Tag Archive for: tutorials

Why the blog or website is more important at the moment

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Frank Doorhof blog

Back to square one?

When we started with the internet (ok now I feel old) we used dial-up connections and a small booklet to write down the websites. And of course, as a company, we dreamed about having our own website on this amazing (but incredibly slow) internet. This article is about our Frank Doorhof blog, and why we (and you) need a website.

It wasn’t long before that dream came true and our company was on the World Wide Web.. We have several websites. FrankDoorhof, Studio FD (Dutch) and Photography-workshops.eu 

You can read English blogs on FrankDoorhof.com and Dutch blogs at StudioFD.nl

More reach means more customers

But how do you lead people towards your website? At first via the (believe it or not) newspapers, flyers, and stickers on our products and invoices. But then….. the revolution of social media started to happen.
In the Netherlands for a lot of people, it started with websites and discussion forums. For me, it was a site called Dutchheaven which really made a huge impact on how to reach people and network Plus there was a discussion forum and chat room.

Not a lot later in the Netherlands, we saw a new network called Hyves. In essence, you could compare this to Facebook. It was not yet interesting for a company, but it was a great way to get in contact with people with the same interests as you. And slowly of course also companies started to discover “social media”.

Social Media took over

When Hyves stopped most people (if not all) went to Facebook.
This was the first time for us that we really started to use Facebook for our business including the Photography studio and workshops. And it worked like a charm. Direct contact with your audience, a nice and clean interface, great messaging, and no spam.

Frank Doorhof Blog

Social media? or filtered media?

When I take a few steps back and look at the social media landscape at the moment, I have to be honest it’s not good. Facebook filters a lot of messages and comments, which means I don’t see comments (random), followers don’t see all my posts, and the last year using the message function is a disaster because 90% is spam with messages about my page being deleted (don’t click on those links :D) and deleting them is a one by one deal (please add batch delete).

But it isn’t much better on other platforms.
Instagram is nice, but there is no real community with discussions, for sharing images it’s great just like Threads, but it’s hard to explain techniques or lighting setups in depth when you can’t use links or layouts.

LinkedIn is nice but not for everyone in your target audience.

And X (Twitter), what can I say?
It has changed a lot, some things are better but I have a lot of issues with the hate, no moderation, and an enormous amount of fake news and conspiracy theories. Plus the limit on characters makes it almost impossible to explain lighting setups etc.

 

The solution: Don’t build your brand on rented land

Our website has been online for a long time and has always aimed at sharing photos but most of all also sharing techniques, tips and tricks, videos, and of course, answering your questions. In the last decade or so, the focus might have shifted away a bit from the website due to the immense popularity of social media. But as mentioned before I think it’s time for our website to be the main focus again.

I’ve been adding loads of new articles about lighting, photography in general, results from Digital Classrooms, and a lot more in the last few months, so I’m sure you will find something you like. And I will continue to add articles to the blog, so make sure you add them to your bookmarks,  or……

Frank Doorhof's Blog

on our blog, we share how-to lighting setup, including results

Building a community

As mentioned before one of the strongest points for education is that you can always ask whatever you want and get an answer or opinion from the community or the site owner. And this is exactly what makes social media great for connecting people and education.

So under each article, you can leave a comment on the blog
Feel free to ask questions, share your work, or just share your tips about the subject. Registration is 100% free and you help us to build the community which leads to more articles.

 

Conclusion

I think a lot of people and companies have been focusing a lot on social media in the last decade or so. However, the generation now is leaving school is already a lot less active on social media. I think that’s why it’s now the right time to, besides your social media presence, also to focus on a nice website where your clients can connect instead of just watching static pages.

Feel free to add your opinions, and share the article with your social media followers 😀

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Thanks again for your support

Frank & Annewiek Doorhof

 

 

 

 

How to photograph awesome guitars in the studio, and an alien ukulele

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Awesome products to shoot

In todays blogpost it’s time to combine two of my passions, guitars and photography.
It’s always fun to do the Digital Classroom livestreams, and although most is aimed at model photography I also sometimes like to throw in something else.

In this episode I take some pictures of 2 of my favourite guitars and an alien ukulele
I show the lighting setups, how to use smoke, how things go wrong and a lot more.

But before I link to the episode, let’s show the results.

In these images you see the Ibanez Jem guitars.
The black one is the Jem 777VBK (Rosewood fingerboard)
The white one is the Jem 7V WH (ebony fingerboard)

Having some fun with a theme

The final photo is just for fun.
When I saw this Ukulele I just had to get it, not just to experiment with but also to use in a photoshoot, because let’s be honest… it’s cool 😀

During the broadcast I promised I would make a special version of this one.
It’s a bit cheesy, but somehow I like it 😀

Curious how I shot these?

Now you might wonder how I shot these?
Well you are lucky, because here is the link to the full almost 2 hour episode.
If you have questions feel free to ask.

The competition

During the broadcast we talked about the Tourbox give away, if you missed that part….
Create a cool video of you creating your art and tag it with the tags #photographer #photography #tourbox and we will select two winners who will win a Tourbox and a free Lightroom video from me. Make sure you also tag me of course.

The BenQ discount code

For the BenQ 10% discount code email me at [email protected]

Black Friday…. loads of cool deals.

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Love it or hate it, but Black Friday is always fun when you are looking for good deals.
And also this year we have some cool deals for you guys.

For all deals
Coupon “blackfriday22”
www.frankdoorhof.com/shop
ONLY BENELUX

Videos and presets
50% off on all my full length tutorials and preset packs.
We have videos on many different topics ranging from modelphotography in the studio and on location to street and travel photography, there is something for everyone.

IQwire
Shooting tethered in the studio or on location is one of the best things you can do for your workflow. But with modern cameras the demands on the cables are higher than ever.

IQqwire is the “next generation” in tethering.
Available in 5 and 10 meters with inline boosters and intelliconnect for a super steady and fast connection to PC/MAC and they also work with the iPad and Android tablets.

Thanks to the boosters and intelliconnect you can use one cable for all your cameras. When your camera doesn’t support USBc you can order one of our pigtails convertors to Micro/Mini, USB-A and Phase One.

Also under our IQwire category you can find the Arca Cable Block.
If you want a rock solid connection between your camera and the IQwire the Cable Block is the way to go. The Arca mount compatibel plate has special guides for tether cables and can be connected under the camera without the need for coins or screwdrivers. We also opted for a slightly smaller form factor so the battery is accessible in 90% of the cameras.

Clickpropsbackdrops
Amazing backgrounds for every studio (or location).
Available in Vinyl and Pro-fabric which mimics the old vintage canvasses we all love.
With more than 900 prints to choose from, I’m sure there is one for you.

Rogue / Expo Imaging
We have been working with Rogue for over a decade, and they are the kind of company we all love… they listen to the photographer and create gear we can not only use in one way, but that triggers your creativity to find new ways to light your subject, and with Rogue you have a super flexible system.

We have the Flashbender series, including the Frank Doorhof Softsilver edition which I use myself.
But we also released the magnetic system in 2022 which is aimed for all photographers shooting with speedlights or the popular round strobes. Recently we got a new addition to the line up with a magnetic snoot that can be used in 8 different ways.. talk about flexible.

For the larger strobes (and all others) we recently released a brand new umbrella system with a fiberglass frame for years of use, the umbrellas can be ordere separate but also in a nice carrying kit including the white and black umbrella (including a sleeve).

If you love to reflect the light we also got you covered with both round and rectangular reflectors. Personally I love working with the rectangular reflector if you need just a bit of light under the chin of the model, it works much easier than the round reflectors, which we use outside for maximum reflection surface.

And finally we also sell the Expo Imaging Expo Disc.
So something for everyone and now with an awesome 15% discount PLUS… everyone that orders before Saturday 0:00 will also get my speedlight tutorial for free.

We hope to have something for everyone in our offers.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask, we always try to respond within 24 hours.