Tag Archive for: photoshoot

Never the black screen again when using strobes

/in , , /by

Black Screen on your camera when using strobes?

Oh, the black screen!

“This camera is unusable for studio use, that’s insane for such an expensive camera…. etc”
Countless of these kinds of bashing cameras can be found online, especially when the EVF in a camera was not as widely used as now. But why is the screen black when you are using strobes?

So what’s going on here?

In the older cameras, we used the sensor only as a replacement for film.
The image was still split into a part where you see the image, focus is done, etc., and a part where it’s hitting the sensor.
With the mirrorless cameras, everything changed.
First of all, we could get super accurate focus (well not at first, it was terrible at times) because you literally focus on the sensor, but we could now also use the viewfinder in a completely new way.

It started with the Sony A99

One day I got a call from Sony if I wanted to test a brand new camera that was “soon” to be released and do the press release in Dubai.
At the moment I wasn’t really into Sony. I was working with Canon cameras and absolutely loved the camera and the people at Canon (I still do :D)

But testing out new gear and getting carte blanche for my review, ……send it in.
Now there is a really funny story about batteries and Sony the Netherlands hanging up several times because they thought I was not serious seeing they didn’t know the camera yet. When it got solved I was literally stunned when looking through the viewfinder… this looks like fricking Topgun 😀
Yeah well, it was a huge improvement over the standard OVF (now I feel old).

The only problem with the A99 was the speed of the EVF. You probably remember the videos of people running through parking garages with their cameras and falling down because the EVF was too slow. In all honesty, when you do stuff like that it’s probably not just the EVF that has a … well ok it was funny 😀

Nowadays EVFs have greatly improved and yes you can now run around with them, although I would not recommend it.

Black Screen when using strobes.

But one problem remains; the black screen when using strobes

When you use the camera in the studio, the image you see through the viewfinder is totally black, and maybe when you press the shutter you can see a little bit of light. So what’s going on here?

The EVF actually does exactly what it’s supposed to do, it emulates the exposure….. ok let’s rewind.
Remember that A99?

Another thing that I found out with the EVF was that taking pictures outside was awesome, even the most difficult situations like backlighting were no problem anymore. Just change the exposure compensation till you see what you like and press the shutter. I called it the WYSIWYG display (What You See Is What You Get).

And this is the problem in the studio.
In a dark studio with the settings 1/125, F11, and ISO100 it should be 100% black in the viewfinder.
And of course, this also happened to me. And remember this was my first EVF. There was no manual and I had no contact person I could reach on the weekend. So, there was one solution, because this couldn’t be how it worked. I went through every single setting in the menu looking for something like LCD or EVF off. I couldn’t find it. Maybe it really was like this… no… ok now let’s try out all the settings. Finally I found a setting with the “not so clear for me” name “setting effect”. Because there was an option ON and OFF, I decided to go from ON to OFF… and like magic, there was my whole studio 😀

Black Screen when using strobes . A funny picture of a model with a camera

So the solution is actually pretty simple

In most cameras with an EVF, you can switch the EVF to roughly two modes.
One is an emulation of what you will get when you press the shutter with those settings.
and the other one is an emulation of what an OVF would show (optical view finder).

This means that in the studio we use the EVF on OFF and outside it’s in most cases best to leave it on ON.

On all cameras, the wording is a bit different but look for settings like “Emulation mode”, “Lighting emulation”, “Setting effect” etc.

To show it on my Sony A7RV I made a small video about the black screen when using strobes and how to solve it.
For this one, we made 2.
The first one is in English the second one is in Dutch.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.
Use the links in this blog post to order and support our work.
For the gear I use visit frankdoorhof.com/shop

 

How to read a light meter

/in , /by

How to read a light meter?

A light meter is a tool to meter your light. Some photographers think it is something from the old days. Others don’t “need” one. And some people never use it. I am a big advocate for using the light meter. In this article, I explain why and how you read a light meter.

Lightmeters are cool

Let’s start right away with a bold statement 😀
I know for a lot of people light meters are not the first thing they think about when starting with photography. But that’s wrong. I might say it’s one of the most important parts of your kit.

Why is the light meter so important?

First of all, we have to realize that we only see 3 colors as human beings.
We call those colors the primary colors, Red, Green, and Blue.
We also have secondary colors, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow.
All colors are connected via the blackbody curve (white points for color temperature) and determine the colorspace.

Now how do they determine the colourspace you might ask?
Good question actually.
All colors within the colorspace have 3 coordinates, x y, and Y.
Hue, Saturation, and Luminance.
When we want accurate colors in our photos I think it’s clear we need to make sure the colors are captured as accurately as possible when shooting them.

We have 2 tools for this that work together.
The first one is the color checker (I’ll write a different post about that in the coming days) and the light meter.
The color checker is used to calibrate the colors in your RAW converter, but to get the colors (x,y) right we also need to get the Y correct and that’s where the light meter comes in.

It’s super easy actually

Sometimes, I feel a little bit like the light meter helpdesk with all the questions about the use of light meters. And most problems occur by not understanding the meter, so let’s dive in.

First of all, let’s make it clear…. it’s really super easy.

Let’s first take a look at the display.

how to read a light meter? I use this light meter

On the display, you see the shutter speed: 1/125
The ISO: 400
And the F-stop: F8.0 (4)

And that’s where it often goes wrong.
A lot of people will now set up the camera for F8 on ISO400 1/125 and… well the images are overexposed.. so how is that possible when using a light meter? Right?

Well because there is one extra number that is really important, and that’s the little 4.

 

It’s in the details

When we look at our camera you will probably know that you can change your F-stops in 1/3rd stops.
On most strobes, you can have 2 options, also in 1/3rd or even on 1/10th stops.
But don’t confuse the two. The settings on your strobes have nothing to do with what you see on the meter. It’s just the power output, and there are also settings like 2.8, 4.0, or 5.6 that are pure because… well those numbers are there.

So how do we proceed?

When your meter reads F8.0 (4) this means the meter reads F8 and 4/10th.
If you have strobes that can be adjusted in 1/10ths you can just lower it by 4 clicks and you’re probably reading F8.0 after that (if you have good strobes).

If your strobes can be adjusted in 1/3rd stops we have to improvise a little bit. Go down one click on the strobes and the meter should now read F8.0 (1) now its a matter of just moving the light a few inches further away and it will read F8.0

Now I have to be honest, for 1/10th I don’t really move my lights, but if you really need to be very accurate it does work great.

how to read the light meter. example of the settings Let’s try it out!

Here we see F5.6 (7)

We have a few options:
1. We can go down 7 clicks on a strobe with 1/10ths adjustments and get F5.6
2. We can go up 3 clicks on a strobe with 1/10ths adjustments and get F8.0

1. We can go down 2 clicks on a strobe that works in 1/3rd adjustments and move the light slightly for F5.6
2. We can go up one click on the strobe and end up at F8.0

1. Set the camera up for F8.0 and lower your aperture one click for F7.1
2. Set the camera up for F8.0 and raise your ISO 1 click (also the ISO is set in 1/3rd on most cameras)

The nice thing is that if you know how to read the light meter you can very quickly change settings.
Do you have problems with calculating settings like ISO, shutter speed, and the connection between the Aperture?
Don’t worry, if you use a meter you can just change one setting and you will the other settings change.

In other words, if you misjudged the lighting and you get a reading of 1/125,  ISO400,  F8.0 and you need a faster shutter speed, you can just change the shutter speed, ISO, and Aperture until you see the settings that will work. You don’t even have to do a new reading.

Are light meters only for strobes?

So is a light meter only handy when using strobes?
No absolutely not.
A light meter, just like your camera can be used in different configurations.
You can use it to determine your aperture or shutter speed and of course, play with your ISO.
It’s like the perfect pocketknife for all situations 😀

Ok, I’m sold, which light meter should I buy?

It’s no secret I love the Sekonic brand, but in essence, you can also get a different brand, just make sure you get the right one.
First make sure it’s a flash-compatible meter, so most very old meters will not work.

Also, make sure to determine if you need an incident meter or want both (reflective and incident).

Incident vs reflective

When we look at the difference between the two it’s easiest to compare the reflective meter to how your camera works. It will give you the value for 18/12% grey. These meters often have extra attachments (spot meters) or have the spot meter build in. Personally, I would highly recommend getting a meter like the Sekonic 758 or 858 with a very tight spot meter build-in. You can also buy attachments for some other meters but I don’t want to mess around with attachments that can be lost, so the 758/858 would be my choice.

But do you need it?

That’s a good question.
The main thing where we use light meters for is the incident meter.
This means you hold the meter in front of the area you want correctly lit and the meter gives you the correct value.

Now you might say… why would I ever use a reflective meter if it only gives me 18% grey?
GREAT question.
We use reflective often to make white backgrounds 100% white and not 98 or 110%. This prevents spill and shows all the details in clothing and hair which you would lose if you overexpose the background “too much”. Or we make sure that certain areas are 100% black. But you can also calculate light falloff.

Now I have to be honest.
Mostly I used the reflective meter outside to calculate the output of my strobes to create day-to-night images, fill light, and everything in between. But with modern cameras, there is a really cool trick for this.

Is the EVF a replacement for the light meter?

Yes you read it correctly the EVF can replace the “reflective” meter, but only in certain circumstances.
For example, if you are on location and want to create a cool day-to-night effect.
Just set the EVF up for emulation mode and fix the shutter speed where you want it, start to play with aperture and ISO, and just watch in the viewfinder, let’s say you love the look at F8, 1/125, and ISO100. Now, The only thing you have to do is set up your strobe for F8.0 for which you still need an incident meter (to do it fast and right).

How to read a light meter conclusion

Reading the light meter is super easy when you understand the extra numbers and how they interact with your camera and strobe.
The benefits are immense, you can work a lot faster, visualize and set up location shoots within seconds, and wow your customer by nailing the shot right away (something you see less and less).

When you look at eBay you can probably find a lot of meters but if you want to buy new (something I do advise with precision instruments) I would check out the Sekonic range like the :

Sekonic 858 (my meter)
or the Sekonic 758
but the Sekonic 358 is alright too
These are examples of the meters I owned over the years but they also have some really good alternatives like the :
508, 308x, 478 etc.

Check out Sekonic.com for more information on the different types.
Buy via our links to support our work.

 

Read this blog on a white background with only 3 umbrellas, I couldn’t have done it without the light meter

This article is about colors and sets

 

How to make wow images with sets and colors

/in , , /by

Sets really add something

Often when I mention sets people think about big-budget solutions, but the opposite can be true, and mostly is in my work. In this article, I combine sets and colors to create WOW images.
It’s almost a sport to create cool-looking sets without breaking the bank.
So we also look for cool stuff on fleamarkets, attics, etc. you would be surprised what kind of “junk” you can buy for next to nothing that works great in a photoshoot.

And sometimes you use what’s there.
In this case, a customer brought in a huge projector for me to calibrate and it was packaged in a flight case. So…. yes indeed why not use it in a photoshoot?

Today a small tutorial on how to spice up a small set with a touch of color.

Model: Claudia
Want to visit one of my workshops?
Check www.fotografie-workshops.nl

Do you live abroad and is travel out of the question?
We have you covered there, book a full-day 1:1 online workshop in English or Dutch.
Just mail me for more info

Below the video, the results of how I made WOW images with sets and colors

Model : Claudia

How to make WOW images with sets and colors How to make WOW images with sets and colors

 

Read this blog for more sets with Claudia and colors 

Creating depth and contrast in your model/portrait photography

/in , , /by

How to create depth and contrast in your model photography?

However, if we want to create depth we do need to change the direction of our light. And today we are looking at one of the solutions to open up the darker side and get some really cool effects. Continue reading how to create depth and contrast in your photography

Depth is one of those things

We all know the term “3D looking” And maybe you also struggle with getting your images to look more “3D”
In most cases, it’s “just” a matter of changing your light to the sides of your subject.
The problem is often that the other side of the face becomes really dark. And often also the background creates really bad looking images (unless you love that look).

For me, at least the background should be lit slightly beyond the dark side of the face. This means there is some separation between the model and the background. Letting everything turn black or hardly visible is sometimes cool. But most of the time you are just left with an image that doesn’t feel right.

 

Accent vs flare or maybe both

When I started out with model photography I loved the Rembrandt setup. But somehow I never liked the darker part of the face. The easiest solution is of course using a reflector. But, a reflector only works when it gets enough light to bounce back. Because I use my lights mostly pretty close to the model there isn’t a lot of light hitting the reflector hence not reflecting enough back to the model.

Inverse Square Law

This is of course due to the inverse square law. This dictates that light falls off over the distance, meaning if you place your lights really close to the model it will fall off really fast and not have enough “power” left to also reflect back on the face and have a major impact.

Solution

So most of the time I solve this by using an extra light source on that side.
Now you can choose to place this behind your model and just hit the side opening up the shadows, moving it slightly back to only light the jawline, etc. This already works like a charm but let’s up the ante.

By using a light source with a more diffuse light source, like for example the Rogue magnetic system without or with the omnidirectional dome we can do a lot more.

We can now not only create a cool lighting effect on our model, but by placing it correctly (slightly more forward or backward, just experiment with very small increments, this really works very precise) you can also balance it so that the side of the light (softer and less output) hits the model. Creating a beautiful soft quality of light. But the main part of the output actually hits the lens creating an awesome lensflare.

If you are not happy with your lens flares, try older M42 lenses. Or even better, get the same filter I use, the K&F concept black diffusion filters, these make it much easier to create great flares without influencing your images when you don’t use backlighting.

Video about creating depth

Ok, because images say more than words, let’s look at a lot of images after each other, which we call video 😀

I hope you now understand better how depth and contrast can change your portrait or model photography.

Visit www.frankdoorhof.com/shop for the gear I use.
Visit www.fotografie-workshops.nl for the Dutch workshops
Mail us for our totally new 1:1 full-day online workshops in English or Dutch.

And some of the results
model: Claudia

Depth and contrast in your photography

Depth and contrast in your photography