Tag Archive for: styling

Results cameratools workshops

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Last week I was a guest speaker at the CameraTools week of light/studio.
During the day I taught 2 2 hour workshops in their shop, the fun part was that the idea was to keep it to 90 minutes and let the group shoot for 30 minutes, but when I asked what the group wanted… to shoot or me to continue teaching they all said “continue teaching”… well I guess they did not like the backgrounds 😀

 

The model for that day was our own topstylist (and model) Nadine, it’s always a blast work with someone that creative.
Today some of the images we shot during that day, and the theme was…. well colorful and blast from the past.

 

The backgrounds you see is a mix of the amazing Lastolite series (really love those) and the real deal.

Nadine CameraTools 14 November 2014 0257-Edit

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Go all out

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Don’t be afraid to go all out during a photoshoot, always think about movies, when do we “believe” the movie?
When everything is right, the makeup, the acting, the clothing, the lighting etc.
In fact model photography is just like acting, only our models do it on 1/1000’s of a second instead of 24fps.
So when I want to shoot something I’ll try to push the model for the right expression, get the clothing right, take care of the lighting and the location. When this all comes together…. you have a story telling shot.
So the next time you watch a movie from (for example) the Asylum you will see that the acting is bad, the decors are bad, the SFX is bad etc. etc. so you don’t get pulled in to the movie. Now when you watch a well produced movie where everything is fitting to the story this is where you get pulled in.
So when you want to shoot something with A LOT of expression/madness don’t hold back on expression, but also make sure the clothing is 100% perfect, in this case we used a great stylist and as you can see he did not only used a straight jacket but he actually also made it dirty, damaged etc, it all adds that little bit of extra. Combined with a model that REALLY went for it, and there you go, in opinion a cool shot.
So for your next shoot, make the clothes a bit dirty, push your model for expression or in other words…. think movie 😀

Lizzy July 16 2013-322 B2
For more tips to master YOUR photoshoot  get my book “Mastering the modelshoot”

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

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.

Anna Juli 9 2014 452-Edit

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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