Frank Doorhof

The best locations and the best light…. are what you do….

June 18, 2015/in blog, Visions and technique/by Frank Doorhof

We all know that a good shot consists of good lighting and a great location right?
However that doesn’t mean you have to travel for that great shot, actually the best shots can be right around the corner. The main problem is that we see the locations close to us way to often to actually register as something that could be interesting for a photoshoot. If we would see them just once they might seem much more interesting than they do in every day life.

When we changed locations for our studio I clearly told everyone that the area behind the studio (out of sight) could not be changed and I wanted to let “nature” just run it’s course, if we have something old and “rustic” we don’t throw it out, we store it there and just place it somewhere where we can use it as a location to shoot, we even have a sea container there to use.

The next shots were all done in a very fast outside session with just the sun as light source.
Editing is very minimal with just some tinting and a little bit of MacPhun Intensify.

So the next time you are looking for a location… make sure to also check your local area, and house area. And when you own a studio building…. why not make a “mess” outside (as long as people don’t see it from the road). Also remember that the sun will actually be a great light source with great contrast, if it’s a bit too harsh you can always use some diffusion material between the model and the sun, but in all honestly I often just shoot it as is, I just love those hard shadows and popping colors.

Model/Styling : Nadine

Between two walls and different lights

February 28, 2015/2 Comments/in blog, Visions and technique/by Frank Doorhof

In these shots you can see our model Anna Matthea between two walls……. you say what?

In our studio we use different kind of backgrounds, mostly the studio walls are painted in special structures and colors to function as backgrounds, but we also have several “movable” walls. In this shot we used two of these walls in a very steep angle and let Anna Matthea pose between them.

Lighting setup was very simple…. just a single 100W lightbulb, nothing more.

The bigger fight

December 13, 2014/in blog, Visions and technique/by Frank Doorhof

TIP:
yesterday I heard a very good motto:
“It’s not how big the man is in a fight, it’s how big the fight is inside the man”

This is without a doubt a motto for almost everything but especially photography, often I hear people say “I can never do that”, or “I don’t have the gear for that”, but most of all “You shoot everything correct, I don’t”

Well let me first make a confession…. I shoot just as much junk as all of you, only I probably don’t show it, for me photography is a matter of going on till I get the shot.

Yesterday we did a session in Emmeloord I call “Fashion in Emmeloord” well ok not very creative, the model was surprised we were done in 10 minutes per locations, I told her very simply that if I get the shot I’m after I will continue for a few frames and then try a different angle or composition and continue to the next, there is no need to push through. I will use a maximum of 1-2 shots per location for my own portfolio so why shoot 10 killer shots while I can switch location.