Tag Archive for: umbrella

Using two or three umbrellas for a perfect white background a video tutorial

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The white background

Is often one of those backgrounds we all use once in a while, and some have even build a complete career around it.
When I started out with my learning process I was lucky enough to find out about Dean Collins so I started using a lightmeter almost immediately which makes setting up a white background (and everything else) a lot easier and faster. But still I ran into a lot of problems.

Over the years I’ve tried different ways to shoot this setup.
At one point I was using two strobes on the background, two strip lights as accents and one main light.
The problem always was the floor. The accent lights would give double shadows, this by the way was solved by angling the strip lights slightly up and using grids, but that didn’t solve my other problem, the floor itself.

The miracle of plexiglas

When using the standard setup the main issue was always the floor.
The background would be nice and white, the model was perfectly lit, the accents were nice, but the floor….
You can do it in Photoshop but then you have to edit every single shot, plus it looks the model is floating, so I added some shadows.. and realised it must be possible to do it faster and easier.

Enter, Plexiglas.
By placing transparant plexiglas on the floor you can redirect the light and create a perfect white background which seamlessly blends in with the background, it’s a simple trick of reflections. And the cool thing… you can also use transparant plexiglas on other colors, it’s always giving an awesome reflection.

I’ve talked about this extensively in this blogpost, but today I also show you in the video how I use three and even two umbrellas to create the perfect white background for a full body model including accents… yeah it’s really possible and super easy (and cheap).

Gear used :
3x Geekoto GT400
1x Rogue travel kit with the black umbrella and sleeve (main light) and the white umbrella.
1x Rogue white umbrella.

The nice thing about the Rogue umbrellas is that they are made of Fibreglass which makes them very durable and super easy/light to setup.

In this video I show you how the setup works.

 

 

Rogue wins Hot Ones…2023

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Rogue wins Hot Ones in the catogory Lighting from PPA (Professional Photographers of America)

 

We are proud to announce that two of our Rogue products have been selected for the Hot Ones list 2023, in the category lighting.

Read the article here

Rogue wins Hot Ones in the catogory Lighting from PPA. logo

Fiberglass umbrella kit

The umbrella is a vital piece of kit for every photographer that wants to be able to use a large/soft lightsource on location or in the studio without breaking the bank. And although umbrellas are widely used they are also often very fragile. With the Rogue Fiberglass umbrellas they tackled that problem by using fiberglass. And making the umbrellas very sturdy. But also super light. In the kit you will find a white umbrella and a black umbrella with diffuser panel.

I mostly use the white umbrella for white backgrounds.Because it will reflect the light and pass the light making it possible to use one light shaper as background light and accent on our model. Very cool.

The black umbrella with diffuser is my favourite as fill in light or a very nice soft contrast portrait light.
The umbrellas are delivered with a nice carrying bag.

The magnetic snoot


As you know I love light shapers that can be used in different ways, and the snoot does exactly that.
You can use it in 4 different settings, but when combining them with rectacular strobes you can also use them without the diffusion panel and create stunning vertical lighting patterns on your subject to really let him/her jump out.

Rogue wins Hot Ones in the catogory Lighting from PPA

The Snoot mounted on a adapter on a speedlight

Umbrellas are awesome…. are they ?

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In todays video I’m working with our Rogue fibreglass umbrella and show you some cool things you can do with it.

You can order the umbrella kit via www.frankdoorhof.com/shop or your favourite camerastore that sells Rogue products.

Building a complete set with lensflares and flags.

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I love building mood in a scene.
It can be done with color, a lens flare, styling etc. but for me there always has to be something “extra” in the shot.
In todays video I show you how we build a rather complex but awesome lighting setup during a workshop with our model Felisa. I think you’re gonna love this one.