Tag Archive for: lighting

Working on location and what does flash do?

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During the workshop on location in Emmeloord with our model Claudia the theme is to find locations that might look boring and make them interesting enough for some cool shots. in my opinion this is one of the best things you can do to train yourself to create better images.

The reason most people don’t shoot images close to their home is probably that they see it every day and don’t realise anymore that some locations can be great to shoot images in or against. Every day I walk Chewie I see locations where I think “this would be nice to place a model” but somehow you always travel to cool locations to do the same while in essence you could take the same kind of images close you your own location.

Now of course we do want to introduce also some interesting lighting, because if you just shoot something with ambient light it’s boring right?
Or maybe not….
So during the workshop we actually run through several different lighting solutions.

So today let’s take a look at what you can do with just an open parking place.

Let’s start out with ambient light only.

A low angle and a standard preset I created in Luminar AI (you can get those on frankdoorhof.com/shop)

Now let’s add a just a slight amount of flash.
I’m using a Hensel Porty with a 14″ reflector here and to get this effect you really don’t need a lot of power, in essence I’m overpowering the ambient by just 1-1.5 stops.

With retouching you could get something similar quite easily.
Now one of the limitations of shooting with the Hensel Porty is that you are limited to the X-sync which in most cases lies between 1/125 and 1/200. So you will mostly shoot on smaller apertures when using a lot of power. This is why I’m using a variable magnetic ND filter on my lens when shooting with the porty system outside.

I’m using the K&F concept version which you can find in the Frank Doorhof kit which includes 2 Black diffusion filters (1/4 and 1/8) and the variable ND filter, all magnetic of course.

Ok, so now let’s add a lot of light.

Here I’m totally overpowering the ambient light and also chose a different angle to enhance the contrast even more.
One might say…”hey this is cheating because we don’t see the sky anymore”
So of course I also shot some with the sky included but we did move the set a bit to make the series more varied.

This is something I always highly recommend.
If you shoot all images from the same angle and in the same location it can be very nice but also a bit boring, and you don’t have to travel or even walk to another location, it’s often a matter of choosing a location where you can shoot from different angles and create something new with every angle. It doesn’t only speed up your workflow but also give your client much more different images for the same price, so they will be much more willing to hire you again for another job.

As you can see there is a huge difference between the first and last images.
However in reality it’s “only” the difference in lighting and by choosing different angles.

So the next time you are shooting on location look around for areas that can be shot from different angles and don’t be afraid to shoot with or without strobes.

 

Results from the Landschaftspark workshop with Nadine

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This weekend it was time for an awesome workshop.
The location: Landschaftspark Germany (Duisburg Nord). For Photo + Aventure festival 
An awesome location where I taught a workshop a few years ago. The plan was to come back the year after but Corona had other ideas. So after a few years… this weekend it was finally time to visit this amazing location again.

For a location like this we of course want some fabulous styling and a great model, so we brought Nadine with us 😀
With Nadine, we always know we get some kick-a$$ styling and great poses.

Gear is also essential when working on location. In Landschafstpark we can expect some locations that will be very bright but also some very dark areas. Luckily the Hensel Porty system has no problems with any location you throw at it.

The first set in this workshop is shot with our fiberglass Rogue umbrella.

The nice thing about this umbrella is that it’s very sturdy due to the fiberglass. And on location, an umbrella is easy to bring and has loads of options for lighting your model. And on the Porty we can even shoot in the bright sunlight without any problem.

The first set we did outside with one of the buildings in the back.

For the next set, we move “inside”.

I’m using the 14″ reflector and a slightly smaller reflector to really focus the light on Nadine.
By adding a blue gel I added a touch of color and mood to the set.

We still had a few minutes left before lunch so I quickly set up another option by using the nice structured wall and one strobe under an extreme angle. By moving around the model you can get some cool results very quickly.

 

After lunch, we decided to take some shots in a beautiful part of the park where you can really work with some nice angles.
I started with the light straight at Nadine as a sort of fill-in flash.

There is nothing wrong with this setup but I really wanted some more drama and “oompf” in my shot, so we moved the strobe to the side and got these results.

When we saw these shots we knew we still had more than enough time to add at least one more set. But how do you improve this I thought?

We decided to go for a location where we could let Nadine interact with the building and use the sky a bit more prominent with some strong shadows and leading lines.

The next shots were done with one strobe with the 14″ reflector and grid.

Sometimes we have these amazing shots and we are happy and stop.

But …..
Over the years I’ve learned that you should always also try different angles. And believe it or not, in most cases those images are at least as good. But often a lot better. The reason is that we as photographers often chose an angle that feels “natural” and it can create breathtaking shots. But when we start to experiment with stranger angles or simply move to the other side….. it often is a lot more interesting.

 

I absolutely love teaching workshops so I never stop exactly at the time the organization sets 😀

 

That meant that we decided to not go back to the meeting room but add another strobe with a red gel, move the whole set a few meters to the right, and ended up with maybe my favorite shots of the day.

 

Many thanks to Nadine for the awesome styling and posing.
Annewiek for filming the whole day (video will be uploaded tomorrow)
And of course the Photo+Adventure organization for inviting me over.
But not to forget the awesome group of students, we had a blast 😀

If you also want to visit a workshop visit www.fotografie-workshops.nl for the agenda.

Choose your angles with care

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Walking around your model or chosing different angles can have a huge impact on your final results.

When using a striplight with a grid like I do in the examples, you can make your model jump out from the background, even when using a more busy background. And you don’t need to add a vignette later in post processing.

By moving around the model you have a great control over the contrast and look of the image. You can go from relative flat to very high contrast. It’s a technique I always use to get the most out of a setup or give my client more choice

When you also add lower and higher angles you can see that with only one lightsetup you can get a lot of different looks.


In the following examples I’m using the #clickpropsbackdrops antique navy wall. The wall is blue and by using red in the clothing and accent light you can get a really cool effect.

How to meter light on location, outside

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. PIn today’s blog post, we look at a topic that is super easy when you “get” it. But can be super confusing when you start out. Do you know how to meter light on location outside? Continue reading if this is a problem for you.

Metering outside to kill the sun

Ok, it sounds a bit harsh we don’t really kill the sun. But when using strobes outside the right way you can make it day-to-night without any problem.

See my previous article about Combining/mixing light sources

Now with the day-to-night technique, there is no real problem. So let’s start there.

When you don’t have a modern camera with an EVF you can use a light meter and spot meter for the area you want to be totally in shadow but just show a slight amount of detail. And now set the aperture for the strobe app 4-4.5 stops higher. Or meter the clouds and open up the aperture max 2.5-3 stops to keep detail in the whites.

With a modern camera, we can use the EVF (Electronic Viewfinder). Just make sure it’s set up to show you the results of the settings in the camera. I always call this the WYSIWYG method. From here on it becomes super simple. I mostly lock my shutter speed at 1/125 (Xsync) and ISO at 50/100 I will then use the aperture dial to dial in the look I like when I get the look I want that’s the aperture I will meter the strobes on.

Xsync is the max shutter speed that can be used without HSS, when you use HSS you do need an HSS-capable light meter like the Sekonic 858, everything else I discuss stays the same.

So if I love the F16 ISO50 1/125
The only thing I have to do is set the light meter to ISO50 and meter the strobe till it hits F16.

The nice thing about using the EVF is that you can already see the end result before you take the shot. Although a light meter is a very accurate tool it’s very hard to “imagine” how the end result will be by just metering. I can predict it for about 75% but using the EVF is 100% and much more accurate. The only thing you have to be aware of is that you have to “imagine” the model to be lit in the image while in essence you probably see him/her as a dark outline.

How to meter light on location, outside. in this article I explain.

The problem area

I sometimes call it the Twilight Zone or the Outer Limits. In essence, it’s not far from the truth, and it’s an easy way to remember what the problem actually is. So what do I mean?

When we meter for day-to-night photography it’s standard that you start with the strobe on the highest setting. Let me be honest, you know you’re going to need it right?
So when you meter the strobe it will probably register as F22. And you lower it one stop and it will meter F16 and you’re there. But even when you lower the strobe another stop it will probably read F11. And probably also F8 after another stop…… Do you feel where I’m going?

There is a point where you MIGHT think you are influencing the strobe. But in essence, you are metering the clouds in front of the sun… So what’s going on, and why doesn’t it happen with day-to-night?

Fill in flash

When we shoot day-to-night we start from a high power output. And because we are overpowering the sun/ambient light we have loads of headroom to go down even more before we hit the Twilight Zone.

When we use fill-in flash, we are in essence adding a little bit of flash to the ambient light. Just to open up some shadows, or maybe just give an essence of extra mood, or mimic a lamp in the room, fill-in flash is subtle and most of the time not even visible (until you don’t use it).

So how do we set up the lights in this situation?
Indeed… where from day-to-night we went from the highest setting slowly down. We are now probably starting on the lowest setting and this is where the problems arise which I call the Twilight Zone.

It’s the light meter’s fault

When we look at how the light meter works it’s very easy to say that the light meter is the cause of this problem.
The light meter has a photosensitive cell and meters the light hitting that cell within the values you setup in your meter.

So let’s say I’m in a situation where my ambient light is: F4 ISO400 1/125
Now when I set up my light meter for ISO400 1/125, the meter will literally give me the value for the aperture with those settings. So where is this a problem? well, it also does that in flash mode, not just in the “sun” mode.

Let’s say I’m using a strobe with softbox at 1mtr from my model. I set my strobe up for the lowest setting, walking up to the model and meter the light… and wow what a piece of luck it’s F4…. That was easy. I walk back and take the shot…. And to my surprise, there is no strobe. Of course,  check the connection, and I see the strobe firing, so I re-meter and the same thing happens. I raise the output of the strobe and the meter keeps saying F4…..

Does this mean the light meter is useless on location?

No not at all, in fact, it does exactly what it’s supposed to do 😀
On some meters you will actually see a percentage, this is actually the number of strobes vs continuous light. So in my situation, the strobe is probably not outputting F4 but more likely F2.8 or even lower. The meter does respond to the strobe but meters F4 on 1/125 ISO400 which is actually the ambient light as we had determined before.

So how do we solve this?

When I set up for fill-in light I will always put my strobes a bit higher than what I think I need.
I’ll first meter the ambient light via the EVF or light meter (depending on the subject). And then I’ll meter the strobes.
If my ambient light meters F4 I will make sure I first meter F5.6 on the strobes. And from there I will go down 0.5 stops if the meter also drops 0.5. I know that I’m in sync with the meter and the strobe vs the ambient light. From there I will go down 0.1 stops just as long as the meter also drops 0.1. As soon as the meter doesn’t drop anymore just add 1/10th and you have the perfect balance between ambient light and strobe. Now in all honestly I never use this technique, but it’s important to understand it, in theory, to see that there is a zone where the ambient light simply overpowers the strobe.

In most cases, I want a little bit more on our subject. So in most cases when my ambient is F4 I will set the strobes up for F8 and lower the strobes a full stop. If the meter also drops a full stop I know I’m fine and get the effect I want.

How to meter light on location, outside for a good exposure. You will read it in this blog post.

Why not just adjust and shoot….?

I get it.
Why use light meters, calculations, etc. to get something perfect when you can also just shoot, adjust and shoot.
First of all, when you adjust, shoot, adjust, shoot, adjust, shoot it takes up more time. Plus you waste a lot of battery power. When working for a client it doesn’t really give confidence if you as a photographer can’t nail your lighting with the first shot. And if you work with a model she won’t be your best friend if you have to do that every time something changes.

When using a light meter in all setups (except the 100% balanced fill-in flash) you only need to meter twice. Once for the current output, adjust the strobes and meter again to check, and if you trust your strobes…. Well, you don’t even have to do the second one.

When you understand the concept and get some speed in balancing your lights you can very quickly change the total mood of a setup. Like these images I shot during a workshop in Sweden in the meeting room. We go from fill-in flash to more extreme settings.

If you have questions, feel free to leave them here or on our social media.