Tag Archive for: styling

Same set different looks and messages

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It’s very important

as a photographer to be able to get images that are fitting the client y0ur shooting for.
This can be a product, a model, musician, landscape, building etc.

One of the coolest things about photography is that besides just taking a picture we can do so much more.
I remember Peter Hurley telling me that a good headshot photographer will determine if someone walks the red carpet or ends up at at fast food chain, and in all honesty, he is right for a great part.

When we hired personal we always looked at the photos.
When our son Brian wanted to get a job I had to drag him into the studio to create a cool shot with some lens flare, low angle, arms crossed, rolled up sleeves etc.
He got the job right away.
The trick is very simple.
People get a lot of applications and some will jump out and some not, and no body wants to spend too much time for a lower position so having a photo that really jumps out and showed he was tall, ready to work. And by adding the red color I knew for sure the image would jump out.

Now this is not something I would shoot for a manager wanting to get a job in the higher management sector.

In other words

Always dive into what you shoot

For me it’s always a challenge to get images that are 100% the “soul” of a company, the “character” of a person or the “mood” my client wants for a product.
Photography for me is only a small part of an assignement, talking and of course getting people at ease is a vital part.

During the workshops I always try to experiment with different lighting setups, props etc. But I also give a lot of attention to topics that are important to get the mood your client wants. And because I love using my own guitars in workshops sometimes I thought it was a great exercise to see what you can do with the same setup, same lighting, same model etc.

Of course we have some limitations.
First off all it’s all the same setup and model. But still I think you will be able to get a different vibe with these shots.
Some are aimed at more rock, some are more metal and maybe you spot the nu metal and progressive version.
The only thing that was changed is the pose of the model, the angle under which I shoot and of course the length of the lens. A wide angle will render a scene completely different than a longer lens that will compress the scene.

In the retouching I did try to keep the looks pretty similar, with small changes (except for one).
It’s a fun exercise and something you can easily try yourself.

Here are my versions.

 

Using a gobo projector in a pregnancy shoot

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When your model is pregnant it’s time for some extra shots

Every pregnancy is unique, and when we shoot a pregnancy I always try to find something that is fitting for the model.
We all know Nadine I think and with Nadine it’s not possible to just shoot some images of her belly. So during a recent workshop we decided to shoot different setups all aimed at a part of Nadines character and of course my input 😀

it was a load of fun, Nadine got several totally different pregnancy shots and well… we got some cool behind the scenes videos.

Today the video about this shot.

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In the video I explain the lighting setup and the idea behind the shots.
I always appreciate a like and subscribe to our YouTube channel, it really helps us out.

So much fun with cheap materials and lights

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It doesn’t have to be expensive

There is often a discussion about what you need to get a great image. And often it boils down to “I can’t do it because I don’t have any budget”. Well, it might surprise you but 99% of the images I post are shot during workshops, events, and trade shows. So not really situations where I have time or even a budget to really use large sets. Today a blog post about model photography with cheap materials and lights. In our studio, we do use the ClickBackdrops backgrounds of course 😀

Experiment with cheap materials and lights

One of the things I love to experiment with ar cheap lighting solutions.
This can be a string of fairy lights, Christmas lighting, or a magic lantern.
With modern cameras and great noise reduction in Lightroom or Topaz, you can really push the creative limits.

One of the biggest advantages of the strobes (Geekoto) I’m using now is that they can be adjusted to output a very slight amount of light.
Because most of these light sources are very faint it’s great that I’m now able to mix strobes and continuous lighting much easier.

 

Setup

For this setup, we used wings with small lights inside. To make sure the lights show up you have to be able to capture enough light.
This can be done with a higher ISO or a longer shutter speed.
What I normally do is use the EVF of the camera in emulation mode. This way you can see what your setup in your camera looks like.
I would advise to set up with an option to lower the shutter speed. Often when you start adding the strobes you will find that you need a bit more light from the continuous light source. Especially when a model is uncomfortable it’s nice that you can quickly change the setup by just lowering the shutter speed.

Now that you have the perfect setup just use a light meter to set the strobe up to the ISO and Aperture you chose. And you’re ready to shoot *and probably lower the shutter speed.

Background

A nice dark background is ideal with see-through materials and lights.
But it’s vital for these kinds of shots you use a focused light source, in other word,s make sure you only hit the subject with strobes where you need it. This way the continuous lighting will have a nice dark background to show up and show their color and brightness much better.

I’m using the Geekoto GT400 with a Geekoto Quicky softbox with a grid.
The Quicky is a smaller softbox that has a very straight light beam and is great for focussing light on your subject, even from a slight distance.

Model photography with cheap materials and lights, I like it!

Model photography with cheap materials and lights Model photography with cheap materials and lights Model photography with cheap materials and lights

Check out this video about being creative with 2 models dressed up as Barbie

You can rent our studio and get creative too 

A special Christmas scene with a beautiful background

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Christmas is a special time of the year

It’s a time where I hope we all find some time off, warmth or comfort.
It’s a time where it sometimes seems the world is just a bit more quiet.
And of course it’s a time of joy and celebration.

For me when I think of Christmas I always see a Charles Dicksens like scene, but with more warm tints and of course glowing lights. Let’s say a bit Fashion vs Charles Dickens.
During a recent session in our studio I joined the group for the last setup in building a small set with a Christmas tree.
We used our new scenic ClickBackdrops background, to get some some extra warmth I’m using a red gel from the left side aiming down from a high angle, this way it gave our model a nice accent and also side lit the tree a bit.

As main light I’m using the small Quicky softbox from Geekoto, this softbox it great for aiming your light to a smaller area than a conventional softbox and it worked great for this shot of Felisa.

I used Photoshop AI to extend the background and add a slight part to the Christmas tree and fill up the an area that was empty.
Boris FX was used to add 3 extra lights in the tree, making it all fit together.

When you try to get the image 100% right in camera, it’s often very easy to add what’s needed (if anything).
Using Photoshop AI this way is a great update and will really push the limits of what we can do creativity with photography.
Personally I’m not a big fan of text to image claiming as art, but using it to add to your photography where you build the set, setup the lighting, styling, makeup etc. I think it’s a great tool to make it possible create images much closer to our vision than ever before.