Tag Archive for: technique

Some colourful lights in the set

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Adding continuous lighting is always fun

In todays blog post some images we shot during a workshop with out model Trista.
I’m using a mix of strobes and continuous lighting here.

Due to the reflective floor (plexiglas) and the mirror the angles under which you can shoot are slightly limited.
I loved this angle because it adds a bit to the story telling part of the shot.

Hope you like the results.
The set it build with isolation blankets we had left from our new roof instalment.
A good set doesn’t have to be expensive 😀

Over time you will collect things that you can always combine during photoshoot. Some people will decorate their whole house with little sets, in our case we just collect a lot of “junk” at flea markets, attics etc. we are always interested in things we can someday use. The only problem is room.

Always try to see possibilities, like in this set we used the isolation blankets. There were just laying around so why not use them.
I’m pretty sure you have a lot of stuff in your home that would make awesome set pieces.

Build a set for less than $10 and use it many different ways…. yeah I’m Dutch

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Of course I would love to spend thousands on elaborate sets but let’s be honest, we can’t.
So it became a challenge to do everything as cheap as possible and maximise the use.
And I think we broke all records with this one.

A while ago you probably saw the blog post about the set we build with rescue blankets, well those blankets also have a silver side.
So today in the blog the results from a recent workshop with our model and awesome stylist Nadine.

During the workshop I gave the attendees a simple, assignment.
This is the set, go crazy.
you have 10 minutes.

Of course I had to put my money where my mouth is, so after the 10 minutes I also did a try.
All the shots you see now are shot within that time frame, if you deduct the explanation of course.

I started relatively simple.

Here I’m using a Geekoto GT400 with the Nanlite Fresnell lens.
The Fresnell has quickly become my favourite light modifier for high contrast images.
I did use Fresnells in the past but hardly during workshops, they were simply put too expensive and I love to teach setups that you can also recreate yourself without breaking the bank. But the Nanlite Fresnell has a super friendly price, so I’ve been using a lot now 😀

Now in this shot you only see one light, but on the side there is a Geekoto GT250 with a rogue omnidirectional dome.
As soon as I turn that one on I have my second set, which as you probably agree upon is “a bit” different.

But because 10 minutes is actually a lot of time we moved the strobe to the backside of the set and aimed it down.
I’m now using a slight magenta coloured gel under the dome, the reason I’m using magenta is that with the tinting later on it will give me a nice “reddish” tint.
You can also use a red gel but after tinting it this way it could be a bit too much and clip some red.

From this point on I just started experimenting with the output of the gel and under which angle I shot.
Also getting slightly closer to Nadine and using the wide angle to enhance the position of the legs.

It’s always a cool effect to use a wide angle and let the model point her toes towards the camera.

Of course the exposure you meter with a light meter is the “perfect” exposure, but sometimes it’s not the “perfect” exposure you want in your images.
In these images I loved the darker look you see above, but what if…. you just open the aperture and add a lot of extra spread on the background by changing the angle of that strobe.

Indeed without changing a lot you can have a totally different look

But we are not done yet with our challenge.
Now that I like the total look, I’m ready for some close ups.

Angles change everything

And because I’m standing now anyway, let’s throw in a higher angle and a really low one.
Using different angles are without a doubt one of the easiest, quickest and best way to totally change the look and feel of a shot.
As you can see here, the impact is pretty obvious.
Also because I’m shooting into the light in the lower angle shot the KF concept Black diffusion filter really does it’s work.

Adding lights that are not strobes

As you can probably see there are some lights in the Chrismas tree, but so far I have to yet turned them on.
The simple reason was that I didn’t like them in this set, but because we had a few seconds left, we decided to turn them on.
The only thing you have to keep in mind is that when you shoot with strobes you are shooting with a lot of light and a pulse, so as long as you stay below 1/125 there is no problem in the studio (we call this the X-sync).

Because the Christmas lights are very low in output, I had to lower the output of the strobes (you can quickly do this via the remote control) and turn on the lights. Now you can use the shutter speed to let in more or less of the continuous light, the flash will stay the same (turn of your modelling lights) but the Christmas lights will show up more intense the longer the shutter speed.

We ended up with this shot.

As you can see it’s possible to shoot a lot of different looks from one set.
Just make sure you setup everything in advance so during the shoot you can quickly change things around.
For me this often means I’m using the same mainlight. But will change my accent lights around a lot, sometimes just via the remote control, but also position wise, and of course walk around my model a lot.

1o minutes really is a long time if you set everything up correctly.
But preparation is key. When the model is not yet on the set your whole idea should be in your head, and tested.
This will keep the model interested and fresh. and in the end your client happier.

Feel free to reach out with questions.
We really appreciate a share on social media.

Use light in different ways for awesome portraits and more

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One of the things we probably all start with are books with lighting diagrams.
Now don’t get me wrong, they are awesome to get a general idea of the lighting setup.
However I strongly believe you should be able to “read the light” by just following the shadows, it’s often not really important to know which light sources are used, as long as you can recreate the look.

We can shoot images with a beauty dish that can very close to a small softbox for example, but when we start to use Fresnell’s you can very quickly see the difference between a reflector and the Fresnell, this is something that you will quickly pickup when you start to look at the shadows and the different way the shadows change.

But then it becomes really interesting when you add the angle into play.
Of course we all know that changing the angle from higher to lower can have a huge impact in your end result, but for me the real game changer was when I started to move around my model. Just a slight movement to left or right can make an image look totally different.

Let’s take a look at some of the images I took of Nadine during a recent workshop.

I’m using our Geekoto GT400 here with the Geekoto small softbox and grid
On the other side I’m using GT400 and the Nanlite striplight with grid.

One of the things I love about a striplight is that you can use it in a lot of different situations where you need to light a large area but don’t want any spill light.
In this case I’m using the striplight angled, this way I lights both my model and the background. By changing the angle of the striplight slightly I can balance the light on the background and the model. A very powerful technique.

By moving just a little but you can create some more powerful portraits.

But sometimes you need a little bit more intensity?
Make it black and white, add some grain and contrast….. “instant art” and yes this one was in focus 😀
(inside joke).

But let’s take one more step to the side and also include the striplight.
Now this one won’t be the shot you like or even want to try, but sometimes clients want something a bit different. And it’s just one step more to the side. Always try it.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.
We really appreciate a share on social media.

How to get your images of your iPhone fast and easy without extra apps

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One of the things I always struggled with when using iOS is how to get large amount of photos and videos of my phone without jumping through hoops, using wifi or backup solutions.

I wondered why it was not possible to just connect the phone and drag the photos/videos to the desktop, just like my Android phone.
And well….. the answer was there all the time.

In todays video I show you how to use an MacOs native app to do it all super fast and easy, and it can also automatically start up when connecting your phone, for me a game changer, and I never knew it was there. Hope it helps you too.