Tag Archive for: Geekoto

everything you always wanted to know about light shapers

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I know it’s a bold claim 😀
But I think in this episode of digital classroom we are combing close, I’m discussing all my favourite light shapers and I even show you the different lighting they create.

Digital classroom is a monthly live stream on our YouTube channel (we really appreciate a subscribe and like). During the broadcast the audience can interact with us and ask questions which will be answered during the broadcast. It’s a lot of fun 😀

Lightshapers

To control your light you need light shapers.
Do you need harsh shadows, or do you want a very soft quality of light?
Do you need to light a small area, or a very broad area?

All of these topics will be discussed, but we also talk about lightshapers that can be used in the studio vs light shapers for location work, and how you can mix them all together.

During the broadcast you get to see the shoot with our model Nadine via 3 studio cameras plus you can see the images coming in via the iPad Pro running Cascable.

If you have any questions feel free to leave them under the video, we check our channel every day for comments.

Lighting tricks that work…..using the light behind your model, yes it works like a charm but it’s special

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Sometimes you’re looking for something different, something a bit more daring or edgy.
Now mostly during normal shoots we always try to keep the lights out of the final results, but also to take out as much of the flare as possible. For the flare we have great coatings on lenses nowadays so when you add the sun hood on your lens you probably won’t have any problems with flare.

Something else

But as mentioned, sometimes we want it differently.
In the shot I’m still using a mainlight (Geekoto GT400 with the 26″ softbox) but the most of the effect of the shot is coming from the striplight in the back. For the extra flare I’m using a K&F Concept black diffusion filter on my lens.

One big softbox

Now what if we replace the striplight with just a big softbox and don’t even add a mainlight source?
We get a very nice setup for some high-key portraits or just fun/different shoots.
You do have to be careful which way the model looks, straight on will be very ugly in most cases, but looking to the side can work like a charm.

Do make sure to take of the diffusion filter 😀 that will be a “little” bit too much.

Model : Nadine

Conclusion

As you can see using your light in different locations can give you awesome results, but getting the lights in the frame and giving them a purpose within the shot can really spice up the results, add some special effects with filters and … well your own creativity is the limit.

 

Use light in different ways for awesome portraits and more

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One of the things we probably all start with are books with lighting diagrams.
Now don’t get me wrong, they are awesome to get a general idea of the lighting setup.
However I strongly believe you should be able to “read the light” by just following the shadows, it’s often not really important to know which light sources are used, as long as you can recreate the look.

We can shoot images with a beauty dish that can very close to a small softbox for example, but when we start to use Fresnell’s you can very quickly see the difference between a reflector and the Fresnell, this is something that you will quickly pickup when you start to look at the shadows and the different way the shadows change.

But then it becomes really interesting when you add the angle into play.
Of course we all know that changing the angle from higher to lower can have a huge impact in your end result, but for me the real game changer was when I started to move around my model. Just a slight movement to left or right can make an image look totally different.

Let’s take a look at some of the images I took of Nadine during a recent workshop.

I’m using our Geekoto GT400 here with the Geekoto small softbox and grid
On the other side I’m using GT400 and the Nanlite striplight with grid.

One of the things I love about a striplight is that you can use it in a lot of different situations where you need to light a large area but don’t want any spill light.
In this case I’m using the striplight angled, this way I lights both my model and the background. By changing the angle of the striplight slightly I can balance the light on the background and the model. A very powerful technique.

By moving just a little but you can create some more powerful portraits.

But sometimes you need a little bit more intensity?
Make it black and white, add some grain and contrast….. “instant art” and yes this one was in focus 😀
(inside joke).

But let’s take one more step to the side and also include the striplight.
Now this one won’t be the shot you like or even want to try, but sometimes clients want something a bit different. And it’s just one step more to the side. Always try it.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.
We really appreciate a share on social media.

Awesome fashion shots with a complete set on a roll

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Fashion shots with Nadine

One of the things I absolutely love are the fashion shots they did in the ’60s-’70s. In today’s blog post, I used that era as inspiration for a more modern “Frank” approach 😀
So continue ready how I made these awesome fashion shots with our model/stylist Nadine.

In today’s blog post, we talk about posing, lighting, and backgrounds.

I’m using our Geekoto GT400 flash unit with a Geekoto 48″ softbox without the grid.  You could add a striplight from the other side to give a little bit of accent light.
During the workshop/assignment, I often shoot both ways because they can both give a totally different look and feel. Sometimes the client (or myself) likes the accent light more with certain poses and clothing. And sometimes the basic setup works best. If you want to go really “crazy” you can even add some gels to the set. But today we kept it more basic and as you can see the striplight just opens up the shadows a bit on one shot and gives a little bit of accent on the other. On the Geekoto commander, I can quickly change the settings of my strobes.

My main light I will normally not change, but accent lights I often adjust during the shoot.
Because I’m shooting tethered I can clearly see the effects of the setup and this also means I can more easily adjust my lights on the fly. Especially for the accent lights shooting tethered makes it possible to quickly adjust the lights to fit the poses and mood without leaving my spot 😀

Styling

Nadine did the styling for this set herself (as usual). She made the top with diamonds and glue. and sew a lot of jeans together.
We wanted some more unusual poses, and for me, it’s important that the model will find her/his own poses and “flow” through them. So I will often just coach which way to look or turn. But try to let the model find the poses her/himself. This way you prevent falling into the same poses over and over, plus it will just look way more natural.

Let’s take a look at some shots and then I’ll explain a bit more about the background and setup.

an awesome fashion shot with model/stylist Nadine

 

Backdrop

As you can see on the images I’m using a special background.
In a short time, this has become one of my absolute favorite backgrounds.

In this shoot I’m using the Click Backdrops Soft master grey background in the larger size pro fabric, this means it’s possible to use it as both the background and floor part. With this material, it’s also very easy to use tinting or gels and still get a very nice-looking effect in the background/floor. Here I’m using a slight (well okey slightly more than slight) blue tinting.

Motion

Now when we shoot images like this I also want a little bit of motion in the shot.
Motion doesn’t always mean models have to go crazy or leave orbit. You can add a little bit of motion by just raising a leg and slightly standing on her toes. Always remember that the model should point the toes downwards, otherwise, it looks really bad.

As you can see, just adding that little bit of “action” really enhances the shot.
It doesn’t mean the others are bad, they are just different. And again, you will sell more and get more clients when you offer variety in your work.

Angles

Most shots you’ve seen now have been done from a relative “standard” position.
However, when you want to enhance the action a bit it can really help to get a little bit closer to the model and shoot from a slightly lower angle with a slightly wider lens. This is one of the reasons I love to use the 24-79 F2.8 Gmaster from Sony.

As you can see the result is pretty amazing.

Phot

Photoshop for awesome fashion shots

I’ve used generative fill in Photoshop to fill in the sides.
By the way, did you know you now also find generative fill on the iPad in Photoshop?
And it works just as well for most things, which makes the iPad another step towards a real pro device.

Close up

Anyway, let’s continue.
Full body shots are great of course, but never forget to also get some close-ups.
Here I’m using a different tinting, but it’s the same setup.

another awewome fashion shot with Nadine

If you have any questions feel free to reach out.
We really appreciate a share on social media.

 

Check out the short I made

 

 

 

Adding some color to totally change the look and feel, also with Nadine 

See how I used the Soft Master Grey backdrop with Claudia