Frank Doorhof

Tip : where should the model look

June 3, 2016/in blog, Visions and technique/by Frank Doorhof

A question I get a lot is “Where should the model look?”
Well in all honesty I don’t really think about it, I often let the model look the way that fits the image. Take for example these shots of Poeka I took during the recent small flash workshop, she is not looking into the camera, but straight into the light. I love the way the light plays on her face in combination with the shadow on her cheekbone.

Now is there a right or wrong?
Well I don’t know, I know what I like, or what my model likes.
In most cases I will however follow a few simple rules or guide lines.

Catchlights
If possible I always want the catchlights in the models eyes
Center the eyes
Make sure the eyes are centered, unless of course you want to go for that “walking dead” look with loads of eye white
Make the story
Often I will try to tell a story with my photography (even with “simple” portraits”) when a model looks straight into the camera this of course tells a story, but when he/she looks away this can often bring just a bit more of tension in a shot.

As you can see I do follow some rules, but in essence I can throw them all overboard when I think something else fits the story better, so if you are still following all the rules…. try to just “relax” and go for that special look, the look that feels awesome and when it breaks some rules… well… maybe it was time for it 😀

Tip : Strong backlighting

June 1, 2016/in blog, Light meter, Visions and technique/by Frank Doorhof

In the 70’s they knew….
Using strong backlighting can be cool, it creates cool lens flares and it really spices up a shot, I won’t say that after the 70’s the photography went south and flat but in all honesty I sometimes am stunned by the questions I get during workshops about lens flare and backlighting, so I thought it would be cool to write a small blogpost about them.

Whenever I post an image with a strong backlight people ask me for the filter I used?
Now don’t get me wrong I do use filters… I love DxO filmpack and Alien Skin Exposure for tinting my images and I use a LOT of MacPhun intensify to spice up the pop of my images, but the lens flares are in 99% of the cases 100% real.

The shot on top we shot during last weeks workshop with iris and is just a strobe right behind our model without any modifier.
If you meter in front of the model (in this case pointing towards the camera) the exposure on her face will be correct, in fact it’s the scatter light from the studio lighting her face. This is also the cool thing about using an incident light meter (A sekonic in my case), if you hold it in front of the area you want correctly exposed you will get a proper exposure. Now it’s up to you to determine the look you want. In this case I only used one light so it COULD be that the backlight is way too strong, you can than do a few things. You can feather the light (turn it away from the model), or move it to the side of the model so not all light is hitting her (when using a reflector), or (when using a bare strobe) move it further back, or use a reflector in the front, all these techniques will do one thing, lower the contrast between the backlighting and front light.

In essence it looks like a very easy setup, but if you just throw in your lighting you will probably fail, or need a lot of Ps work, so make sure to meter correctly.
If you want to learn techniques about metering, check out our video on the light meter via Video downloads

When you want to do these kind of shots make sure to practice a lot with a mannequin or doll before doing it live with a model.

Some more samples where I used strong(er) backlighting from the sun and strobes.

Want more in-depth tips and techniques?
Check out my book “Mastering the model shoot” or get one of my instructional videos via Direct video downloads

UK Here we come…. for some cool workshops

May 28, 2016/in blog, News etc/by Frank Doorhof

It’s almost time for our yearly UK tour.
Every year we travel to 3 locations in the UK with a model to teach a full day workshop.
This year we will do it slightly different because we will also be teaching one of the very successful “Mastering the model shoot : A-Z” workshops in the London area.

Our team for this year:
Me (of course)
Annewiek : assisting, filming
Nadine : Styling, model

So where will we be?
We kick of the tour on June 4th in London with the “Mastering the model shoot : A-Z”
This is a full day with a complete explanation of my workflow, starting the with planning of the shoot, the light setups, retouching, sharing and business tips, all in a very flexible setup with loads of room for questions and fun.

Price of the workshop : 50.00 pounds.
Register via : UK tour “Mastering the model shoot” June 4th, (A to Z)

After that we will teach a full day workshop on June 5th in the London area.
This workshop was one of the fastest ever to sell out (within a week), but you can also mail us for the reserve list if someone drops out.
These workshops are small group workshops where you also shoot yourself and trust me… you will go home with some amazing shots and an incredible amount of information.
More info via : UK tour “Mastering the model shoot” June 5th, “hands on workshop”

Because London sold out so fast we added Manchester to the list where we will be on June 8th.
This workshop is also a combination of studio and outside work with Nadine telling about styling.
For Manchester we have 3 seats left at the moment so if you want to join register via : UK TOUR “Mastering the model shoot” June 8th, “hands on workshop”

Some samples from location workshops we did

Adding some spice with masks

May 24, 2016/in blog, Visions and technique/by Frank Doorhof

One of the things I love to do is play with masks.
You could make the joke that it saves on retouching, or it even makes an ugly model look great, but (although all true) in essence for me it’s also the fact that you don’t see any facial expressions, so believe it or not it’s actually MUCH harder to pull off a good shot.

As human beings we are triggered by expressions, emotions (like laughing, smiling, being sad etc) and when you take these away the whole shot can become very “static”, and this is what you actually do with a mask. Now it’s up to YOU to create something interesting.

This weekend was the first time Iris was our model for a workshop, I did a testshoot with her of course but this was her first real “in front of the camera during a workshop” day. I always leave a lot of freedom to the models to think of something cool during the workshops, Iris and Liselotte came up with the following idea… and I loved it.

We often visit flea-markets (for our comics addiction and) to buy some cool stuff for our photoshoots, flea-markets and secondhand stores are actually goldmines for photographers and stylists, often you can get great deals on awesome props. When they are selling gas masks I’m always interested, somehow I just love the story they tell but also the look they give a model, you can combine them with dresses (in this case an awesome Sinister dress) but also with nudes (if you shoot them) and …. well it’s the kind of accessory that CAN work always, but it can also completely destroy a shot, so be careful and think about what you’re doing.

Lighting wise I used one simple lightbulb, no reflectors, no strobes, just a 100W bare bulb.
Here are some of the results.
Also see the difference the BW conversion makes, I always have difficulty choosing so I included both 😀

Want more in-depth tips and techniques?
Check out my book “Mastering the model shoot” or get one of my instructional videos via Direct video downloads