Tag Archive for: technique

Tip on using colored lights

/in , /by

You have probably seen them in kits… color gels.
Most used are the so called CTO gels which can be used to correct colorcasts for example when mixing strobes and tungsten. However there are also the “special effects” gels, for example bright red, green and blue (and many others).

 

Now when I started out using these some years ago I used them on my black background to give it some color and this is probably how most use them. Later I used them (a lot) when working with smoke for that real “live concert” feeling. However they can also give some great results when you use them as accent lights, which we did during the last glamour workshop of 2015 with Jade.

 

Today some of the results and some more tips.

Jade December 18 2015 0139

Jade December 18 2015 0406

As you can see I did not just use them as accent lights but also to light the floor.
The main light in these shots is an Elinchrom snoot aimed at the face of the model and the rest of the lighting is all from the colored spots from the back (gridded reflector with gels).

 

If you start doing this, make sure to not overpower your strobes because in that case the nice tints will be replaced by blowout white areas and only sides with the original color, you can better feather the light slightly away from the model and use the light that way, the benefits from this technique is that you can actually get some funky lens flare if you want but most of all the light fall off is much smoother on the wall, ceiling, model or floor.

 

If you like these kind of tips make sure to check out my book “Mastering the model shoot” or one of our instructional videos (you can order them from the menu on the left).

Tip on using your area

/in , /by

This time a small tip on the use of… a staircase.

When we got our studio there was this huge staircase in the middle of the studio so that had to go, for months we didn’t have any other option to reach the upper floor than by using a fold-up stair which was ok because the upper floor wasn’t used except for storage and I didn’t want to waste any floorspace by adding another staircase.

 

When our business expanded (this was before the new studio) we really needed to start using that upper floor and there had to be a staircase, so we planned one in the back of the studio, very steep and as small as possible, because this would be ugly and a waste of space right….?

 

In the end however we used that staircase more than almost any other set in the studio, when you think about it there are so many ways to incorporate a staircase in your set, and in the end we even made a whole set around the staircase.

 

This is the problem with most photographers I speak too, we sometimes just don’t see the options right in front of us due to a certain mindset, I didn’t want the staircase so the staircase was bad…. however when it was there I started to see the opportunities and used it a lot you might even say that if I knew that before I would have build it differently.

 

Anyway, the tip for today is very simple.
Try to look at everything with “photographers-eyes” try to see opportunities for shoots and don’t think “that’s never gonna work” somehow when you think that…. well it indeed will never work.

 

In essence I think there is no space where it’s impossible to create some “magic”. Although some are harder or let me put it this way.. easier 😀
Good luck and show me the images you shot in places where you thought “this will never work”.

 

For much more in depth tips and techniques check out my book “Mastering the modelshoot” or our instructional videos which you can find on this site under the video downloads.

Lenaa W 18 October 2012 -327-Edit

 

Frank Doorhof 2

Nadine 6 Juli 2012 C60 - 0086

 

floor 30 September 2011 - 10190

 

 

How did you do that?

/in , /by

In a new series on the blog I’ll try to show some images including the light setup.
Normally you will find all the technical stuff in the instructional videos, my books or digital classroom but I’ll also show some on the blog.

 

This time a high impact portrait with Nadine.
Shot during a workshop with a very simple beauty dish and a wall with wallpaper.
You can see the students shooting the same shot.
The key is the nice harsh lighting from a silver beauty dish that is not too far away from the model and trying to shoot under an almost identical angle with the beauty dish creating nice flat lighting for this setup.

Nadine Oktober 10 2015 0683

Nadine Oktober 10 2015 0684 BW

Nadine Oktober 10 2015 0691

 

Tip: Directional lighting or character lighting

/in , /by

One of the first things people ask me when they visit our studio is why I use so many soft boxes with grids.
And I understand, in a lot of studios you will find plenty soft boxes but often without grids. Of course it depends greatly on what you do with your light and what your personal style is, that goes without saying.

 

I always explain it as follows
“Light is the paint you tell your story with, but it also dictates the character of your model/subject”

 

Now what do I mean with this.
I strongly believe that if you shoot a model in jeans and tanktop you have to be lighting wizard and have a great model to make something that’s really WOW because well… there’s not much going on. Now as soon as you throw in styling and a great location things get interesting and even with a huge softbox images can already look awesome, but you actually look at the styling and background “Only”.

 

Light can be manipulated and what photographers often don’t realize is that light can actually enhance a character of the model/subject. Think about Peter and the Wolf (Sergei Prokofiev) which in essence is a learning tool for children to learn the different instruments in an orchestra, but it’s so much more. Every instrument has it’s own “voice/character” you immediately hear if something is BAD, big, small, happy, old etc. it’s actually a stunning piece of work when you think about it. Now how do we translate this to lighting?

 

Very simple.
If you want something to be bright and friendly use large soft light sources.
If you want something eerie, aggressive or full of character use harder light sources.
Now you don’t hear me say you can’t shoot an elf with harsh light… but it doesn’t really make sense if you want something to be nice and free.

 

Hollywood uses this technique for… well for ever. They even add a lot of toning to this. Think about the Matrix with it’s distinct green and blue tones, or Titanic with it’s beautiful reds, but also Saving Private Ryan with the high shutter speed material and damaged almost BW material… the list goes on an on and on, and still for a lot of photographers light is …. well just light.

 

Try to image a story with every single shot and adjust your lighting to this.
This is one of the reasons I love to be able to really steer my light (hence the grids), it opens up a lot of possibilities. But there are of course a lot more different sources you can use, for example the Westcott Ice Light (but make sure you use the barn doors), or what about led panels (we use LedGo), the possibilities are endless as soon as you start to see light as character.

 

For example here two images from Nadine shot with VERY directional and aimed light.

 

 

Nadine Digital classroom September 23 2015 0347 BW

Nadine Digital classroom September 23 2015 0347

So the next time you shop for lighting make sure you are able to add grids later on, we love to work with a company called Honeycombgrids who makes grids for almost any modifier you will probably use, and they are pretty inexpensive (highly recommend them)
But most of all realize that light actually creates character, and shadows are the soul of a shot.
Good luck.

 

Want to learn more on model photography check out my book Mastering the model shoot and our instructional videos (via this site), or of course check out kelbyone.