My blog, although I don’t see myself as a blogger but as a Photographer I will try to blog some interesting material during the weeks.
Expect at least 2 updates a week.

Being creative with led tubes

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It’s no secret I absolutely love to find creative ways to use my lighting.
One of the things I love to add in a scene is color, but also continuous lighting.

So when Nanlite asked me to take a look at their new Pavo Tube I knew I wanted to combine it with some Christmas lighting we bought recently for the studio (we always look for cool lighting solutions, it’s always fun to use them and it triggers your creativity).

Here are some of the results from the session we did with Nadine.
Using the TT artisan lens on my Sony A7RIV with the FotoDiox adaptor to use the lens as an auto focus lens, love those convertors, it really makes it so much fun using vintage lenses.

In the video I also explain the setups.

Black Friday…. loads of cool deals.

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Love it or hate it, but Black Friday is always fun when you are looking for good deals.
And also this year we have some cool deals for you guys.

For all deals
Coupon “blackfriday22”
www.frankdoorhof.com/shop
ONLY BENELUX

Videos and presets
50% off on all my full length tutorials and preset packs.
We have videos on many different topics ranging from modelphotography in the studio and on location to street and travel photography, there is something for everyone.

IQwire
Shooting tethered in the studio or on location is one of the best things you can do for your workflow. But with modern cameras the demands on the cables are higher than ever.

IQqwire is the “next generation” in tethering.
Available in 5 and 10 meters with inline boosters and intelliconnect for a super steady and fast connection to PC/MAC and they also work with the iPad and Android tablets.

Thanks to the boosters and intelliconnect you can use one cable for all your cameras. When your camera doesn’t support USBc you can order one of our pigtails convertors to Micro/Mini, USB-A and Phase One.

Also under our IQwire category you can find the Arca Cable Block.
If you want a rock solid connection between your camera and the IQwire the Cable Block is the way to go. The Arca mount compatibel plate has special guides for tether cables and can be connected under the camera without the need for coins or screwdrivers. We also opted for a slightly smaller form factor so the battery is accessible in 90% of the cameras.

Clickpropsbackdrops
Amazing backgrounds for every studio (or location).
Available in Vinyl and Pro-fabric which mimics the old vintage canvasses we all love.
With more than 900 prints to choose from, I’m sure there is one for you.

Rogue / Expo Imaging
We have been working with Rogue for over a decade, and they are the kind of company we all love… they listen to the photographer and create gear we can not only use in one way, but that triggers your creativity to find new ways to light your subject, and with Rogue you have a super flexible system.

We have the Flashbender series, including the Frank Doorhof Softsilver edition which I use myself.
But we also released the magnetic system in 2022 which is aimed for all photographers shooting with speedlights or the popular round strobes. Recently we got a new addition to the line up with a magnetic snoot that can be used in 8 different ways.. talk about flexible.

For the larger strobes (and all others) we recently released a brand new umbrella system with a fiberglass frame for years of use, the umbrellas can be ordere separate but also in a nice carrying kit including the white and black umbrella (including a sleeve).

If you love to reflect the light we also got you covered with both round and rectangular reflectors. Personally I love working with the rectangular reflector if you need just a bit of light under the chin of the model, it works much easier than the round reflectors, which we use outside for maximum reflection surface.

And finally we also sell the Expo Imaging Expo Disc.
So something for everyone and now with an awesome 15% discount PLUS… everyone that orders before Saturday 0:00 will also get my speedlight tutorial for free.

We hope to have something for everyone in our offers.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask, we always try to respond within 24 hours.

A new Frank Doorhof allround filter pack

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Filters come in many shapes and sizes (literally).
Personally, I’m not really a filter fan, but since I started using the Black Diffusion filters from K&F concept I have literally fallen in love with those filters.

The Black Diffusion filters from K&F concept give a fantastic “glow” effect on highlights, but do not “ruin” the photo due to loss of sharpness, photos remain razor-sharp, but as soon as some backlight falls on the lens, you see the highlights really “glow” fantastic. “. but that’s not all, I mainly use the filters for the impact they have on lens flares.

Where normally a lens flare can be a bit “harsh”, the filters provide a fantastic smooth rendering of the flare.

The Black diffusion is available in different strengths, but I mainly use the 1/8 and 1/4.
It will therefore come as no surprise that you will find these 2 in the package.
But there’s more…

You probably see them sometimes, those shots where the water is really super smooth, in case you’re wondering how they do that…. a really long shutter speed. Normally, however, this will not work because you would then get a totally overexposed photo, so you have to ensure that less light falls on the sensor. And for that we use so-called ND (Neutral Density) filters, which are available in different values ​​(stops) which indicate how much light is lowered.

Now you may be wondering what I do with an ND filter?
Well… with outdoor flash we have a similar problem.
Many flashes that are a bit more powerful have a limitation on the shutter speed that you can use (often this is max 1/125-1/200, called the X-sync). If you shoot faster, you will be treated to a “nice” black bar (the shutter curtain). This often means that if you work with flash outside, you get photos with a depth of field from here to eternity, and that’s not always what you aim for of course.

By using an ND filter, we are able to block part of the light so less light falls on the sensor, this means we can now open the aperture, resulting in less depth of field. Awesome.

Now the question that we all want to ask “what strength should I buy?”
Well, that’s not so easy to answer.
Sometimes you want a little less and sometimes a little more…. luckily we have a solution for that too.

In addition to the 1/4 and 1/8 Black Diffusion filters, the Frank Doorhof package also includes a variable ND filter from 8-128, a very useful range for both model photography with flash on location and landscapes. The variable ND filter has clear indications for the stops and is also fully adjustable. More flexibility is almost impossible.

If you’re already getting excited…. just wait

One of the major drawbacks of filters is that they are sometimes impossible to get off your lens.
There only needs to be a small grain of sand on the ring or maybe you don’t pay attention when mounting the filter and it’s not aligned perfectly, drama, drama, drama 😀
Well…. we solved that too.

frank doorhof K&F kit

All filters are magnetic
This means that you only have to place the magnetic ring on your lens, my advise is to do this in a clean environment and also, just to be sure, clean everything with a blower so that there is nothing on the lens mount where the ring is placed. Once the ring is on, you can change the filters with lighting speed.

Happy yet?
Again this is not all, when we do something… we do it the right way.

Due to the design of the filters and the ring, you can also combine the filters.
For example, if you want more diffusion than 1/4, you just click the 1/8 on top of the 1/4 and you get a heavier effect.

Of course, the variable ND filter is also fully magnetic and has no protruding parts, so you can still use the lens hood if necessary.

Almost done
Ok, in terms of filters we are done now, but there is more.
Of course we can just give you the filters in a box, but that is not really convenient on location and doesn’t look cool/special, so we opted for a beautiful handmade leather pouch, and they are all unique (handmade). We have a few of them in the studio and they are indeed all slightly different, so you really buy something unique.

In this video I introduce the package to you and show you what it contains and what you can do with it.

The filterpack is now available via www.frankdoorhof.com/shop (for the Benelux) or in the stores that sell K&F Concept.

The perfect background to enhance smoke

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Today I would love to show you how our schintz reclaimed background not only works great as a background but is also perfect for situations where you use smoke. As you can see in the following examples, the background really complements the smoke and makes it look great.

This is one of the most important things for a background for me personally. You should be able to use it in multiple ways. And the schintz reclaimed is really a textbook example of that.

As the main light here I use our rogue black umbrella with the sleeve. And accent lighting.

The nice thing about using a lightsource like the umbrella is that you’re able to control the lighting ratio between the model and the background really precise. Just change the angle very slightly and you’ll be surprised how much of a difference that makes.

Both the schintz reclaimed and umbrellas are in stock via frankdoorhof.com/shop