Tag Archive for: strobes

Using the sun in the shot

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Yesterday we looked at using the sun as the main lightsource, but today we take it one step further.
When using strobes (and even without) you can really play with including the sun into the shot, in the next series I used the Elinchrom Ranger RX to fill in the model while using the sun (in the frame) as a strong backlight and creating some interesting lens flares.

 

In these shots I also lowered the brightness of the sky to make it more dramatic, you can do this with a lot of power like the Elinchrom Ranger RX, but also with speed lights and the use of HSS (HighSpeedSync). As long as you lower the brightness of the sky in comparison to the strobe output.

 

Now we could of course just shoot Marie posing and rely on a great model, cool clothing and great light… but that’s not what the viewer will remember in the end. One of the most important things in a shot for me is the inclusion of a story, this can be done with adding props, sets etc. but also very simple by just giving some extra attention to the pose like you can see here.

Marie November 21 2013-74-EditIt can be just as simple as this, but as you can see when you see the rest of the shots, this image really tells a story while the other ones are just…. well nice. So the next time you’re on location try to not be afraid of the sun and give some extra attention to the posing of the model and lift your shot from ok to WOW.

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Nadine outside

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Today the second part of the series about the shots we did with Nadine in Almelo.
Today a small tip about “fighting” the ambient light.

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Nadine in style

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Today I share some images we shot during a “free style” session with Nadine.
Nadina (as usual) did all the styling and makeup herself.


For me sometimes doing a “free style” session is incredibly important, these are the kind of session where everything goes, so time to experiment with light, smoke, colors, crazy themes etc. And it’s a great way to find new techniques of course.

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Some images from PSW

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Without any doubt PhotoshopWorld is for me one of the highlights of the year.
PhotoshopWorld is switching between the east and west coast and is held twice a year.
To say that PhotoshopWorld is just a tradeshow is a big understatement, yes there is an expo floor with a lot of booths, but most of all PhotoshopWorld is about teaching, imaging being taught by the best instructors in the world in Photoshop, Photography, Lightroom etc. you will be blown away by the choices you have. During the day there are seminars from early morning to late in the evening, and then there are the parties, midnight madness, portfolio reviews, panels and so much more…. it’s mind boggling. The main attraction of PhotoshopWorld is that the teachers are not the “demo-ers” you normally see at trade shows, imaging seeing Scott Kelby, Matt Kloskowski, Dave Black etc. at work on the Expo floor in the booths explaining their tricks, you feel what I mean ? 😀

I always tell people that my favorite times of the year are my birthday, christmas and PhotoshopWorld.
For me (and all other instructors) it’s a huge honor to be able to call myself one of the instructors at PhotoshopWorld, this time was my fourth PhotoshopWorld in a row and the second where I taught a so called Pre-con workshop.

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