Tag Archive for: workshop

WOW that’s just awesome photography!

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It happens if you look for it

As you know, I love to play with light. Although I love to use plugins for film looks and sometimes enhance a lens flare here and there, my intent is to always get it right in camera.
By the way, if you want some of the best tinting and special effects software, make sure to check out BorisFX, it’s the best I’ve ever worked with.

Anyway, today I want to share this image from Claudia

This was shot at the end of one of the sets.
In the images Claudia was lying on the couch and the light was pretty close to her.
On my camera I’m using the K&F concept black diffusion filters which give great lens flares when they are hit with some light.
To get the effect I asked Claudia to look up and by shooting it from a slightly lower angle I could just get the perfect lens flare.
This shot was not planned but it grew quickly into one of my favorites from the set.

So when shooting a set, walk around your model for different angles, but also try some different poses and “freak out” with your lighting, you already got the shot so take it step further, if it doesn’t work you at least know it doesn’t, but if it does you can use it in a next shoot to up your confidence and coolness 😀

Want to learn a lot more about lighting?
Check out our tutorials, books and of course you can find videos on Skillshare, KelbyOne among others.
Or visit one of the Dutch workshops at fotografie-workshops.nl
And if that’s not your thing, maybe book a 1:1 online 😀

 

You did not expect that did you….

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Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t

But you should always try it.
Shoot from different angles, but also during warm ups, and always treat the shots as if they are real shots.
In most cases these images are great for behind the scenes fun, memories etc. but sometimes you end up with something really special.

Somehow I just love this shot from Claudia I shot while explaining the lighting setup.
For me it tells a story.

During the workshops I always tell people to walk around the model for shots from different angles, it’s always “surprising” how cool some of the angles can be when you see them. But sometimes you don’t expect it to look cool. Like in the next shot where I was actually explaining that probably due to the way the model was posing the shot from that angle would look really awkward, but somehow the shadows fell right, the pose works and I ended totally loving the shot.

So ALWAYS take images from different angles, even if you don’t think it’s going to work 😀
you might surprise yourself and your model/client.

The awesome low light setup for glamour

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Today part II in my favorite glamour lighting setups

In the previous article we talked about a more flat light setup, today we are going the opposite direction. As mentioned my favorite photographers were often working with high contrast and low key setups. So today I want to share one of the most awesome setups for glamour in my opinion. And you don’t need a lot.

For the main light it works best when you use a striplight, it can be done with a small softbox and grid, but if you want that nice “beam” of light effect a striplight works best.
In this setup I’m using the Geekoto 48″ striplight. I started with the smaller 36″ version but to get the light the way I wanted from feet to head I ended up using one step longer. The nice thing about these two Geekoto strips is that they are both the same width, so you can really mix and match them in setups without losing focus on the model.

The same effect can also be done with the Rogue “Frank Doorhof” Flashbender in stripligh configuration. Meaning you can always use this setup on location or in the studio with just one strobe and a very portable light source.

The trick is to place the light behind the model aimed slightly forward, now change the height for the area the light will hit, higher means the area lit will be wider, placing the light closer means the beam of light will get narrower. The angle and the depth of the grid determines the light hitting the background. If you have the perfect setup but need more or less light on the background and you can’t solve it with angles or grids… keep everything the same but just move the model and the light backward (more light on the background) or forward (less).

The effect is great and really nice for body scapes and moody shots.

Shot during a recent workshop with Claudia.

And of course always include some extra images where you walk around your model.
Sometimes it works, sometimes not and sometimes it will surprise you… but that’s a story for the next blog post.

 

 

 

The lighting setup for awesome glamour

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Vintage and pin-up photography and lighting

I love vintage glamour and pin-ups.Starting with George Hurrell, Avedon, Newton, to David LaChapelle.
And when you also want some insights into one of the best models in this genre, pinup/burlesque, make sure to check out Dita Von Teese, who wrote a great book about both being the model, stylist, and makeup artist.

In the next two articles, I’m going to show you two of my absolute favorite setups with vintage and pin-up photography and lighting, but on both sides of the spectrum.  Today, I’m showing the always awesome high contrast/flat lighting setup.

 

Flat lighting for pin-up photography

It might sound like a contradiction, but even with flat lighting, you can create some great contrast.
With low-key lighting setups, we play with shadows. With this technique, I’m actually working with accent lighting and highlights, which makes the depth of the face/body of the model jump out a lot more. Plus it looks great on shiny materials, and if you want, you can also get some lens flare.

The lighting setup

The setup is pretty simple, but you do need some strobes.
Mostly, I’m using a large softbox or umbrella in the front from a larger distance from my model than normal. This is done because I also want light to hit my background. So, due to the inverse square law, you can determine how much light is hitting your background.

Move the light further away from the model if you want more light on the background. Move it closer if you want less light on the background (of course, you have to re-meter the light on the model when you change the distance).

Accent lighting

For the accents, I love to use two strip lights with grids.
I’m using the grids because I don’t want double shadows on the floor. And because the accents are aimed towards the camera, this can happen very quickly when you are not careful. So, we aim the strobes mostly slightly up when shooting full body, the grid does the rest.

And finally, I’m using one strobe with the Rogue magnetic system with grids, or the snoot for the spot in the background.
In this setup, I like to overexpose my model slightly when shooting to get an extra “glow” in the skin.

Beware:

If the accents are too close to the model, you can get lens flare.
You can move the lights further away or use flags to prevent the lens flare.

The examples during this blog post were shot during a workshop with Claudia. And in most, I kept the colors pretty low in the blues to make the red jump out more. But as you can see, sometimes also boosting the blue can be great and striking. It’s in the end a personal choice, or just deliver both 😀

Vintage and Pin-up photography and lighting

Want to see the lighting and how we photograph these vintage and pin-up set?

In this video, you can see a similar setup during a workshop.

And the images

Vintage and Pin-up photography and lighting

See www.fotografie-workshops.nl for the workshops