In todays blog post a video about one of the most beautiful lighting setups, the Rembrandt setup.
I also show you my favourite way of making this setup even better by adding an accent light.
You also get to see our new Geekoto softbox and the Rogue Flashbender.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask
You can get the products I use in our webshop by following the links.
A background really makes the shot for me.
I recently had a whole discusion with someone about how AI would replace backgrounds and no-one would ever shoot against backdrops anymore. I don’t think I have to tell you guys I did not agree 😀
One of the reasons we sell our ClickPropsBackdrops is not just for the print on a backdrop, but also the material and how it interacts with lighting. Every backdrop I use will respond differently. For example our vinyl backdrops are more harsh and really pop when lit with hard light. Awesome for modern looking images where you really want some content that adds to the scene.
On the other side we have our Pro-Fabric which looks and shoots very like the old canvasses we all love but no-body really can afford. Plus they have huge disadvantages with tear and wear and wrinkles which means you can’t really do a spontaneous shoot unless you prepare your background.
During the workshops I could always shoot with the backdrops we have and never feel bored, but I also love to “freak out” with other materials and building (sometimes over the top) sets.
I always wanted something really eye-catching and we decided to build something with gold as main theme…. in all honesty it turned out WAY better than expected.
Lucky workshop
As soon as I took the first shots with my phone I already saw the quality of the background, this was going to be fun.
The idea was to let the light bounce around the set and just let it reflect where it “wanted” and see what happend. Normally I try to get the reflections out by using the angle of incidence is angle of reflection rule, but in this case I thought it would give a really nice look, and it was impossible to prevent because it’s not a straight wall but there were angles in the material all over the place, so keeping reflections out… impossible, and when something is impossible….. embrace it and make it part of the image, you will be surprised how often problems become awesome parts of a shot 😀
I started with just the fresnel on our model Claudia. And although I loved those shots, I also got a package in that morning with a special new guitar. My first headless guitar actually, and I just loved the look and thought it would look great in this set, so of course I could not resist (I always love shooting my guitars during workshops).
For the guitarists :
This is a Latitude low budget headless guitar.
But I can highly recommend it, it plays like it costs at least 700-800 euros, but is sold for under 300,00
Ok let’s take a look at the first shot.
As you can see the light scatters around very nicely on the set.
But this was a bit too dark for my taste, for this set I really wanted something that gave a lot of power.
So I added a Geekoto small softbox next to the Fresnel and used a yellow gel from the back hitting both the model and the walls which were setup in a 90 degree angle. The result was a lot better. Still attention to the model with the Fresnel, but a nice fill from the small softbox and the backlighting really added the glue to put everything together.
Sorry for the many photos but part of the workshop was also how to find poses with something like a guitar and I ended up liking way too many images.
Hope you guys enjoyed todays blog.
If there is anything you like to see in the blog just let me know.
See frankdoorhof.com/shop for the Fresnel, strobes and light shapers I use.
In todays episode of the vlog we take you behind the scenes during our workshop in Oss.
This is the second and final part of the vlog about the workshop weekend that started in Pelt Belgium.
During the workshops the theme was “working with small strobes to create great images”, so we used our Geekoto strobes and accessories from Rogue and Nanlite to show you don’t need to break the bank, and can carry a complete studio in your bag to get great images.
With the Geekoto’s I’m able to bring my camera, lightmeter, 3 strobes with grips, 2 Rogue magnetic systems, Flashbender and Rogue Umbrella, iPad etc all in one backpack or rolling case. That’s very nice if you love working on location but don’t want to shoot different images than in the studio. And with 200-250 and 400W versions supporting ETTL and HSS you will be able to work under almost every situation. If it’s too dark, or if you want to work in the studio, there also is the option of using the build in modelling light.
For us the Geekoto is the perfect hybrid between a speedlight and studio strobe.
In case you missed it…
Here is part I
In the past few days you have seen some images from the workshop “on location in Emmeloord” with our model Claudia where we look for interesting locations around our own studio.
Today the final part.
One of the things I absolutely love to do on location (or in the studio) is add a touch of color.
Always remember that color evokes emotion.
Think about watching a movie without any tinting or music, you will probably pretty quickly leave the cinema disappointed, unless of course the story is strong enough. But in most cases the reason we love certain scenes/movies is because of the tinting/music used.
So today let’s take a look at some images where I added color on location.
This image is without any added color.
I’m using a Hensel Porty here with the 14″ reflector.
This reflector gives a lot more light than a standard reflector and makes it possible to shoot amazing images even in bright sunlight.
I’m using a variable ND filter to be able to shoot on a wider aperture. When using the Geekoto system I can chose for the HSS options where you can shoot on faster shutter speeds but with standard battery packs like the Hensel Porty you are stuck with the X-sync which is often between 1/125 and 1/200. In situations like this that means that you are almost always shooting at F16 or F22. By using a variable ND filter you can take away some/a lot of light and shoot wide open or on any aperture you like.
For the next shot I’m using a second Hensel Porty but this one is covered with a thick red gel.
I’m using the black diffusion filter here (from the same kit as the variable ND filter) to create a nice lens flare.
I love both shots, but the second one does give me a nice extra mood/feel.
You might say that you can add this in Photoshop in postprocessing, but I disagree, you can mostly easily see when it’s done in real life or added in post processing.
Now you might remember the blogpost where I showed you the Geekoto system for the first time with the red gels.
Let’s to refresh your memory show some of those images.
These were shot with the Geekoto GT200 and GT250.
Small strobes that can shoot on HSS. As you can see I’m creating a nice Day2Night look here and the red really jumps off ow youthe background.
Now for the next images I’m using the exact same setup in the same location but here I switched the Geekoto for the 1200W Hensel porty system.
The Hensel system does have a lot more power but doesn’t support HSS and as you can see they give you results that are incredibly close to each other.
I think this is one of the most interesting parts of the smaller flash systems like the Geekoto they don’t like like much compared to a system like the Porty but due to the use of HSS they do pack an incredible punch.
Of course they can’t compete with the Hensel on durability, recycling speed, flash duration and raw power. But if you don’t need that raw power I think you can do awesome things with the smaller systems, something that wasn’t possible in the past when we still were depending on speedlights only.
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