Frank Doorhof

Zoom in

January 20, 2016/in blog, Visions and technique/by Frank Doorhof

There’s always this discussion about using zoom lenses vs primes.
LOADS of photographers will tell you that primes are much better… and well I agree they are.
But still I’m a zoom lens person.
I know primes are sharper and often a bit faster (or a lot faster, meaning wider aperture) but to be honest in the studio I always shoot between f4-f22 so most of my lenses are razor sharp in that area, but even if they would be slightly less sharp then my primes I still prefer the variety of looks I can get from my zooms.

Always remember that shooting an image on 50mm and walking towards your model or moving away will be different that shooting from the same location with a 24-70, with the zoom lens you are much faster and if you want a close up you actually compress the scene much more than when walking towards the model with a 50mm (for example).

In a photoshoot I would like to have to most options possible and I love to switch fast so for me a zoom is always a good thing. Combine this by walking around your model during the shoot and you can not only get different looks from your composition/compression but also by the light, because if you shoot under aimed lights (like in the studio) the difference can be incredible.

Do you remember the light snake images ?

Here we used the same set and I zoomed in a lot more to use the set in a completely different way, but also included some of the red strobe in the back for a completely different look.

And a few more with different styling and without the red spot.

If you like these kind of tips make sure to check out my book “Mastering the model shoot” or get one of the instructional videos from this website.

working with smoke

January 19, 2016/in blog, Visions and technique/by Frank Doorhof

One of the most interesting workshops is without a doubt “working with smoke”
It all might seem very simple, just pump some smoke and you’re done… but in reality it’s almost a science, I could literally write pages about it (I might do that one day).
In essence you have to remember that smoke acts like a diffuser and reflector at the same time, so backlighting smoke can be awesome and front lighting a disaster, however if you set up your lights perfectly before you add smoke it could very well be that all falls down when you add the smoke due to the fact that smoke also acts as a diffuser, so it could be way to bright OR way too dark….

Now if you’re smart (and I know you guys are) you can use smoke also to light up your model in areas where normally it would a bit too dark, for example put two strips behind the model and you will end up with a very dark front, however add a bit of smoke in the front and the light will bounce of the smoke and actually light the dress…… easy right? well not that easy but in essence it is, now you have to start to learn how to add the smoke.

With smoke we always work with 2 smoke machines if we can, just layering in the smoke using patterns that will fit the scene, and this has to be very fast because smoke will always move around, so often I’ll ask my assistants to first blow smoke in the front of the model (in these kind of shots) and then behind them and move up very fast. This way you can create some pretty interesting effects.
To show total control over your smoke you can even create two walls of smoke 😀
To light up the face of the model a bit more I used a small snoot with grid.

If you like these kind of tips make sure to check out my book “Mastering the model shoot” or get one of the instructional videos from this website.

Small spaces are limiting? … nah

January 7, 2016/in Visions and technique/by Frank Doorhof

One of the most heard excuses is “my space is too small for a good shot”.
Well you might not be able to shoot a model in front of a white seamless, or fit in a whole family, or make a model jump (although that could be funny… for the photographer, not the model,….. nah don’t do it), but in essence EVERY location has potential as long as you use it to the max.

In this case we used a small staircase that is located at the back end of our studio and leads up to the “stage”. Our building is actually and old “church” and this was where the preacher was standing, it’s a tight space but for me it’s always fun to shoot there.

As you can see in the following shots I used some smoke to give the scene a bit more of an edge, but I also used my lighting to the max by moving around my model. Now always remember that smoke acts as both a diffuser and reflector so the more smoke you get… well let me put it this way, it’s always different. Also remember that as soon as the smoke gets in between the model and the front light source “all bets are off” smoke will start to act as a reflector and it will be one big white out.

We used one Elinchrom beauty dish with grid from the front and one gridded (and later open) reflector from the back with a blue gel.
Styling and model : Nadine

For the next one I left in a bit more red.

But you don’t always have to use the same pose of course…..
Why not shoot one from the back for example.

And while you’re at it. Why not move around your model and get a completely different look?

As you can see with the same light setup and the same very tight space you can create something really cool… just think outside the box… or in these kind of cases probably inside the box 😀

Good luck.

Quite Frankly on plugins

December 16, 2015/in blog/by Frank Doorhof

We all love photography right?
And one part of photography is editing, and well… this can be fun but sometimes it’s also a matter of repeating the same thing over and over. This is where plug-ins come in very handy.

Now there is literally a jungle on plug-ins available, so how do you select the right ones?
It will always be very personal, what works for you might not work for me, so in the end you have to make sure you choose what you use/need and not what someone tells you rocks.That being said, I love the plug-ins from MacPhun. I met them a few years ago during Photoshopworld and their intensify plugin/app blew me away, I’ve been using it ever since and found myself more and more switching to all their apps/plug-ins.

The plug-in we are gonna look at today is Intensify, and I believe it’s in 95% of my shots, sometimes very subtle, sometimes a bit more over the top. In my opinion by the way, mixing the effect is a vital importance, you don’t want your images to look like HDR (Highly Destructive Retouching).

In this episode of Quite Frankly (wow 57 already) I talk about plug-ins and demonstrate the Intensify plug-in by MacPhun.
We also made a special deal with them for you guys, surf to www.frankdoorhof.com/macphun for a great discount on their creative suite.

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Zoom in

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