Tag Archive for: how to

A new Frank Doorhof allround filter pack

Filters come in many shapes and sizes (literally).
Personally, I’m not really a filter fan, but since I started using the Black Diffusion filters from K&F concept I have literally fallen in love with those filters.

The Black Diffusion filters from K&F concept give a fantastic “glow” effect on highlights, but do not “ruin” the photo due to loss of sharpness, photos remain razor-sharp, but as soon as some backlight falls on the lens, you see the highlights really “glow” fantastic. “. but that’s not all, I mainly use the filters for the impact they have on lens flares.

Where normally a lens flare can be a bit “harsh”, the filters provide a fantastic smooth rendering of the flare.

The Black diffusion is available in different strengths, but I mainly use the 1/8 and 1/4.
It will therefore come as no surprise that you will find these 2 in the package.
But there’s more…

You probably see them sometimes, those shots where the water is really super smooth, in case you’re wondering how they do that…. a really long shutter speed. Normally, however, this will not work because you would then get a totally overexposed photo, so you have to ensure that less light falls on the sensor. And for that we use so-called ND (Neutral Density) filters, which are available in different values ​​(stops) which indicate how much light is lowered.

Now you may be wondering what I do with an ND filter?
Well… with outdoor flash we have a similar problem.
Many flashes that are a bit more powerful have a limitation on the shutter speed that you can use (often this is max 1/125-1/200, called the X-sync). If you shoot faster, you will be treated to a “nice” black bar (the shutter curtain). This often means that if you work with flash outside, you get photos with a depth of field from here to eternity, and that’s not always what you aim for of course.

By using an ND filter, we are able to block part of the light so less light falls on the sensor, this means we can now open the aperture, resulting in less depth of field. Awesome.

Now the question that we all want to ask “what strength should I buy?”
Well, that’s not so easy to answer.
Sometimes you want a little less and sometimes a little more…. luckily we have a solution for that too.

In addition to the 1/4 and 1/8 Black Diffusion filters, the Frank Doorhof package also includes a variable ND filter from 8-128, a very useful range for both model photography with flash on location and landscapes. The variable ND filter has clear indications for the stops and is also fully adjustable. More flexibility is almost impossible.

If you’re already getting excited…. just wait

One of the major drawbacks of filters is that they are sometimes impossible to get off your lens.
There only needs to be a small grain of sand on the ring or maybe you don’t pay attention when mounting the filter and it’s not aligned perfectly, drama, drama, drama 😀
Well…. we solved that too.

frank doorhof K&F kit

All filters are magnetic
This means that you only have to place the magnetic ring on your lens, my advise is to do this in a clean environment and also, just to be sure, clean everything with a blower so that there is nothing on the lens mount where the ring is placed. Once the ring is on, you can change the filters with lighting speed.

Happy yet?
Again this is not all, when we do something… we do it the right way.

Due to the design of the filters and the ring, you can also combine the filters.
For example, if you want more diffusion than 1/4, you just click the 1/8 on top of the 1/4 and you get a heavier effect.

Of course, the variable ND filter is also fully magnetic and has no protruding parts, so you can still use the lens hood if necessary.

Almost done
Ok, in terms of filters we are done now, but there is more.
Of course we can just give you the filters in a box, but that is not really convenient on location and doesn’t look cool/special, so we opted for a beautiful handmade leather pouch, and they are all unique (handmade). We have a few of them in the studio and they are indeed all slightly different, so you really buy something unique.

In this video I introduce the package to you and show you what it contains and what you can do with it.

The filterpack is now available via www.frankdoorhof.com/shop (for the Benelux) or in the stores that sell K&F Concept.

Behind the scenes during the workshop “smoke” plus how I shoot tethered to the iPad pro

In today’s episode of behind the closed DOORs we talk about tethering to the iPad pro
And I take you BTS during the workshop smoke with our model Linda.

During the video you see all the results but in the blog post one of the sets 😉

Enjoy the video and dont forget to subscribe. We have a lot of different videos ranging from behind the scenes to reviews and tips and tricks. Plus of course our regular live streams in the digital classroom series

Our new Rogue umbrellas in action and free tutorial

In this blogpost some results from our model Linda

These were shot during the livestream in our digital classroom series. During the shoot I show several ways to use umbrellas to not only create great shots but also add a lot of control to the way you use your lighting.

The new Rogue umbrellas are designed for different uses. In the kit is the familiar white umbrella which you can use for bounce or shoot through. This one is great as a very neutral fill in flash or very soft lensflare.

But you also find a black reflector umbrella with a sleeve. This one is my absolute favorite because the light is much more controllable and the sleeve gives the light fall off a very nice edge which is great for feathering.

The black and white umbrella are very suitable to light white backdrops depending on the area you want to cover. The white one will give some spill in the back. The black one will one light the backdrop behind the model with a very nice smooth transfer (no hotspots like with background reflectors).

See the live stream here :

You can now order the kit and the umbrellas seperate via frankdoorhof.com/shop

Here are some of the results from the live stream

Brand new video on speedlights “Speedlight magic”

The responses we get on my book “Speedlight magic” now available on Amazon and in our own webshop are all very positive so we decided to dive into the studio and film a brand new full length tutorial with the topic “speedlight magic”

In this 70+ minutes video (in glorious 4K) I dive into the following parts of the speedlight.

Section 1
Everything you need to know about : EETL, First and second curtain sync, HSS, Zooming, Manual mode, Flash exposure compensation

Section 2
My favourite modifiers, using remote controls, stands, how to mount your speedlight safe and secure.

Section 3
A full studio shoot with the following techniques :
light in light, using gels, powerful portrait set-up, classical portrait setup, accent lights, using zoom vs grids.

And this is just scratching the surface, the whole video is filled with tips and tricks with an easy explanation. We filmed most parts with 2 different angles so everything is seen very clearly. During the model shoot (with our awesome model/stylist Nadine) you also see all the images coming in and the final results.

The video is available now via this link.
I’m sure you’re going to love it and really find new ways to use these super creative strobes.

Some examples from the video