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.

Mamiya Leaf demos at Photokina

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Without a doubt Photokina is one of my highlights every 2 years.
It’s the biggest show I’ve ever visited and being part of the team of instructors is always an honor. This year I demo’ed for both Elinchrom and Mamiya/Leaf.

 

Today some of the images I shot on the booth from Mamiya/Leaf with their new Leaf Credo50.
It’s always hard to shoot during these trade shows, especially when the room is very limited, so I always try to challenge myself and try out new things with expressions, fogging up lenses etc. And although it’s not portfolio material they are still fun for the blog 😀

frank diana0606

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Using props… the chair

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Often people ask me “what is the perfect prop?”
Well let me start by saying that there is no perfect prop.
However if I had to choose one I would say it’s chair…
Now don’t get the expensive posing chairs you sometimes see in studios and online, in my opinion these are nice but also very overpriced and will limit the way you can shoot for the simple reason they are often not the most attractive chairs.

 

You can not only incorporate them into your set, but you can also make the model pose more dynamically. In other words add a lot of play into the shoot.

 

My favorite way to get chairs is to visit the second hand stores and get the more damaged, ugly, vintage looking chairs they have, the first advantage is that they are often cheap (hey I’m Dutch :)) plus they (in my personal opinion) have way more character than a new one. PLUS.. when you’re done with them… well you just cut them open and you have a second life for the chair.

 

Today some images I took during the test session with Marieke with 2 of our chairs.
Some might be considered NSFW so beware.

Marieke Jansen Oktober 2 2014 (49 of 107)-Edit

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Test shoot Marieke

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We are always looking for new models and to get these new models we sometimes do so called testshoots.
In these short sessions I run through some “standard” setups and we freak around a bit at the end and see if the model like posing and if he/she is fitting the idea I have for the workshops.

 

Today some images from a testshoot with Marieke.
And I’m sure we are gonna see her back.

 

Some of the images could be considered NSFW (Not Safe For Work) but I think they are ok, but beware before you press “read further”.
Marieke Jansen Oktober 2 2014 (30 of 107)-Edit

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Go all out

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Don’t be afraid to go all out during a photoshoot, always think about movies, when do we “believe” the movie?
When everything is right, the makeup, the acting, the clothing, the lighting etc.
In fact model photography is just like acting, only our models do it on 1/1000’s of a second instead of 24fps.
So when I want to shoot something I’ll try to push the model for the right expression, get the clothing right, take care of the lighting and the location. When this all comes together…. you have a story telling shot.
So the next time you watch a movie from (for example) the Asylum you will see that the acting is bad, the decors are bad, the SFX is bad etc. etc. so you don’t get pulled in to the movie. Now when you watch a well produced movie where everything is fitting to the story this is where you get pulled in.
So when you want to shoot something with A LOT of expression/madness don’t hold back on expression, but also make sure the clothing is 100% perfect, in this case we used a great stylist and as you can see he did not only used a straight jacket but he actually also made it dirty, damaged etc, it all adds that little bit of extra. Combined with a model that REALLY went for it, and there you go, in opinion a cool shot.
So for your next shoot, make the clothes a bit dirty, push your model for expression or in other words…. think movie 😀

Lizzy July 16 2013-322 B2
For more tips to master YOUR photoshoot  get my book “Mastering the modelshoot”