Tag Archive for: model

Aimed light

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One of the most difficult things to do is really aiming your light.
In a lot of workshops you will see big soft boxes aimed at the model from a moderate distance, this is of course very understandable for the simple reason that in fact you really can’t go wrong…. however the resulting image is often “a bit flat” and not that interesting lighting wise.

 

A next step is using smaller light sources like striplights or for example a beauty dish with grid.
For example in this shot I used a small striplight.

Roosmarijn Mei 22 2014 (73 of 155)-Edit

It can get way more interesting however when we start lighting our model from the back and creating a very dark front. Now normally one would let the model look upward to catch some light, but often that doesn’t really result in the image you want, a model looking towards the camera always has a little bit more….. connection, especially with glamour.

 

In the next shot I used a beauty dish from the back and lit the models face with a very small light source, in this case a snoot with grid.

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At a bit of spice to a shoot with sunglasses

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Often I’m asked “What to do to spice up a shoot”
Well you can a lot of things of course, but one thing that I always find fun and can really add a little bit of an edge to a session is let the model play with sunglasses.

 

During a workshop with Sharon we added this little accessory and played with it.

 

Sharon Mei 17 2014 (56 of 121)-Edit-Edit

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Poldermodel 2014

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When I work with the models during my workshops it always felt a bit weird that most of the models were all located far away from Emmeloord (our hometown) this is weird because when I walk through our town I see a lot of nice girls/boys that could model for us. Sometimes I do give a card but I have to honest most people don’t respond (maybe shame or they just throw away the card) so don’t worry if that also happens to you, maybe 1 out of 10 will respond.

 

Anyway, a few years ago I thought that it would be cool to organize a competition that shows us there are great models closer to home and the idea for “Poldermodel” was born. To explain the title a bit, we live in an area that is actually won back from the sea, so yeah in fact we live under sea level and NO I’m not sponge bob Squarepants 😀 and in Dutch we call this “polder”.

 

In 2012 we started the competition and it was a huge succes but due to limited time in 2013 we did not have the energy and time to organize it again, but we promised we would do it in 2014… and we did. On May 16th it was time for “poldermodel 2014” in a beautiful new location “Chez Marknesse”. During the day we organized different “stages” for the models including a photoshoot with me, a seminar on the life as a model and a catwalk training. In all “stages” there were several things the models learned but also things the judges looked for and would use for the final part, selecting the winner.

 

Today some of the images we shot during the day.
But first the winners of the title “Poldermodel 2014”

 

 

Anna and Ben

 

In 2012 Ben was in the top 3 but did not win and as always we gave the finalists some tips to grow and man did Ben listen.  Ben we choose because he performed great in all stages but most of all the catwalk where he not only got the biggest response from the crowd but also blew the jury away with his dynamic walk and absolute “I’m Ben and that’s it” attitude, the crowd and the jury loved it.

Poldermodel 2014 sessie (1 of 278)

Anna is a real “poldermodel” she is not only a great model for fashion and has some really nice expressions in her shots but most of all Anna is the kind of model that will promote your event to the top with her smile which melted not only me but also the whole jury, and as you can see here she is not afraid to jump out of the box during a photoshoot, even if she only has a few frames. WOW.Poldermodel 2014 sessie (242 of 278)
And here are some images from the catwalk show.

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PSW results

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Teaching at Photoshop World is always one of the highlights (actually two) of the year.
Not only the huge and enthusiastic crowds but also the team in which we work is just awesome and incredibly inspiring.
When I’m home from PSW I’m always overflowing with ideas and new creativity.

 

During this years workshops/seminars I’m experimenting on stage with light, it’s a bit of a risk because however often you do it… it’s always slightly different, but I think that’s also the fun in teaching this way, if everything is rehearsed and fool proof it’s a bit “boring” for me.

 

Today I like to share 3 of my favorite shots I took during these seminars.

PSW models (5 of 25)-Edit

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