Tag Archive for: photography

Aimed light

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

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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Ultimate workshop Weekend August 1-2

I’m very excited about this blogpost 😀
On August 1-2 we will host the first Ultimate workshop weekend in our studio in Emmeloord.
This is without a doubt the most complete and informative model photography workshop you will find anywhere.

Platjo d aro workshops Mei 2014 (129 of 196)

Day 1:
Full studio day from 10:00-22:00
We start with a Q&A in which we determine the topics for the day, this way the workshop will contain the topics that you want to see explained, the light setups/backgrounds/themes you struggle with etc.

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Evening 1:
A nice diner and portfolio review
Hang with our team during a nice diner and have your portfolio reviewed in the group during the later hours.

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Day 2:
The location day from 10:00-18:00
Working on location has a whole different range of challenges and we will discuss them during this day.
We start again with a Q&A after which we use different locations near our studio ranging from edgy to nature. We will be using flash, natural light, reflectors etc.

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Day 2 afternoon:
Retouching part
Learn how to control your workflow, retouch techniques for Photoshop and the use of plugins
Business tips
At the end of the day we will end with a seminar about business tips, building your brand, working with social media and much much more.

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The costs for the weekend is set at 999.00 euro
This includes the diner, lunches etc.

You will receive a certificate of participation and a signed poster print by Frank.
No hotel and flights are covered, but we will offer a good location.
Group size is limited to 8 people and the language of the workshop will be English.

You can register via this link

Platja d’aro outside workshops Part II

During the workshops I do on location I always stress the strength of natural light.
Sometimes people get so obsessed by using their “expensive” strobes that they sometimes forget how incredibly beautiful natural light can be. The workshop was in Spain, Platja d’aro to be exact, and if you know Spain you know that the light can be pretty harsh, for some people a reason to not use it…. in my opinion a huge mistake.

 

In the studio we often use harder light to enhance shadows and “image pop” however as soon as the sun gets a bit “harsher” we are somehow afraid to use it, maybe because it’s drilled into our mind that the best light is in the early morning and late afternoon, well that is true for most landscape shots but I love my street photography and especially model photography to be shot with the really harsh sunlight. So the next time you’re outside in the bright sun…… shut down the strobes and just shoot a few images with the beautiful sun.

 

Camera : Mamiya DF+ with Leaf Credo 60.

Platjo d aro workshops Mei 2014 (114 of 196)-Edit

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