Tag Archive for: gobo

That Hollywood effect

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It’s weird but it does work

When we watch movies there is one thing that always draws my attention.
The flashlights.
Let me explain.

When I walk in a dark room and use my flashlight I can see the whole room light up, and… well that’s about it.
Well unless there is a LOT of dust in a room, but in those case I’ll be gone very fast.

So why is it that in almost every movie when someone enters a room there is distinct beam of light from the flashlight?
Well…. because it looks cool and draws you more into the movie.

So how do they do it?

You probably will know, but just in case.
You can get these effects by using a very nice focused flashlight and make sure the room is filled with haze, a very light smoke that is hardly visible.
In the previous posts we already talked about backlighting smoke, and that’s exactly what happens, and because the beam of light is very focused you can see the beams of light.

So how can we create something like this in our studio?

There are several solutions to create patterns in the smoke.
Of course you can chose to use a flashlight and no strobes. With modern cameras and great high iso performance this will be no problem.
When using strobes you can use for example a snoot, or a reflector with a very narrow grid and place the strobe far away from something that will project your pattern in the smoke. You can use branches, a ladder etc. As long as the strobe is far away it will create nice effects.

However if you want to do it easily and much better…

Use a gobo projector

Probably one of my favorite toys in the studio is the Westcott Lindsay Adler optical spot.
This is a device you place in front of your strobe and you can use the blades to create a light pattern but you can also place metal discs with patterns that can be projected in the smoke.
The unique feature of a gobo projector is that on the front you will find a lens that will literally focus the pattern from the gobo. This means you can place the projector close to your subject and have 100% control over the sharpness of the patterns.

So let’s take a look at how this looks.

Ok that might be nice, but how about adding two extra strobes?
By adding some colors you can spice up a shot, especially with smoke.
I’m using two Geekoto GT200s with the Rogue Magnetic system gels.
When you add too much smoke the pattern will disappear, during the workshop I often have less time to let the smoke disappear, so as you can see in the following results the smoke was a bit too thick for an optimal effect.

As you can see, adding the colors totally transforms the scene into something completely different.
Personally I like them both, but my preference are the ones with color.
However having the patterns from the back did lose some impact, so at one point we decided to raise the stand and let the projector aim down at our model.
This way the pattern will cut through the smoke a bit different and make it more visible, even when using a bit more smoke.

More fun

Working with smoke is already loads of fun, but by adding patterns or/and a Gobo projector makes it a lot more fun.
I can highly recommend getting one for your studio. Especially when you like working with smoke and emulate the old masters or film noir techniques, now that I think about it, it’s also great for fashion 😀

Next time it’s about adding motion in the smoke and the model.

Workshops

Want to learn everything about light control?
Want to visit a workshop where it’s not just shooting a model with a fixed lighting setup, but see how the setup is built and adjusted to the taste of the group?
And of course learn how to work with poses, backgrounds, small sets, styling, retouching, and a lot more…..

If this all sounds awesome, visit fotografie-workshops.nl and book your workshop.
If you don’t speak Dutch, no problem, let us know a few weeks in advance, and we can switch the workshop to English.
Not possible to travel to the Netherlands?
We got you covered with our 1:1 online workshop.
We have a full streaming setup in our studio. 4 detail cameras and of course the retouching software, so you can see every detail and of course ask questions during the day. Plus, you get all the RAW files after the workshop.

 

Those lines but how

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Who didn’t struggle with this one…

I know I did, and during the workshops I’ve heard the question over and over “how do you get those really cool sharp shadow lines on your model?”

Somehow I always immediately think about the old detective movies, where someone was looking through Venetian blinds and you can see the shadows on the face. So when I started with modelphotography I of course got some Venetian blinds to create the best images you have ever seen… only to fail miserably.

A softbox definitely was not the way too go, I knew that.
So my first experiment was with an open reflector and grid aimed at the venetian blinds and te results were…. well pretty disappointing.
Of course I wanted to know what I did wrong and found out that all the “power” was in just one simple move.

Literally move your light.
When you want really harsh shadows, think about the sun, it’s far away and gives you huge shadows, add clouds in the sky and the shadows are softer. This is why we often refer to clouds as “the big softbox in the sky”.
The harsh light I got but the problem was that the shadows were hardly seen on the model, unless she was really close to the Venetian blinds and the light against the wall, which in that period meant 2-3 mtrs. All the images I saw in books with diagrams gave me that setup, but the results were nothing like it.

The trick is distance, which at time was my problem.
When you move your light further away from the Venetian blinds the shadows will become harsher, but also reach further, meaning the model doesn’t have to stand against the Venetian blinds, but can actually move in the set, as long as you have space.

The problem is of course focussing your light.
Meaning you need to make sure that the light doesn’t spill over your whole set, but only where you want it.
Luckily for that we have several light shapers.
If you use reflectors you can add grids which makes sure the light beam becomes much more focussed, and depending on the depth of the grid you can make the light beam smaller or wider.

of course you can also use a snoot, I personally love the Rogue snoot on a GT200, which makes it possible to not only project a round lightshape (with the included diffusion panel) but also a vertical light pattern, if you leave the difussion panel out (the GT200 is a rectangular strobe vs the GT250 which is round), and you can adjust the beam of light by collapsing the snoot in 4 different settings.

Let’s take a look at a result with the model close to the blinds.

As you can see that with enough distance you can also see the lines on the background.
Which means we can also use them in a set, and if you like the shadows to be less harsh…. just move the light closer to the blinds. You have 100% control.

And if you like it more moody and dark, just change the angle and exposure.
And maybe add a slight blue color, which always helps with getting a more moody dark feel.

And finally, you can of course always add a small fill in light.
In this case I’m using a Geekoto GT200 with the Rogue Magnetic dome and a red gel to give a nice fill in light that both hits the model but also leaves a nice gradient on the Venetian blinds.

Because I need the strobe to be low on the floor I’m using a platypod to hold the strobe.
The platypod system is a great solution to replace tripods and place strobes in ‘impossible” (super) “creative” locations.

And of course you can also shoot the Venetian blinds from the other side and use the reflections to create a totally different look.
This is one of the things I always try to show in the workshops, moving around is one of the most powerful lighting tricks you can use and it can give you a lot more final results from the same setup.

Alternatives

Of course there are other ways to get shadows like this, and even more creative ones.
Venetian blinds are pretty cheap, but if you want to go all out with shadow effects I highly recommend the Lindsay Adler optical snoot from Westcott. It’s a gobo projector that is able to project patterns on your subject, and thanks to the lens you can focus the sharpness of the shadows, It’s one of my absolute favorite light shapers for creative light use.

Want to visit one of the workshops?
visit fotografie-workshops.nl for the agenda and more info.
Not speaking Dutch? No problem.
Let us know a few weeks in advance and we will switch the workshop to English.
And if The Netherlands is too far away, we have a full setup for (1:1) online workshops, with different camera angles, and of course screen sharing so you can see all the images coming in, and follow the retouch process. Plus you get all the RAW files I shoot during the day.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.

An awesome glamour lighting technique to focus your light

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Some lighting setups are just awesome

And for me this is one of them.

As the main lightsource I’m using the Westcott Lindsay Adler optical snoot.
The advantage of the optical snoot is that you can focus the light beam and get some real nice very sharp lighting effecting.
I love using it straight on the model or on the background, or like you see here, to create some special effects.

The trick of course is smoke, otherwise you don’t see the beam of light.
But also make sure you place the light slightly in front, otherwise the model has to look straight up.
But I think a video will explain this much better 😀

And some more of the final results

Want to visit one of the workshops?
Check fotografie-workshops.nl for the agenda and more information.
The workshops are normally in Dutch, but if you let us know a few weeks in advance we can switch to English.
But of course also 1:1 workshops are possible, in real life and even online.
If you want to learn, we have a solution.

Awesome glamour lighting effect with smoke

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Some lighting setups are just awesome

And for me, this is one of them. I love this glamorous lighting with smoke. Model Malin has a perfect classical face for these kinds of shots. We never did this light setup before.

Glamorous lighting with smoke

a classical looking model in a gala outfit with fur in a beam of glamorous light from above, filled with some smoke

What gear did I use for this glamorous lighting?

As the main light source, I’m using the Westcott Lindsay Adler optical snoot.
The advantage of the optical snoot is that you can focus the light beam and get some real nice, very sharp lighting effects.
I love using it straight on the model or on the background. Or, like you see here, to create some special effects.

The trick, of course, is smoke; otherwise, you don’t see the beam of light.
But also make sure you place the light slightly in front, otherwise the model has to look straight up.
But I think a video will explain this much better 😀

And some more of the final results

 

These shots were all taken during the workshop “Classical Masters”, where we are making lighting setups used by the old photographers in the analog era.  The attendees shot these images as well. Check this link to see the pictures of one of the students of this workshop with glamorous lighting with smoke 

 

Want to visit one of the workshops?

 

All our workshops are tailor-made. Every workshop has a theme (like this one, “Classical Masters”) and starts with a Q&A where you can ask anything about photography or lighting related to the topic. All your questions will be answered or incorporated into the shoot with the model.

 

Check fotografie-workshops.nl for the agenda and more information.
The workshops are normally in Dutch, but if you let us know a few weeks in advance, we can switch to English.
But of course also 1:1 workshops are possible, in real life and even online.

If you want to learn, we have a solution.

 

Check out some more images we took during this workshop with glamorous lighting with smoke