Free video tutorial about mixing flash with continuous light

14-12-2025/in blog, Visions and technique, Webinars and instructional videos/by Frank Doorhof

It’s one of those questions

That always comes back, and we’ve discussed it several times on the blog.
But because video is always better, today a free 2 hour tutorial about mixing light sources.

But first I’ll show you the results from the video, and give you a short explanation of the setup.
Due to the different lighting setups I have chosen to edit the final results also with different looks which I think fits the mood.
During the video you see the lighting setups and also part of the retouching process in Lightroom, Photoshop, BorisFX and Luminar Neo

Chandelier

Strobes are fun, but just a chandelier can be great too.

Mixing the chandelier with strobes

In the following shots I started with the Geekoto Lantern, and later switched to the Geekoto Quicky softbox, both on the Geekoto GT400.
As you can see the difference is clearly seen between the more focussed lightsource and the lantern which spreads the light out much more.
In the later shots I compensated with the light output of the chandelier by changing the shutterspeed. (explained in the video)

More focussed lightsource.

And of course it’s always fun to add some extra color.
Here I’m using the Rogue magnetic system on the Geekoto GT200 with a blue gel
The black diffusion filter helps with the lens flare.
You can always add some extra “oomph” to your lens flares with software like BorisFX, which I used in the first shot.
The lens flare is there, but it just gives it something extra.

Back to the chandelier

In the final part of the tutorial I switch back to the chandelier, but with a different setup.
This setup goes into detail about the inverse square law and shadow problems when shooting closeup light sources.

The tutorial

After seeing the results I hope you are looking forward to the tutorial.
The tutorial is part of our Digital classroom series, which you can find on our YouTube channel.
If you want to learn more about lighting in small groups check fotografie-workshops.nl for the Dutch workshops and events.
If you don’t speak Dutch and let us know a few weeks in advance we can switch the workshops to English.
And if you are not able to travel, no problem, we have a great setup for 1:1 (group) workshops online Online 1:1 workshops

Building a cool set with Click Backdrops in your own studio or living room

25-07-2024/in blog/by Frank Doorhof

A background from Click Backdrops helps the story

When I started with model photography studio work was… well studio work.
It was mostly seamless paper and some nice fabrics or canvas backgrounds.
Personally, I love working this way, but I have to be honest my heart always beats faster when I find a cool location to shoot. I was happy to find out that sets are very easy to create with Click Backdrops.

So why not bring locations or sets to your studio?

As you probably know we use ClickBackDrops in our studio, we actually started with my signature series and ended up being the distributor for the Netherlands.
Of course, you can just use the backgrounds as… well backgrounds.
And although that already looks great, you can do so much more.

I already showed you guys some of the shots we took during the clicklive event in the UK where we built a complete set with 3 backgrounds and a floor part.

on click live 2024 we used one of the easy to create sets. The wooden floor, brick wall and factory windows

Click Live 2024 Portfolio pod. Wooden floor, brick walls on both sides, and a factory windows backdrop on the back

So I thought let’s create something in our studio again a quick and easy to create set with Click Backdrops

During a recent workshop with Claudia, I used two backgrounds and a floor part to create a quick set.
At the moment I was calibrating a projector for a customer that came into a huge flight case so that was the perfect prop to create something cool. When Claudia entered the set I immediately got some huge Freddie Mercury and David Bowie vibes so I tried to get a little bit of that “rock/70’s” style into the shot.

As you can see it’s super easy to use two backgrounds and a floor part to create a small set.
Add some props and you’re ready for the shoot.
Now as you can see these backgrounds are not really meant to be shot together, but they still work very nicely I think.

Are you curious about more easy-to-create sets? Visit one of our workshops!

They are in Dutch, but if you book a few weeks in advance we can switch them to English.
Visit fotografie-workshops.nl for more info and booking your workshop.
Want to buy the gear I use?
Visit frankdoorhof.com/shop

A kind of different product photography, shots from guitar pedals

23-02-2024/in blog, Visions and technique/by Frank Doorhof

A kind of different product photography, shots from guitar pedals

Most of the posts we do online are from model photography. But product photography is also one of the services we offer our clients. Most of the time, the model shots are however a lot more interesting to post. But sometimes we also show you some of the products we shoot, when it’s special.

Hobby vs business

I always say I’m a lucky guy, every day I can do what I love most, create images. But sometimes I’m double so lucky when I can combine two of my passions.

I’ve known RJ-amps for a few years now and he can do wonders with tube amps but also builds great guitar pedals. When I brought my amp in I got two brand new pedals to play with which will be released later this year. And of course…. and he knows that…. I couldn’t resist to take some images.

Now we also took some of the more boring white backgrounds but when we do product shoots I also always like to add some “special set” shots. With handbags for example. We build a small set fitting the brand and took some shots in there, with fancy lighting. In most cases, we do this for free (and fun) but clients often end up using those images also.

How I shot this product, the guitar pedals

For this series I decided to shoot it at home with a combination of a Lumecube with a snoot and two Nanlite led tubes on the side.
The challenge was to get the Lumecube in exactly the right place, but luckily we could use the K&F concept tripod I’m using for my iPhone video setup. This is an awesome tripod because it can act as a boom arm, making it ideal for shoots like this or using phones in video setups.

Here is the behind-the-scenes setup for both pedals.

A little bit of set styling

The reason I shot this at home was mainly because it was the best location 😀
This is the area where I create my music and also host live streams when I do seminars for clubs or Digital Classroom episodes without live shoots.

I love the carpet here (somehow most guitarists seem to love them) so I wanted to use that as my “base”
Because it’s a pedal I chose this vintage-looking amp because it’s pretty neutral-looking and stands close to the floor. So there is no problem fitting it in the frame.

Of course, you also need a guitar. Here I chose a custom-built guitar for the nice wood look which I think works great with the color of the amp and the carpet. Also, the finish has a very high gloss which makes it harder to light. But the effect when done right makes it possible to use just a little bit of light to see some details.

For some “fill,” I used my favorite-looking microphone, a nice Marantz Ribbon mic.

Lighting

As mentioned I’m using the Lumecube with a snoot and two Nanlites tubes on the left and right.
I love using accents with red and blue because both are on the same axis in the colorspace they blend together really nicely and both are also the so-called “emotion” colors so for me personally it’s a combination I use a lot.

Placing the lights is vital if you want details in the guitar without getting too much glare. However, around the edges, I did want just a little bit of reflection making the guitar stand out. After finding the right spot you can fine-tune the spread by just turning the tube very slowly and keep looking through your camera.

Ok… let’s show the results.
I did use just a little bit of BorisFX for special effects.
Get a 15% discount on BorisFX by using our link.