Tag Archive for: model photography

Lighting tricks that work…..using the light behind your model, yes it works like a charm but it’s special

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.

 

Behind the scenes during the Zebra photoshoot with Nadine and some great styling

In todays blog post we take you behind the scenes during the Zebra themed photoshoot we did with our Model, Stylist and good friend Nadine.

See how we build the set, which lighting we used and of course you get to see the end results.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

 

read the blog about Creating Patterns with Adobe AI

Use light in different ways for awesome portraits and more

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.
We really appreciate a share on social media.

A totally free 2 hour tutorial with Nadine and awesome lighting techniques “Surprise”

Digital Classroom: Surprise

 

In today’s blog post the results from the latest digital classroom episode.

The theme this time was “Surprise” and when the model/stylist is Nadine… well you know it’s going to be interesting.

In the almost 2 hour free tutorial, I take you through several lighting setups, explain the techniques, and how to go from okay to wow.
Of course, we are using setups and gear that are easy to recreate/afford yourself.

During the broadcast I’m using the Geekoto hybrid strobes with our Rogue magnetic system and flashbender and of course the brand new Geekoto foldable softbox.

The link is below the images.
Do remember that these are shot during a live stream, so don’t expect perfect images of course.

A totally free 2 hour tutorial with Nadine and awesome lighting techniques "Surprise" A totally free 2 hour tutorial with Nadine and awesome lighting techniques "Surprise"

And of course, the link to the live stream.

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