Tag Archive for: modelphotography

Outside fashion shoot for sunglasses with extreme styling and flash Part II : let’s talk gear

/in , /by

Because size matters, also outside

Today Part II from the workshop “Working on location in Emmeloord”
In this workshop, the challenge is to use not-so-interesting locations and create awesome shots.
In the previous blogpost we showed set 1 and talked a bit about the gear, today we dive a little bit deeper into the deep reflector. What gear do you need for an outside fashion shoot?

But first, let’s take a look at the setup.

The third set we used during the workshop (set II will follow the next time) was a small house near the beach. This is an interesting location but in all honesty, I had the most trouble with this one to create something interesting. But by using the lines in the location and changing my angles of shooting, I think we got some interesting looks.

For the images, I used our Geekoto GT200 and a large reflector

An outside fashion shoot, gear

Outside my favorite gear is of course Annewiek, but also my iPad in the Ulanzi iPad holder and a large reflector.

Outside Fashion Shoot Gear, the must-have reflector

As you can see this is a pretty large reflector.
And that’s exactly the reason I love using those on location.
The thing is that even with a 200W strobe you are still not “killing” the sun from let’s say 3 meters distance. And when you love those Day2Night shots or love to shoot HSS you will have to run almost constantly on full power. But even with fill-in flash…. ok you get the idea without any reflectors even a 200W hybrid strobe with HSS is not perfect for all day Day2Night photography

However, as soon as we add light shapers, the story becomes different.

When we add a striplight like the Rogue flashbenders or any other brand of course we will actually lose light output compared to the bare strobe.
But luckily we can also add light to the output.

You probably also know from studio use that reflectors can have a huge impact on the light output of your strobes. And the same goes for outside. We are using a Bowens converter to hold our Geekoto and connect the reflector. The reason the reflector is so deep is that it will focus the light more the deeper the reflector (on average, it also depends on the material of course). In usage, this can mean the difference between shooting a strobe on 1/3rd power instead of full power, and that is something you really notice.

As a bonus I love the look of these deeper reflectors, they are not as harsh as some smaller reflectors but they still give a tremendous deep shadow and high contrast. If you order one make sure you also order a grid if that’s available. I’m using a generic brand from AliExpress, if you are shooting with Hensel it’s called the 14″ reflector (which is even larger than this one) and for Elinchrom it’s called the MaxiLight or MaxiSpot. I highly recommend getting one for outside work. The reflector is really my favorite gear on an outside fashion shoot.

 

The iPad solution is another must-have for your shoot on location

As you can see in the image I’m using an iPad on location.
I’ve been using MacBooks for years but the disadvantage of a MacBookPro is that they are very fragile on location, they can easily fall, attract dust like crazy, and have loads of openings to collect dirt. Plus they are very expensive to replace or repair.

The iPad on the other hand can be securely fastened to just one stand with the awesome Ulanzi holder (we got so many questions about it that we added it to our webshop).
The nice thing about the iPad is that it will run all day on one charge and the light output is really nice for outside work, as long as there is no direct sunlight hitting the screen of course.

During this workshop I shot wireless to the iPad but in 99% of the cases I’m using an IQwire USBc-USBc 15meter tether cable to shoot to the iPad using CasCable. I’ve been using this combination for a while now and it never disappointed me. If something goes wrong the advantage of the iPad is that you just close an app and start it again and it all works fine again. But to be complete I’ve experienced a super smooth workflow so far with little to no problems. This is also the main reason you see me using the iPad more and more during shows. Especially with Adobe releasing great updates to their Lightroom and Photoshop apps which makes the iPad a real workstation nowadays.

Especially on location, you want gear you carry around easily and don’t have to be afraid that something falls during the hike to the next location.

 

The results

Ok let’s take a look at the results from the third set during this workshop (next time set 2)

Model/Styling: Nadine
Sunglasses: Sparks
www.fotografie-workshops.nl for the Dutch workshops
www.frankdoorhof.com/shop for my gear

Outside Fashion Shoot Gear

Just a bit more light on the model’s face with the reflector

Outside Fashion Shoot Gear

 

 

Modelling is also acting, well actually a lot of acting

/in , /by

It’s all in the expression and poses and… a lot more

Over the years I’ve photographed many models in various locations and situations.
They range from trade shows on a booth measuring 2×3 mtrs to awesome castles. Modeling is also acting. a model should empathize in the shoot.

One thing I learned is that you can shoot in the most difficult or awesome locations, the model determines how the results will end up.
When I look for models the first thing of course, I look at is how the model looks. I don’t believe in size zero and love to shoot “real” people instead of Barbie dolls.
And that immediately brings us to the most important part.

Acting on 1/2000 of a second

When shooting a film we have several seconds, minutes, or hours to tell a story.
However with photography it’s 1/2000 of a second, well not exactly but you know what I mean right 😀

So one of the most important things for me when looking for models is actually expression, poses, and moving freely/naturally within the light setup.
And trust me this is much more difficult than you might think.
One of the tricks I use is to tell the model she/he should always be able to see the main light even if it’s just in the corner of her/his eyes. This way you will almost always have catchlights in the eyes, which in my opinion are really important. This doesn’t mean the images are not good when there are no catchlights, but in most cases, we want them in the eyes.

During a recent workshop with did some different expressions with our model Claudia.
As you can see these are totally different from just a pretty face on a picture, these really tell a story.

modeling is acting

Modeling is acting and storytelling.

 

modelling is also acting

What is she thinking about?

It’s not just expression, it’s acting

Of course, it’s not just the expression of your model.
Styling and the whole setting, including your light choice will help to cement your story into the images.
So always experiment with the whole setting.
It doesn’t make any sense to have makeup that is running with a smiling model against a white background doing jumps. But it can work wonders in a moody setting where the model is looking sad (see examples).

Now, of course, there is a time and place for these kinds of shots, and I will not tell you it always works.
Sometimes you need a model that looks …. well like she’s not really there. Some fashion brands love that look. In my opinion, the model in that setting is more a way to demonstrate the clothing and should not take away any attention to the clothing. I like the “lifestyle” photography more where we use the clothing/accessories in settings that give a “feeling” instead of just presenting. But as mentioned before this is 100% up to the client. However, it’s incredibly handy if you can deliver both. And in a lot of cases, this means I will ask my clients if I’m allowed to use our “own” models.

It happened too often that I end up on a trade show or location workshop and have a beautiful model but am bored after the first shoot.
And we have had situations where even a model in jeans and a tank top blew me away and didn’t need anything else.

So the next time you scout your models, maybe go for the ones that are also able to act 😀 Because modeling is also acting!

modelling is acting

 

Check out this video about storytelling

 

Model Claudia uses seamless paper as a dress 

 

A pure white background and floor, plus accents on your model with just three umbrellas

/in , /by

A white background, floor, and accent on your model with just 3 umbrellas?

Seems impossible… it’s not

Shooting with a white background and floor is far from my favorite setup, but sometimes you have to 😀
When I started with photography the white background was hot. And used all the time (I was always more of a light grey fan). So of course I had to learn how to shoot it.

The first problem I ran into was getting the background completely white.
This is easily solved by moving the model forward and just blasting the background. But when cameras became better and the headroom larger it became more and more problematic due the the enormous amount of light reflecting back from the background. So how to get that pure white background?

Special modifiers to get a white background

The first thing I tried was of course lighting the background with open reflectors, or softboxes. And although it worked ok it never was 100%.
So enter the special background reflectors.
The idea behind these is that they “focus” the light on the background and spread it out evenly.

a modifier which makes it easier to get a white background.

By the way, it’s more easier if you have two of those.

And although it worked a lot better than a standard reflector it’s far from perfect.

The solution(s). How I made a white background and floor

Floor

So let’s not make the blog post too long and immediately jump to the solution.
Let’s start with the floor.

Without a doubt, this one was the most difficult to crack.
You can use extra strobes on the floor. But that also meant the light fall off on the model would look unnatural with loads of light on the feet.
You can use Photoshop of course. But that would mean the model just floats in the air, so you can start adding shadows again. Long story short this is not doable when you need to deliver 50 images to a client. You simply can’t edit every single image in detail unless you have a very large budget.

The solution is actually super simple and gives an awesome effect.
Just put some transparent plexiglass on the floor.
The plexiglass will reflect the light and give you an instant perfect white floor and as a bonus a great reflection.
The added bonus when using transparent plexiglass is that you can also use it on other color backgrounds and get some stunning reflection effects. But for today let’s keep it on white.

Now that we have the floor covered (pun intended) we have the background to light.

Background

For this, the solution is actually much simpler and cheaper than you might think.

white background, white floor and accent on your model

 

Here you can see the setup we used for the shots with Claudia from the previous blog post.

Umbrellas for a white background and floor

As you can see I’m using two white Rogue umbrellas, on our Geekoto GT400 strobes, at the back. And these are more important than you might think at first sight.
The placement of those two is vital for the end result and also gives you a lot of flexibility.

The first task for the umbrellas in the back is of course lighting the background and floor. So they are placed behind the model aimed at the background with the shoot-through part. However, a white umbrella also reflects so we have a light source that’s pretty unique. It lights both what’s in front but also what’s in the back, and that’s actually the whole secret or trick in this setup.

By choosing the right angle of the back umbrellas it’s possible to light both the background and also give a very accent light on the model.
In loads of setups, you can see 2 strobes on the background and 2 strobes as accent plus your mainlight which means you need 5 strobes for one setup.
By using umbrellas you can bring this back to just 3 strobes, and also the costs are considerably lower than using background reflectors and for example striplights as accents.

For example, we sell the Rogue fiberglass umbrellas in a nice travel kit edition with a black umbrella plus sleeve (here used as main light) and one white umbrella in a travel kit for € 116,00 the extra white umbrella retails for € 23,00

Now if you don’t like the accent lights you can always place two large flags between your model and the umbrellas and take away the accent lights.

And how about just 2 lights?

You might wonder, can we also do this (getting a white background and floor) with 2 strobes and 2 umbrellas?
That’s the nice thing about umbrellas.
The disadvantage is that the light spreads around very easily. But that’s also the advantage if you know how to control it 😀

Now when you use one umbrella on the back the accent light will of course just be on one side. But when you look at the end result it’s absolutely a setup that you can use.

Conclusion of white backgrounds

White backgrounds can always be tricky due to the amount of light that spreads everywhere.
But by using the right light modifiers and placing them correctly in the scene a lot can be done for a very low budget.
And let’s be honest. These images are straight out of the camera with just a little boost in contrast, as you can see the background is almost pure white and the only thing you have to take out are the seams of the plexiglass, which in most cases can be done in seconds.

So the next time you need a pure white background, why choose the expensive and difficult route?
Just use three or two umbrellas and some plexiglass and deliver images almost straight out of the camera.

check out the video about the Rogue Umbrella’s

 

Or this short, also with model Claudia about the Umbrella 

Having fun with poses. This will get you more dynamic photos and much more fun during the shoot

/in , /by

We all want stunning images

We all want images that jump off the screen! But how do we get free of the “forced” poses? Today I talk about breaking the forced poses and getting more dynamic photos. Like most people when I started with photography I was using the so-called “posing” books. One thing I learned very quickly was that although some worked. It always ended up looking forced, or just plain awkward. And let’s be honest, every person is different so having a posing book in hindsight does sound a bit weird.

Finding the perfect lines in the body of your model

One thing that I learned after the posing books was finding the lines in a pose.
Sometimes it’s a nice flowing S-curve in a pose, and sometimes I love working with triangles.
Now in all honesty I didn’t really look for triangles. It just happened that all the shots I  liked had some triangles in the poses.

Letting go, go with the flow in your shoot

When I started shooting more and more models and also did assignments for brands it became very clear that posing a model wasn’t a thing I liked. Luckily at that moment, I worked with some models on a weekly (and sometimes several times a week) that were always in for experimentation. Also during that period, I watched several videos on the work of LaChapelle, Avedon, Newton, etc. and the thing that really caught my eye was that they most of the time didn’t really pose the model to perfection but also just let the model go.

The moment I let go was the moment my photography changed from “stiff poses” to much more free-looking and natural poses.

The trick is actually incredibly simple.
You pose the model for 50% of what you want, angle, leaning against something, etc.
And after that you…. well just let go and shoot.

So let’s take a look at what happens.

Some examples where I let go and just shoot

During a recent workshop with Claudia, we did exactly that.
I chose the most simple background setup and lighting so the model had to do all the work.
The nice thing about this approach is that you will always get fresh looks. Instead of always seeing the same poses. But it also really loosens up the model and the mood in the studio. Put on some music and just let the model literally flow through the poses and keep shooting.

So let’s take a look at some of the results from a few minutes.

How do you get more dynamic photos? Go with the flow.  How do you get more dynamic photos? Shoot and find angles and curves in your model's body.

Now it might not immediately catch your eyes, but when you work this way you will find that not only the poses look much more natural and “flowing” but also the expressions of your model will be much more relaxed. and that is the start of more dynamic photos.

And of course, don’t forget some close-ups 😀

don't forget te close-ups How do you get more dynamic photos? Go with the flow. Let go. Shoot and find angles and curves in your model's body.

Conclusion on how to get more dynamic photos

Of course, photography is very personal, and what works for one won’t work for everyone.
However, over the years I’ve found out that getting the model at ease and relaxed really boosts your photoshoot and gives much better results than just pushing a model into a pose.

So what is your next move to get more dynamic photos?

 

Claudia is an amazing multivalent! check out the blog where I used seamless paper as a dress

Fashion shoot? use this is a great backdrop for more impact

 

Check out this video about using a reflector