Frank Doorhof

working with smoke

January 19, 2016/in blog, Visions and technique/by Frank Doorhof

One of the most interesting workshops is without a doubt “working with smoke”
It all might seem very simple, just pump some smoke and you’re done… but in reality it’s almost a science, I could literally write pages about it (I might do that one day).
In essence you have to remember that smoke acts like a diffuser and reflector at the same time, so backlighting smoke can be awesome and front lighting a disaster, however if you set up your lights perfectly before you add smoke it could very well be that all falls down when you add the smoke due to the fact that smoke also acts as a diffuser, so it could be way to bright OR way too dark….

Now if you’re smart (and I know you guys are) you can use smoke also to light up your model in areas where normally it would a bit too dark, for example put two strips behind the model and you will end up with a very dark front, however add a bit of smoke in the front and the light will bounce of the smoke and actually light the dress…… easy right? well not that easy but in essence it is, now you have to start to learn how to add the smoke.

With smoke we always work with 2 smoke machines if we can, just layering in the smoke using patterns that will fit the scene, and this has to be very fast because smoke will always move around, so often I’ll ask my assistants to first blow smoke in the front of the model (in these kind of shots) and then behind them and move up very fast. This way you can create some pretty interesting effects.
To show total control over your smoke you can even create two walls of smoke 😀
To light up the face of the model a bit more I used a small snoot with grid.

If you like these kind of tips make sure to check out my book “Mastering the model shoot” or get one of the instructional videos from this website.

About input and working together

January 18, 2016/in blog, Visions and technique/by Frank Doorhof

Today some more images with the light snake like we discussed in the previous blogpost.

This time we have added a small set and did a bit more with the styling of the model.
These images were shot during a workshop about smoke and props, in this workshop we show the attendees on how to control smoke, and believe it or not it’s almost a science, but also on how to work with very simple and budget friendly props to create something cool.

One of things I always try to teach is that you’re much stronger if you’re listing to your team or anyone in the room. There is a saying “you’re as strong as the weakest link” and that might be so for certain areas but I strongly believe that if you combine everything together even the weakest link adds to the total amount.

What I see a lot on sets is that the photographer takes control…(read this with a low voice) it’s HIS set and everyone should listen, if someone has input HE will determine if it’s right…. (switch back to normal voice) now that might work for some people, or at least they think, in reality they are missing out a lot.

During workshops and shoots I always listen to everyone, I want all the input I can get, some ideas I will not investigate further because I simply know they are not fitting the shot I want/need but most of the time you will find that if you create the atmosphere in which people DARE to have input your session will FLY and your creativity will blossom.

In this set I just started simple and together with the students we started to think about what we could do with the light-snake, and see what happened.

as you can see it’s just a very simple change of the light snake and it actually changes the whole shot, the light snake goes from a position in the back where you could actually ask “why” to a major role into the shot. Now this was shot during a workshop so my time is always limited to shoot but imaging going further with this and connecting the back part for example to the mask….. just thinking out loud 😀

So next time you shoot, make sure to listen to your team and value their input, they REALLY can make you better, often people compliment me with the diversity of my portfolio, and I always honestly tell them that it’s because I always work with very creative people and value their input, this way you can always improve and change, even if you work with a steady team there is always a new element like an internet, an attendee or even just a simple visitor that can add to your shots..

Good luck.

If you like tips like this and want even more check out my book “Mastering the model shoot” or get one of our instructional videos from this site.

How to shoot a model that’s lying down

January 15, 2016/4 Comments/in blog, Visions and technique/by Frank Doorhof

This must be one of the most asked questions during workshops and especially the glamour workshops.
“How to shoot a model that’s lying down on the floor?”

Now at first this might seem simple.
Just lay her on the floor (watch out where you walk) and shoot her.
But in reality it’s often not that easy, for example what to do with the light, what to do with the background, what to do with her legs, pose, eyes etc. there are actually many things that can go wrong (including tripping over her).

In this shot we used a speed light to light the model from above.
As a modifier I used the Rogue grid which is awesome to really pin point the light to our model Ingrid.
One of the things I love to do with these kind of shots is make the light fall off, this also immediately takes care of the background which in most cases in studio work is not that interesting. Make sure the background is dark (no shiny objects like stands in the back) and just change the grid (or the distance of the strobe) so that the light fall off is nice and covers her face and just a bit of her lower legs in the pose you like.

Remember that you narrow the beam of your light with :
The distance of the strobe relative to the model (further away will make the beam wider)
The thickness of the grid (the thicker the grid the narrower the beam)

Now the light fall off you can determine two ways.
1. the hard way and long way.
Just shoot, and look, change, shoot, and look, change etc.

2. the easy way and looks pretty darn professional (meaning it looks like you actually know what you’re doing).
Use a a light meter and make sure the difference in light between the face and the part you still want SOME details in is app 4 stops apart, meaning if the face meters f11 the fall off should meter app f2.8. However in most cases we shoot this kind of stuff on f2.8 to get a really nice shallow depth of field (later more on this) so to make metering a bit more easy you can cheat a bit by setting your light meter to meter on ISO1600 while you shoot on ISO100 this way the meter will not show you the dreaded EU reading (Extreme Underexposed… yeah I know it means something different).

So as soon as we have the light fall off correct it’s important to talk about lenses.
We want a shallow depth of field so this often means we are shooting this kind of shots with a LONG lens, anything about 100mm works fine, but a 200mm will give you a really narrow depth of field but makes focussing very tricky.
As soon as we have the lens sorted, it’s now about angle.
So where do we sit, stand or ……
In my opinion the best angle depends on the model, the pose and personal taste, but I love to shoot from an angle where I actually sit on the floor or on the lowest possible position of my studio stool (which is pretty low). But this REALLY depends on your taste and the pose you choose.

So now it’s about pose.
In my case I always like to see the legs a bit more up, model is lying on her back looking towards the light slightly (to get a nice nose shadow) or totally away from it (more mysterious) and I most of the time will start with one leg at a 45 degree angle and one just playing around it, not on the floor, not at 45 degree but just “puzzle” a bit, this is very personal and often the most difficult part. One final tip on this is to count down and make the model put tension on her body on the moment you click.

What about the eyes?
Good question…
In some cases it can be downright CREEPY if she keeps her eyes open, so in that case close them… yep it’s as easy as that, it’s not rocket science. If you want a bit more “sexy” close the eyes and let her hands just slightly move around her neck area but beware that you don’t go to far with this because a nice and relative sexy shot can VERY quickly become a very erotic shot which might not be what you’re after. Also make sure you focus on the CLOSEST eye.

So the next time you shoot a model lying on the floor I hope these tips help out.
Make sure to show your results at our facebook group with the name “Mastering the model shoot” and check out my book with the same name for much more information on photographing model, or get one of our instructional videos from the site.

Small spaces are limiting? … nah

January 7, 2016/in Visions and technique/by Frank Doorhof

One of the most heard excuses is “my space is too small for a good shot”.
Well you might not be able to shoot a model in front of a white seamless, or fit in a whole family, or make a model jump (although that could be funny… for the photographer, not the model,….. nah don’t do it), but in essence EVERY location has potential as long as you use it to the max.

In this case we used a small staircase that is located at the back end of our studio and leads up to the “stage”. Our building is actually and old “church” and this was where the preacher was standing, it’s a tight space but for me it’s always fun to shoot there.

As you can see in the following shots I used some smoke to give the scene a bit more of an edge, but I also used my lighting to the max by moving around my model. Now always remember that smoke acts as both a diffuser and reflector so the more smoke you get… well let me put it this way, it’s always different. Also remember that as soon as the smoke gets in between the model and the front light source “all bets are off” smoke will start to act as a reflector and it will be one big white out.

We used one Elinchrom beauty dish with grid from the front and one gridded (and later open) reflector from the back with a blue gel.
Styling and model : Nadine

For the next one I left in a bit more red.

But you don’t always have to use the same pose of course…..
Why not shoot one from the back for example.

And while you’re at it. Why not move around your model and get a completely different look?

As you can see with the same light setup and the same very tight space you can create something really cool… just think outside the box… or in these kind of cases probably inside the box 😀

Good luck.

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working with smoke

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About input and working together

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How to shoot a model that’s lying down

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Small spaces are limiting? … nah

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