way.

Adding more storage to your MacBook Pro (or other laptops) and what to look out for

Although I feel that the MacBookPro's at the moment give the best bang for the buck, there is one thing that is incredibly expensive when upgrading, and that's internal storage. My photos and videos are all stored on 2 synology NAS systems but when working on several video projects, music recording etc. the internal drive is even with 1TB a "bit" on the small side. But upgrading is in my opinion way to expensive, so I was looking for a great solution.

How to read a light meter

Why is the lightmeter so important? First of all we have to realise that in we only see 3 colors as human beings. We call those colors the primary colors, Red, Green and Blue. We also have secondaries colors, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow. All colors are connected via the blackbody curve (whitepoints for colortemperature) and determine the colourspace.

How to make wow images with sets and colors

Often when I mention sets people think about big budget solutions, but the opposite can be true, and mostly is in my work. For me it's almost a sport to create cool looking sets without breaking the bank. So we also look for cool stuff on fleamarkets, attics etc. you would be surprised what kind of "junk" you can buy for next to nothing that work great in a photoshoot.

Creating depth and contrast in your model/portrait photography

We all know the term "3D looking" And maybe you also struggle with getting your images look more "3D" In most cases it's "just" a matter of changing your light to the sides of your subject. The problem is often that the other side of the face becomes really dark, and often also the background which creates a really bad looking images (unless you love that look).

Get stunning results and high contrast images easily with the Rogue FlashBender XL

I've been using the Rogue flashbender for over 10 years now. When I got the "first" edition I started using it not as a bounce card, but to get some cool effects on the background, and due to the design of the flashbender you could also light your model from the back, an amazing tool at that moment which gave me loads of creative options.

A Harley Davidson and a beautiful model and you get to see it all….

And this time we had a very special prop. A Harley Davidson. In two completely different setups I show you how to light the set and pose the model, but also how to light in zones and understanding feathering and light placement for reflections and covering up light sources.

How to work with a brand new model

During this episode we show you the first shoot I did with our new model Janaika. I show you some tricks I use to get the model at ease, but also loads of tips on lighting and coaching the model. You see the lighting setups via 3 cameras and of course all the images I shoot are shown in a PIP setup.

The differences in posing and how to coach

So how do I do it? I will always start out with a standard pose, just to get the lighting right and the overall look of the shot. But right after that I will start coaching the model not how to pose but more giving compliments, pushing his/her energy up. If you don't tell your model what to do but only adjust slightly you will always get awesome and unique poses. How many models/photographers do you know/recognise due to the poses?

A surreal set and loads of colors

One of the most important things for me when I teach workshops is that I have to keep challenging myself but also the attendees of the workshops  This means I'm always looking for new creative way to use light, color, backgrounds, sets etc.

Getting outrageous skies without Photoshop but with gels

Today another part in our series on color and color manipulation. We all love easy to do tricks of course, so I though today would be the perfect time for just such a tip. When we look at the color triangle we can see that all colors are connected through the white point. We talked about this in the first blogpost in this series.

Combining 3 gels for awesome results and even white light

Often this leads to a lot of confusion about what primary and secondary colors are. For photography and video we are using Red Green and Blue to create the color we see. A printer uses CMYK to print the colors we see.

Behind the scenes during a photoshoot

Behind the scenes is always fun Digital classroom is our online educational live stream. Once a month we have a 2 hour broadcast from our studio where I explain different topics and lighting setups, always fun and interesting. Today a digital classroom with Claudia.