Tag Archive for: photoshoot

The complete picture

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We all know that adding motion is often that little thing that makes a photo jump out, however always also remember that it’s still very important to keep you eye out for the styling, in this sample shot for example I did not only add the motion but also matched the clothing to the hair of the model and the background.

 

 

Often people ask me how to improve their photography or they see they are missing something and in 99% of the cases it’s not a matter of a bad photo but more a matter of giving attention to 2 parts of the 5 parts that make a great shot… now don’t think I consider my shots to be great 😀 but I do always try to mix and match everything together, and because it often looks like a complete shot you don’t see how much care we take for the little things like for example a gridded spot to give a bit more contrast to the clothing and putting the vignetting around the model.

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So try to make your shots “complete” think about the complete picture and see if it ALL fits together. Sometimes it’s a very small change you need to make for a huge difference.

Styling in a photoshoot

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Styling is one of the key elements in a successful photoshoot. A lot of people overlook this subject and end up with “perfect” lighting, great locations and still unattractive photos, or at least photos that don’t make you go “WOW”

 

In my opinion styling will make or break the shot, however as soon as you start using styling you also dive into the snakepit called personal taste…… so prepare 😀

 

Now most people think “I can’t do this” or “This is SOOOO expensive” in reality however it isn’t.

 

In our studio I work together with (I think) one of the most creative stylists in the Netherlands at the moment Nadine, she can do wonders with almost nothing, and she is a pretty good model too (so what more to wish for), the idea is to combine materials and colors that work together, for example strong red with a blue wig would seem ridiculous on paper but when you execute it the right way you will see that it really works.

nadine dec 27 201317711-Edit Read more

Using smoke and colors

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Using smoke in a photoshoot is cool, it really adds some extra “oempf” to a shot, and it helps to mask uninteresting backgrounds of course.
When you start adding color to the smoke shot I always feel the shots are extra special.

 

In these shots I used a standard (cheap) smoke machine and one strobe with a red gel, as you can see I shoot under an almost straight angle into the light source. Because of the way smoke behaves you get a beautiful effect, adding a bit of Intensify pro from MacPhun (you can also use Topaz clarity of course or NIK tonal contrast) really finishes the shot.

Lenaa Juli 25 20142098

Lenaa Juli 25 20142111

Tips on styling

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Styling is one of the most important parts in a successful photoshoot.
If you shoot a model in jeans and tanktop, you’d better be a lighting wizard because there is not much else going on…..
This is one of the quotes from my book “Mastering the modelshoot” (which recently got the label bestseller :D).

 

Now for some people the term styling already gives them a panic attack… styling is difficult, impossible to do yourself etc.
Well…. let’s be realistic, for a good styling project you will need a professional stylist, they really have “the eye” and know what goes together and will work in a photo, but don’t worry if you can’t afford one, there are some simple things you can do yourself.

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1. Don’t overthink, but DO overthink
Sounds weird right?
Well it is.
What I mean is that sometimes people already think “I can never do it, so I won’t even start” and that’s the first overthink. The second one is much more important… when you start doing the styling for a shoot do it with care, make sure that everything goes together, match colors and match the styling to the model and the look of the set you’re gonna use, you really have to think about this over and over again, a styling idea can fall flat on it’s face by small mistakes.

 

2. It’s always personal
You can create the most amazing outfit and look, but always remember that as soon as you steer away from “standard” people will either like it or hate it, and the more extreme you go the more extreme the reactions will be, be prepared for some intense flaming online, especially from people who don’t do it themselves 🙂

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