Tag Archive for: Geekoto

Quick portraits on location and to show how easy it is we have a cute labradoodle

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Quick Portraits on location

Quick portraits on location are always a challenge. You have to think fast, find a location, set up your lighting and often only have a few minutes with your client. Today we are going to take a look at how we set up a location session and what I use.

Make it easier on yourself

There is always a way to make it harder, but let us focus on the things that can make everything go as smoothly as possible. The first thing is, of course, preparation.

I love to mess around with lighting in the studio but often also have more than enough time. On location, I often have to set up and hit the ground running. This is why we talk with our clients about what they want for most on-location sessions. This means that when I arrive on location I already know where to place my lights, do a quick light meter check, and can start immediately.

Now you might wonder… “Didn’t you forget something?”
Yeah, I know what you think.

The background for a quick portraits on location

Of course, when we talk to our client before the shoot we also show different kinds of backdrops so the client can choose which one fits their look and brand. Because I’m using strobes I know that ambient light in most cases won’t cause any problems. However, don’t ever forget to take a ColorChecker image during the shoot. On location, you can have the most weird situations that can mess up your color that at first, you won’t notice because you’re using flash.

Now in the past, I’ve used solutions that worked pretty well but were always just a bit too short, narrow, or too large so they didn’t fit in my car forcing me to take the van (I prefer to drive electric of course :D)

Recently ClickBackdrops released the Clicki backdrop system and it’s become my favourite backdrop for quick on-location shoots. It’s wide enough to fit one person for wide (landscape-style) portraits. And with a little bit of AI in Photoshop I can easily shoot 3/4 shots in landscape mode because the subject doesn’t overlap anywhere. Somehow I prefer to shoot in landscape orientation which makes the width vital for me.

The Clicki fits with ease in my car (Hyundai Ioniq EV) and only needs a stand to be assembled on location in under a minute.
Of course, I also need to bring strobes.

Strobes

When we talk about speed I also have to be able to move fast and setup fast. So bringing heavy strobes or battery packs is out of the question.
For location work, I’m using the Geekoto GT200 and GT250 

The main advantage is that I can easily adjust the angle of the strobes via the pistol grip. So I can use almost any studio stand, which not only saves space but also makes setting up much easier and faster. The Geekoto also supports both ETTL and HSS. Combined with a 200/250W power output and 450-500 shots per battery makes it a very versatile setup that can easily suppress sunlight outside. And you can use the thicker more saturated colorgels for some really gorgeous color effects.

And the final piece of the puzzle…

What Light shapers to use for a quick portrait on location

Of course, I’m not using the strobes bare.
Although that can be a nice effect, it’s often not what the client wants to see.
So we need something to modify the light.

If it needs to be compact I love the Rogue products. Especially the new magnetic system is awesome for creative use on location (and in the studio) and of course the “famous” Frank Doorhof Flashbender :D. But for this setup, I’m using the Geekoto 26″ softbox. The main advantage of this system is that it just folds up very small but it also has a detachable speedring which makes it super easy to carry with you.

Enough talk, let’s take a look at the setup.

a quick portrait on location. this is how I did it

As you can see we just placed the Clicki behind the table. So the dog didn’t have to move and the whole setup was done in seconds (everything was set up, I just had to slide it there). Because we mark the floor when doing the meter readings, it’s a setup that makes it possible to almost immediately start shooting and thanks to the size of the Clicki you can also shoot from a few different angles.

So let’s see the results. It’s never perfect with these kind of one-minute sessions but the owner loved them. And for the trimmer, it’s just an extra service or something they can charge for.

So now you know what I use for quick portraits on location. If you have questions, find me on social media and let me know.

Quick portrait of a lovely labradoodle on location quick portrait on location of a dog a quick portrait on location

 

see the introduction of the Clicki Backdrop on Photodays in Brussel (2023)

 

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.
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