Lighting

5 Tips to get started with off-camera flash

Nederlandse versie? Klik hier.

I know, this sounds like the start of an AA meeting, but I have a confession to make: flash used to scare the (insert your own power term here) out of me. That's mostly because I learned it back in the analog days, where more than a week would pass between making a shot and seeing the mess I had made on the contact sheet. As a result, I was an available light shooter for a long time. Not so much by conviction as by lack of an alternative. Luckily, things have changed a lot over the past ten years or so. Currently, technology has evolved to the point where using off-camera flash is as easy as baking an egg. Or, if you’re the kind of kitchen hero I am, probably even easier than that! With the technology issues (mostly) out of the way, this means that you can now focus on getting the shot you want. The following tips will help you be successful with your first ventures into off-camera flash.

1. Start indoors and with people you know

When you’re starting out, start indoors. No wind to knock over your precious, new-bought gear. No sun popping in and out of the sky to mess up your ambient exposure (more on that later), no people to run into the frame or worse... run off with your stuff while you're figuring out the buttons and dials… Once you feel confident with your gear and you have gotten some good results inside, then take your gear (and your model) for a walk outside! I found it helpful to start with people I knew. There's always a family member in need of a picture!

It does not replace actual hands-on practice, but the cool Elixxier set.a.light 3D STUDIO software also lets you plan shoots ahead and understand how light and modifiers behave. In my upcoming ebook Light It Up!, I'll have a couple of examples of ho…

It does not replace actual hands-on practice, but the cool Elixxier set.a.light 3D STUDIO software also lets you plan shoots ahead and understand how light and modifiers behave. In my upcoming ebook Light It Up!, I'll have a couple of examples of how I used this software to my advantage.

 

2. Always determine your ambient exposure first

When you use flash, you’re basically mixing two light sources, flash and ambient light, and you can determine how much (if any) of both light sources you let into your final picture.

The total brightness of this image (left) is the sum of the available light that was let into the camera (middle) and the flash light that was let into the camera (right).

The total brightness of this image (left) is the sum of the available light that was let into the camera (middle) and the flash light that was let into the camera (right).

Because the background is generally not (or less) influenced by your flash light (unless your model is close to it, see the next tip), you should always set your background exposure first. Especially when you’re working with a model outside, it’s a good idea to slightly underexpose that background compared to how you would expose it if you were photographing it without a subject. That makes sense: the background isn’t the subject, therefore it shouldn’t be too bright or otherwise it will detract from your actual subject. For example, when I have a sky in my background, I will generally set my exposure so that I still have detail in the sky.

This is an example of a shot where I set my ambient exposure for the background. It is slightly underexposed so that I maintain detail in the sky…

This is an example of a shot where I set my ambient exposure for the background. It is slightly underexposed so that I maintain detail in the sky…

This is the same image after having added a flash through an umbrella (and some creative postprocessing using one of my free Lightroom presets.

This is the same image after having added a flash through an umbrella (and some creative postprocessing using one of my free Lightroom presets.

As a result, your model will generally be underexposed, but that’s not a problem… After all, that’s what you have the flash for, right? After having successfully determined your background exposure, fire up your flash and your trigger and adjust the flash power until your subject is correctly exposed. As a side-note, this is why I love to work with mirrorless cameras like the Fujifilm X-series. If you are working with a DSLR, you always see a bright image in the viewfinder, you never see your actual exposure. For that, you have to take a shot and then chimp at it on your LCD screen. On my Fuji camera's, when I'm working in manual exposure, I can set up the Electronic VIewfinder in two ways: either to show me a nice and bright exposure (which is helpful for framing) or the actual exposure (which is helpful to determine how bright or dark I want my background to be). I have even assigned a Function button to easily switch between the two views. So I no longer need to waste a shot (and waste time) to determine my background exposure. Furthermore, when I make the actual exposure with the flash, I have set up my viewfinder to display the image I just made for 1.5 seconds (or shorter if I press the shutter again). This lets me determine if I need to adjust the power or the direction of my flash, again without chimping! 

3. Want more control over your background exposure? Move your subject farther away from it.

If your model is close to a wall, the flash light that lights her will also light that wall, so it will be hard to control the exposure of both independently. If you want that wall to be darker, there's a couple of things you can do: first, you can add a grid to your light: this will limit the amount of stray light or spill light. But what if you're on a budget? In that case, just move your model (and your flash) further away from that wall. As light loses a lot of power quickly, the bigger the distance between the model and the wall, the less flash light will light that wall.

Same camera and light settings, but in this image the model was much closer to the background...

Same camera and light settings, but in this image the model was much closer to the background...

... than in this image.

... than in this image.

This photo was shot in a white studio. Yet the ambient light was completely eliminated by a judicious choice of aperture, ISO and shutter speed. I kept the power on the softbox the same. In the picture on the left, the model was standing fairly at 9 feet from the background, so there’s still some flash light illuminating that background. In the picture on the right, the distance between the model and the white background was twice the original distance. The distance between flash and model (and hence the flash power) was kept the same as in the first shot. As a result, a lot less light reaches the background and it turns darker. 

This is the reason why it's always good to have a lot of space, even if you're not planning on doing full body shots. The more space you have, the more you can play with the distance between your subject and the background and the more you can light them separately, even with just one light.

4. Use the sun as a free rim light

In a studio, I love working with at least two light sources: one as a main light and one as a rim light, coming from the back. This rim light will create a nice highlight on the back of your subject, separating it from the background and adding a nice 3D feel to the image.

On location, I don’t always have 2 lights with me and even if I do, I don’t always have the time to set up a second light. Nor do I have to. I’ll often use the biggest light source of them all, the sun, to my advantage and put the subject with his back to the sun. This kills two birds with one stone. Not only does my subject not have to squint, but I also get a free rim light. Then it’s just a matter of using the flash to bring my subject up to the desired brightness.

ujifilm GFX 50S | GF120mmF4 R LM OIS WR Macro @ 120 mm | 1/125 sec. @ f/5.6 | ISO 100

ujifilm GFX 50S | GF120mmF4 R LM OIS WR Macro @ 120 mm | 1/125 sec. @ f/5.6 | ISO 100

In the image above, I placed two strip lights behind Rosalinde to separate the leather jacket from the grey background. By the way, one of the things that you'll also find in my upcoming Light It Up! ebook, is loads of gear advice. For example, I really love the Nicefoto strip lights as they're affordable and super quick to set up on location.

FUJIFILM X-T1 | XF56mmF1.2 R @ 56 mm | 1/180 sec @ f/2.8 | ISO 200

FUJIFILM X-T1 | XF56mmF1.2 R @ 56 mm | 1/180 sec @ f/2.8 | ISO 200

In this case, I placed the motorcycle man against the sun. The result is a nice highlight around his outline, which nicely separates him from the background, along with the open aperture I chose for this shot.

The setup shot for the motorcycle image: a relatively cheap ($500) but very powerful 600 Ws portable studio flash (the Jinbei HD600) and a $25 flash umbrella.

The setup shot for the motorcycle image: a relatively cheap ($500) but very powerful 600 Ws portable studio flash (the Jinbei HD600) and a $25 flash umbrella.

5. Experiment with the placement triangle of light - subject - camera

When you start out with off-camera flash, you’ll probably put your light at a 45 degree angle to your subject, with your subject facing the camera. It’s a great starting position but don’t leave it at that. Experiment with the angle of your subject’s face towards the camera and with the angle of the light source towards the camera and the subject…

A couple of sample pages from my just released eBook Light it Up! The relative positioning of your light, camera and subject towards each other can greatly influence the atmosphere of your image.

A couple of sample pages from my just released eBook Light it Up! The relative positioning of your light, camera and subject towards each other can greatly influence the atmosphere of your image.

One of my favourite lighting schemes is pretty straightforward. It is called ‘Short Lighting’ and it lights the side of the face that is turned away from the camera. This results in a more threedimensional portrait and works great with character faces, of which there are many along the shore of the Ganges in Varanasi, where this image was taken.

FUJIFILM X-Pro2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 45.5 mm | 1-250 sec @ f / 2.8 | ISO 200

FUJIFILM X-Pro2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 45.5 mm | 1-250 sec @ f / 2.8 | ISO 200

Short lighting with a free bonus rim light from the bright Indian sun. Two great lights for the price of one!

Short lighting with a free bonus rim light from the bright Indian sun. Two great lights for the price of one!

Don’t let the softbox fool you into thinking you need a big budget to pull of a shot like this. I could have achieved 90 percent of this look with a $25 umbrella. The reason I prefer a softbox is that it gives me more control over my light, especially in confined spaces, where I can add a grid to it.

Want to improve your flash skills?

On April 1st 2018, the second, revised and updated edition of Light it Up! Techniques for Dramatic Off-Camera Flash, will be released with a couple of cool but time-limited bonuses. If you want to get a reminder when it launches, sign up for my newsletter. You'll even receive a set of ten free Lightroom presets, on the house! 

P.S. If you speak Dutch, there's no need to wait as this book is also available in a Dutch print and ebook version! Check it out here.

Choose your Cover, Flash-lover!

What's up, guys?

I'm frantically working on the second edition of my English ebook on off-camera flash, Light It Up! The first edition was released less than a year ago but as I am going to self-publish the book from now on, I decided to update it to celebrate this new direction. The first edition was already meaty and loaded with tips and tricks, this upcoming second edition promises to be even better! It's been completely checked and new tips, gear, cases and techniques have been added. I've even included a tip on how to combine panoramas and flash photography, resulting in a whopping 20,000 pixel wide image! As a result, the page count will grow to a whopping 185 but it's an ebook, right? So no extra costs involved. On the contrary, Light It Up, 2nd Edition will be cheaper than the original! I'm scheduling to release it early May, but before I can do that... I need your help!

I need your help!

It's become somewhat of a tradition that I let readers of my books co-determine the cover. I could of course have left the cover the same as the first edition, but because I'm now publishing it myself and because this it's a second edition, I thought I might as well change it. So... below you have 5 cover options. One of them is very similar to the original cover, the others are different. You can vote for your cover by filling out the form below. You need not enter your email address, but know that I will draw three random names from the entries who will receive a free copy of Light It Up, 2nd Edition and I obviously need your email address to inform you if you've won. If you're not subscribed to my newsletter, it might be a good thing to check that checkbox, too, as new newsletter subscribers receive 10 of my best Lightroom presets, absolutely free! (please allow up to a day to receive the presets).

Click on a cover to see it larger. Alternatively, scroll through the images below to see them up close. Don't pay too much attention to the subtitle as it might still change.

Vote here

You can vote using the form below. If you're already subscribed to my newsletter, there's no need to subscribe again - you should have received the free presets already! You can vote until Thursday, March 22nd, 1 PM Brussels time.

LightItUpCover_01kopie.jpg
LightItUpCover_02kopie.jpg
LightItUpCover_03kopie.jpg
LightItUpCover_04kopie.jpg
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1 Spot Left - Join Matt Brandon and me in Mongolia in April

Update: the 2018 edition workshop is sold out (wait list here). However, we are planning on doing this workshop again in 2019. Subscribe to the newsletter to be notified when we have the dates and prices.

Banner_LastSpot.jpg

As you may know, travel photographer Matt Brandon and I have been successfully running travel workshops in India for the last couple of years. And while we intend to keep on doing that, we wanted to broaden our horizon, too. So, we invited a select group of five adventurous photographers to join us for the first Mongolia Photo Adventure. Everything is set for a phenomenal trip of photographing nomads and eagle hunters!

We are are using one of the country's best fixer and travel agencies, who have worked with various film and photographer crews. They have assisted in productions for world-renowned companies like BBC and Red Bull, so they know what photographers want. This won't be no tour bus bouncing around the country side with 5 minute photo stops. This wil be a trip by photographers, for photographers.

This is just a small selection of the flash gear we will be bringing along on this trip (I'll leave the jacket at home, though). We'll have umbrellas, softboxes and everything we need to make beautiful portraits. You can use our gear and if you're n…

This is just a small selection of the flash gear we will be bringing along on this trip (I'll leave the jacket at home, though). We'll have umbrellas, softboxes and everything we need to make beautiful portraits. You can use our gear and if you're new to this, don't worry: we have scheduled class time on how to use it, too!

Although we will also use available light, Matt and I will be bringing our flash gear with us to Mongolia, to enable participants to make the same striking and dramatic portraits that we are known for from our India workshops. 

If you've ever wanted to explore Mongolia, guided by two seasoned travel photographers, a fixer and a local guide and explore the use of location flash photography, this is the trip for you!

Eagle huntress

Eagle huntress

Practicalities

2019 Dates: To be announced

2019 Cost: approximately $6,750, but final pricing has to be announced. This price includes a $1,400 deposit payable within two days after registration. The cost includes food, lodging in hotels and tent camps where applicable (see Itinerary below), assistance of vehicles, drivers and cooks, an internal flight and obviously tuition from Matt and me. As this is an international group, it does not include your international flights to and from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. More details about what's included and what not at the bottom of this post.

Itinerary

Please note that this itinerary is the one from the 2018 edition and is subject to change. However, it gives you an idea of what we're planning to do.

Day 1:
Welcome to Ulaanbaatar!  Ulaanbaatar (UB), meaning ‘Red Hero’, was developed during Soviet times and is now a fascinating and bustling city of brand new sky-scrapers beside ancient monasteries and sprawling ger (the Mongolian term for 'yurt' or round tent) districts. You'll meet the team and be taken on a city tour, followed by a delicious dinner at one of UB’s best restaurants.

Day 2:
Domestic flight to the western provincial capitol of Ölgii. We’ll have a chance to pick up any last minute supplies before heading off into the mountains and then set off to meet one of our subjects, a Mongolian Eagle Hunter and his golden eagle. Overnight in ger (yurt).  

Tsaagan gol 1 M&P-3.jpg

Day 3-4:
Wake up at the winter / spring eagle hunter’s family camp and have breakfast followed by a photography lecture on how to mix flash with available light for dramatic environmental pictures. Subject photography and possible transfer to another hunter family. Overnight in ger.  

Day 5:
We’re planning one more full day around the western mountains and eagle hunters, since so many sights are challenging to get to. Specifics TBA. We’ll likely have dinner in Ölgii and overnight at a hotel in town.

Silao and eagle M&P-2.jpg

Day 6:
Morning flight back to Ulaanbaatar arriving midday. This will be a big travel day, as we'll plan to get right out of the city and arrive at our next subject's home in time for golden hour. Approximately 3.5 hour drive.

Day 7:
After an early breakfast we’ll plan a morning shoot session with our local subjects, who are herders of horses, camels, goats and sheep. We’ll be in Central Mongolia, surrounded by broad valleys, mountains and sand dunes.

Day 8-9:
More photo lectures on composition and storytelling and of course more portrait shooting. We’re planning to have several subjects at your disposal for the day, with opportunities to shoot in the ger, around sand dunes, steppe and even an old monastery surrounded by older monastery ruins. Overnight in ger.

Day 10:
We’ll spend the morning finishing up our explorations and shooting around Khogno Khan and then travel northwest to Kharkhorin, Mongolia’s ancient capitol.  Our next destination will be the largest active monastery in the country, Erdene Zu. 

Day 11:
After morning photo ops and a relaxed breakfast in Kharkhorin, we’ll head out of the valley and continue our journey, to meet a horse herder family. Opportunities for portraits of the family working with animals. Overnight in gers.

Day 12:
Some more time for family portrait photography. Whenever we’re finished, we’ll start back towards UB, staying one more night in Khogno Khan, the dune area we visited earlier. Overnight in gers, tents.

Day 13:
Return to UB, check in to your hotel for a well deserved hot shower. Possible city photography in afternoon / early eve. We’ll plan on a farewell dinner together at one of our favourite places. 

Day 14:
We'll meet for coffee and breakfast together (depending on flight times), after which (if time permits) we’d love to see your favorite shots, in a late morning photo review session. Transfer to airport for your departure.

Any questions?

Just shoot Matt or me an email.

Pricing for this Photo Adventure is inclusive of all in-country Mongolia travel*, 1 night Ulaan Batur hotel stay between Day 1 & Day 2 of the itinerary, 1 night hotel stay between Day 13 & Day 14, all countryside accommodations, non-restaurant meals and transport, in-country airfare between Ulaanbaatar and Ölgii, photo-pro sessions while in countryside, use of inverters and other charging equipment. Tents and sleeping bags will be provided. Expedition participants must provide own camera equipment, lenses, data storage cards/devices, computers (if desired), any specialty camera accessories and personal effects. Personal expenses (laundry, alcoholic beverages, ...) are excluded. Participants must have medical, evacuation and cancellation insurance. A list of suggested insurance companies will be given after registration.

*Airport transfers will be provided at no additional charge if arriving on Day 1 of listed itinerary and/or departing on Day 14 of itinerary. For arrivals and departures at other times, airport transfers can be arranged for a nominal fee.

The 5DayDeal is back! $2.500 worth of photo education and tools for only $117

From now until October 18th, noon PDT, it's 5 Day Deal time again! The 5 Day Deal is a unique bundle of photographic training content. If you were to buy every item separately, you'd be looking at a total bill of over $2.750. Now, you're only paying $117 (+ European VAT unless you have a VAT ID), a savings of more than 95 percent! The total bundle contains over 75 hours of video training, several eBooks and over 1400 Lightroom presets, Photoshop actions and other digital tools. In total several gigabytes worth of training goodness.

Yes, but what's in it for me?

Of course, the real question is: 'What is this bundle worth to you?' Unless you're really into all genres of photography, probably not the full $2.500. But I can guarantee you that even if you're only remotely interested in photography, the 5 Day Deal bundle is certainly worth more than the measly $117 it's selling for. In fact, this bundle will do more for your photography than the umpteenth camera bag or a shiny new UV filter. 

To help you determine if it's worth your dollar, I've broken the bundle down into three typical areas of interest: general postprocessing, landscape photography and portrait photography. You'll see that even if you're only really into one of those three areas, the bundle is a steal. Heck, if you're into two or more, you should already be ordering!

1. You're into Lightroom, Photoshop and Postprocessing

Postprocessing seems to be the main theme of this year's bundle, so if image editing is your thing, you're in for a treat. The bundle is ideal to hone your editing skills over these cold winter months and get you ready for a great start in 2018. There's hundreds of Lightroom presets and Photoshop actions, overlays like smoke and sun flares and loads of training videos. As you can see, I'm very honoured that my own Black & White Lightroom Preset pack is included in the bundle. But even if you already have that, there's still $2.767 of other stuff :-) The total value of the highlighted items alone is over $1.500. The 5 Day Deal price is less than ten percent of that. If you're a Lightroom or Photoshop user, this bundle really is a no-brainer.

2.  You're mainly interested in nature photography, landscapes, cityscapes and how to postprocess these

The total value of the highlighted items is about $700. From previous 5 Day Deals, I remember the excellent quality of the stuff that people like Jimmy McIntyre and Christopher O'Donnell put out, so I'm looking forward to discovering their new courses. Also, note that I've only counted items that have a direct relationship to landscape photography. There are lots of resources, like the many preset packs, that will without a doubt also be useful when you're editing your landscape images.

3. You're mainly interested in portrait photography and portrait retouching

The total value of the highlighted items is almost $800. Again, there are some hidden gems in this line-up. For example, I really enjoyed Jeff Rojas' no-nonsense approach on how to interact with, light and photograph 'normal people'. After all, we not always get to choose who winds up in front of our lens!

Still in doubt?

Here's 5 final reasons why you should really consider this bundle:

10 percent of each sale goes to charity. Since 2013, people buying the 5DayDeal have raised over $1.000.000 for charity.

10 percent of each sale goes to charity. Since 2013, people buying the 5DayDeal have raised over $1.000.000 for charity.

  1. This way of learning is one of the cheapest to improve your photography skills, at your own pace, when and where you want it. Furthermore, there's always a couple of hidden gems in bundles like this. For example, I really enjoyed Andrew S. Gibson's Black & White Presets and Jeff Rojas' posing and lighting video.
  2. A lot of this bundle's resources are new and if they aren't new, at least they've never been in any other 5 Day Deal bundle, so there's no overlap with previous 5 Day Deal purchases.
  3. The bundle is gone forever on October 18th, noon PDT.
  4. 10 percent of the entire turnover (not the profits, but the turnover, so almost $10 on every sale) goes to charity. Since the start of the 5 Day Deal in 2013, over $1.000.000 was donated to good causes. To that effect, upon checkout, you can opt for the 'Charity Match bundle'. This is an extra, separate bundle, worth over $900 which costs an extra $24,97, half of which goes to charity. Some 50% of people who bought the bundle so far have chosen this option. If you want to maximise your savings and in the mean time maximise your charity donation, look for the 'Charity Match' section, you'll see it on the 5 Day Deal page.
  5. But wait, there's more :-) Another extra option is the 'Pro Bundle Addon'. That's almost $500 worth of content for an add-on of only $12,47.

You see, I'm shutting up already. Yes. I'm that easy :-)

For an extra $24,97, you not only double the amount of money that goes to charity, but you also get access to over $900 worth of extra stuff. There are two photography courses in there, including the world-famous one by Fstoppers, one of the largest…

For an extra $24,97, you not only double the amount of money that goes to charity, but you also get access to over $900 worth of extra stuff. There are two photography courses in there, including the world-famous one by Fstoppers, one of the largest photo websites. Then, if you still have another $12,47 to burn, you can get the Pro Bundle Add-on as well...

Stepping out of your comfort zone

From short lighting with a big softbox...

[Recommended soundtrack while reading this blog post: Stepping Out by Joe Jackson :-) ]

People are creatures of habit. So are photographers, at least this photographer is. There are areas where we feel more comfortable than others. For me, lighting wise, my comfort zone is flash. I love using flash. I know a lot of you find it complicated but I don't - at least not anymore. [Shameless plug: if you find flash intimidating, I've written a book that will help you overcome your fears. It's available here in English and here in Dutch - end of shameless plug].

The fact that I can reach into my gear bag and whip out my own portable sun is very reassuring to me. Comforting. Within that broad comfort zone of using flash, I have one technique I am more comfortable with than others. If flash is my house, then this technique is my sofa, so to speak... I could perform it on my slippers. In fact, I already have :-)

That go-to technique is the one you see in the image below: it's short-lighting with a relatively big softbox, combined with natural rim-light from the sun. My preferred softboxes are the SMDV Alpha 110 (this thing sets up in less than 15 seconds and breaks down in less than 2) and the Elinchrom Rotalux 175 cm. Generally, I'll be working with a standard to wide angle lens fairly wide open. In this image, the softbox was camera left, almost at a 90 degree angle to the camera. Because the subject has his face slightly turned to his right, the softbox predominantly lights the side of the face that's turned away from the camera, leaving a - in my opinion at least - beautiful Rembrandt triangle on the side of the face that's closest to the camera.

By putting my subject with the back to the sun, I kill two birds with one stone. First of all, I avoid squinting in the eyes and second, the sun gives me a free rim light, which helps to separate him from the background: do you see the narrow white line around the turban (camera right) and his shirt? That's the sun. I'll slightly underexpose the background and then I'll bring my subject back to the desired light level with the flash... I've done a zillion of these photographs and I'll probably do a zillion more, because I just like the look...

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GX63mmF2.8 R WR @ 63 mm | 1-125 sec. @ f - 2,8 | ISO 500 - Flash was an SMDV BRiHT 360 in an SMDV 85 cm Speedbox

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GX63mmF2.8 R WR @ 63 mm | 1-125 sec. @ f - 2,8 | ISO 500 - Flash was an SMDV BRiHT 360 in an SMDV 85 cm Speedbox

... Over short-lighting with a harsh light source...

The danger of having a preferred style like this, is that you'll use it always and everywhere and that you no longer even consider alternatives that might be better. You might get a nice, safe shot, but not necessarily the one that fits the subject or the situation best. For the shot below, for example, I decided to break my usual routine. The big softbox I normally use, creates soft shadows, but here I wanted the shadow to be a part of the image, probably even the most important part. So I switched out the softbox for a standard reflector in this portrait of dancer Bradley. That's one step away from my comfort zone... But I did keep the short lighting look... We're going to get rid of that, too, in the next image...

FUJIFILM X-T2 | XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS @ 31.5 mm | 1-160 sec. @ f - 7,1 | ISO 200 - Flash was a Godox AD200

FUJIFILM X-T2 | XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS @ 31.5 mm | 1-160 sec. @ f - 7,1 | ISO 200 - Flash was a Godox AD200

... Over rim-lighting with a flash...

In this shoot of Barre, a BMX Flatland Rider (www.barrebmx.com) in an abandoned cooling tower, I started out in my comfort zone: two lights. For lack of sun, I used a second flash as a rim light. Both were Godox AD600 flashes. In this blog post, I explain why I am so fond of the Godox eco-system. This setup gave me a decent enough image. With that in my pocket, it was time to step out of the comfort zone.

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GF32-64mmF4 R LM WR @ 32 mm | 1-60 sec. @ f - 8,0 | ISO 800 - Flashes used: 2 x Godox AD600

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GF32-64mmF4 R LM WR @ 32 mm | 1-60 sec. @ f - 8,0 | ISO 800 - Flashes used: 2 x Godox AD600

I love backlight, I love smoke and I looooove backlit smoke! To that effect, I'll often lug around my Scotty II,  a portable, battery powered smoke machine. It's a totally different shot. Not better or worse, just different. But what matters is that it's a shot that I wouldn't have had if I had stayed in my comfort zone.

FUJIFILM X-T2 | XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS @ 31.5 mm | 1-160 sec. bij f - 7,1 | ISO 200

FUJIFILM X-T2 | XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS @ 31.5 mm | 1-160 sec. bij f - 7,1 | ISO 200

To using natural light only...

One way to get out of your comfort zone in a ... comfortable way, is to team up with a model and another photographer for a TFCD shoot. There's no stress to deliver, so you're free to do what you want and you can learn from the other photographer's handling of light. For this shoot, my buddy and fellow Fujifilm Ambassador Ioannis Tsouloulis (as far as names go, that's not a comfort zone!) and I got to work with Mila, a very talented young model who also happens to be a keen ballet danser. I did my usual wide-angle-big-softbox shot that you can see below.

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GF23mmF4 R LM WR @ 23 mm | 1-500 sec. bij f - 8,0 | ISO 100-2

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GF23mmF4 R LM WR @ 23 mm | 1-500 sec. bij f - 8,0 | ISO 100-2

And then Ioannis challenged me to work with natural light only, and a reflector. I hate using reflectors (that would be another blog post entirely) and I'm not a big fan of using typical portrait lenses either, but I got one of the best shots from the day by stepping out of my comfort zone.

It also helps to have a stunning model, obviously. Mila probably would still look great with an on-camera flash and a toy camera, I think...

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GF110mmF2 R LM WR @ 110 mm | 1-500 sec. bij f - 2,0 | ISO 100.jpg

Postprocessing

In case you're wondering, the images above don't come rolling out of the camera like this. At least not out of my camera. There's always some degree of styling and retouching going on. That's not a shame or a bad thing, on the contrary, it can be an equally important part of your style as the actual photography. I do try to get my images more or less right in terms of overall exposure and composition, but then comes the fun part: the postproduction. Unlike many photographers I know, I really love this phase. Especially since I've started shooting with the Fujifilm GFX. Man, those pixels can take a digital beating! Below are some before and after comparisons. My edits are mainly done in Lightroom, using one of my Lightroom preset packs.

I just warmed up this image slightly and gave it a slightly more crispy look with a preset from 'Piet's Power Preset Pack, Vol. I'

I thought the dramatic light would go well with a more dramatic postprocessing that gave a gritty, urban feel to the image. This look was achieved by using one of my favorite presets (I've named it after my son, go figure!) Noah, which you can find in my Colorific Colour Grading bundle.

As Barre was already wearing black and there wasn't much colour in the background either, black and white was a logical choice to process this image. All it took was one click on one of my 'Piet Van den Eynde's Black and White Develop Presets for Lightroom'

I wanted the image to radiate with warmth, so I chose a warming preset from my Power Preset Pack and increased the Exposure some more.

Using Flash to Improve your Photographs

People often ask me why I take a flash to destinations like India or Indonesia. After all, isn’t there enough sun over there? The problem is they mistake quantity with quality. Sure enough, there’s plenty of sun in Varanasi or in Borobudur. In fact, there’s often too much of it, especially on those cloudless days these countries seem to have some sort of patent on. From early in the morning to right before sunset, there is often so much sun that, unless you’re photographing in the shade, the contrast is too much to handle. Bringing a flash will let you soften that contrast, by opening up the harsh shadows the sun creates. The more powerful the flash, the more options you have: a small speedlight will let you fill in the shadows, whereas a big strobe will even let you overpower that sun, allowing you to turn midday into evening. By using modifiers such as softboxes and umbrellas, you can create soft light where ever you want, even if the available light is unpleasing.

FUJIFILM X-E1 | XF14mmF2.8 R @ 14 mm | 1/200 sec @ f/8 | ISO 200A small flash with an umbrella, put camera left was used to fill in the shadows caused by the late afternoon sun.

FUJIFILM X-E1 | XF14mmF2.8 R @ 14 mm | 1/200 sec @ f/8 | ISO 200

A small flash with an umbrella, put camera left was used to fill in the shadows caused by the late afternoon sun.

FUJIFILM X-T1 | XF10-24mmF4 R OIS @ 10 mm | 1/180 sec @ f/5 | ISO 200

FUJIFILM X-T1 | XF10-24mmF4 R OIS @ 10 mm | 1/180 sec @ f/5 | ISO 200

This picture of a Rajasthani couple in Jodhpur looks like it was made in the evening, but it was actually photographed around noon. I underexposed the available light heavily by choosing a narrow aperture, a relatively fast shutter speed and a low ISO. I then directed the flash so it looked like late setting sunlight.

The Jodphur example brings us to a second advantage of bringing a flash: you have control over the direction of your light. The position of the sun (and many other available light sources …) is out of our control. You cannot move a street lamp to a position that would better suit the composition of the photo you have in mind. But you can put a flash upside down on a light stand or hang it from a house with a clamp, cover its head with an orange gel and simulate a light bulb anywhere, as the image below shows.

FUJIFILM X-T1 | XF10-24mmF4 R OIS @ 10 mm | 1/3 sec @ f/4 | ISO 800There was no street light where I wanted to photograph the pilgrims going to do their morning bathing rituals in Pushkar lake. So I created my own street light with an orange gelled …

FUJIFILM X-T1 | XF10-24mmF4 R OIS @ 10 mm | 1/3 sec @ f/4 | ISO 800

There was no street light where I wanted to photograph the pilgrims going to do their morning bathing rituals in Pushkar lake. So I created my own street light with an orange gelled speedlight I hung off a canopy just outside of the frame.

At the start of this article, I talked about quality of light. When we talk about quality of light, we should not so much think of it in terms of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ but rather in terms of ‘hard’ or ‘soft’. Hard light isn’t necessarily bad light. It all depends on what you want your photograph to say. When I set out to photograph the war cemetery in Langemark, Belgium, I wanted the picture of the tombstone to reflect the atrocities of war. However, on that particular day, it was very cloudy. There was almost no contrast at all. Ideal light to shoot just about anything, but not for what I had in mind. Contrary to the example I started this blog post with, the available light was too soft, too pleasing, too… flattering. So I put up a flash on a tripod, zoomed the flash head all the way to the maximum and added a grid to get a tight beam of light. The result is a much more dramatic light, one that helps to convey the atmosphere of the place much better than an available light picture.

The available light was very soft... In fact, it was too soft for what I wanted the photo to say.

The available light was very soft... In fact, it was too soft for what I wanted the photo to say.

A strategically placed flash with a grid makes concentrated light beam...

A strategically placed flash with a grid makes concentrated light beam...

... that matches the subject a lot better.

... that matches the subject a lot better.

Want to improve your flash skills?

My just released eBook, Light it Up! Techniques for Dramatic lighting teaches you everything you need to know. Everything explained in plain English with lots of behind the scene shots or lighting diagrams. For those who already have some flash experience under their belt, there are also more advanced chapters on gear and light setups. The book also contains plenty of buyer's advice (did you know that some brand flashes cost up to three times as much as third party alternatives, while not offering more power or features - sometimes even less).

Finally, it comes with two cool bonuses: a set of three fifteen minute videos and a sample set of Lightroom presets.

Light It Up! (including bonuses) retails for $30 + applicable taxes but until May 29, you can save 25 percent. No discount code needed. Get it here.

P.S. If you speak Dutch, this book is also available in Dutch (both as a print book and an eBook). I also have a Dutch video course on off camera flash over at my Dutch online photo training website www.photofactsacademy.nl.

No flash? No problem! Lightroom and the Fujifilm GFX.

At the Photo Days photographic trade show in Brussels this weekend, I had the honour of doing some GFX studio demos with two lovely and very talented models: Rosalinde Kikstra and Sooraj Subramaniam. I had a number of Godox flashes and modifiers set up and I'll post some images later of those results but the image that probably underlines the GFX's fantastic capabilities the most was one I made by accident: on one of the shots in a Black and White portrait series, I had misaligned the trigger so the flashes did not fire. All I got was a heavily underexposed ambient exposure shot.

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GF120mmF4 R LM OIS WR Macro @ 120 mm | 1/125 sec @ f/5.6 | ISO 400

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GF120mmF4 R LM OIS WR Macro @ 120 mm | 1/125 sec @ f/5.6 | ISO 400

So, in front of a live audience, I said, jokingly... let's try and see what we can make out of this... I increased the Exposure slider by almost 5 stops (the maximum in Lightroom), dragged a couple of other sliders around and half a minute later got this result... 

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GF120mmF4 R LM OIS WR Macro @ 120 mm | 1/125 sec @ f/5.6 | ISO 400

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GF120mmF4 R LM OIS WR Macro @ 120 mm | 1/125 sec @ f/5.6 | ISO 400

Here's the two of them side by side in the Lightroom interface.

And below is a 1:1 crop. I added 25 Luminance Noise Reduction in Lightroom and of course there is still some noise but considering the fact that my ISO wasn't even at the base of 100 but at 400, I think the result is nothing short of fantastic...

For me, the takeaway from this accidental experiment is that if Lightroom and the GFX can do this on a completely underexposed file, imagine what you can do with a halfway decent exposure. Just about anything, I guess...

Oh... and just for the sake of being complete... here's the actual image with the flashes firing :-)

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GF120mmF4 R LM OIS WR Macro @ 120 mm | 1/125 sec @ f/5.6 | ISO 400

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GF120mmF4 R LM OIS WR Macro @ 120 mm | 1/125 sec @ f/5.6 | ISO 400

The Fujfilm GFX Files, Part 2 - More videos

A video interview with about the GFX and the accessories I used in India

As you could read in part 1, I have been using the brand new Fujifilm GFX in India and Belgium for a couple of weeks. I also made a 3 minute video about it for Fujifilm. Well actually, I did not make that video: fellow X-Photographers Matt Brandon (www.thedigitaltrekker.com) and Serge Van Cauwenbergh (www.fotografieblog.be) filmed it - entirely with X-T2 cameras by the way - and Matt also edited it. In case you haven't seen it yet, here's that video:

On the way back from Varanasi to Delhi, Matt interviewed me about the GFX, but also about some of the other accessories we have been using, like the SMDV BRiHT 360 and the SMDV Speedbox 85 that you can see me use extensively in the video. We also talk about using monopods and tripods and how to back up images like this while traveling. You can check out the video interview on Matt's site. There's some cool 100 percent close-ups of shots!

Check out my video interview here.

Check out my video interview here.

More GFX Challenge videos

If you haven't overdosed on GFX news by now, here are the latest GFX Challenge videos that Fujifilm have released:

Ollvier Wehrli - Switzerland

Watching Oliver's beautifully filmed video gave me vertigo. I guess I'm not cut out to be a landscape photographer!

Joshua Loh - Singapore

Joshua Loh appreciates the small form factor and fast focusing capabilities of the GFX. I also take away from the video that I really need a Mercedes SLS to complement the GFX... That car features in no less than three GFX Challenge videos :-)

Supalerk Narubetkraisee (Thailand)

Supalerk also lauds the universal nature of the GFX and has a couple of really nice star trail photos in his video.

Shiro Hagihara (Japan)

Shiro - like me - appreciates the EVF which lets him decide on exposure and color without having to take his eye off the viewfinder. He loves the Velvia simulation for his landscape work. He says the GFX lets him capture details that even his eyes could not see.

Saiichi Nakmura

Saiichi's work involves still life photography with water. The video offers an interesting view into his studio set-up. He praises the quality of the CMOS sensor and the standard 4:3 aspect ratio which he finds better suited for commercial use.

Jonas Rask and Palle Schultz (Denmark)

The detail and sharpness of Jonas' lifestyle shoot images with a biker almost bite you from across the screen. A must-see if you're into motorcycles or good-looking guys :-)

Sangsun Ogh (Korea)

Sangsun takes us to a shoot of a model wearing traditional Korean attire. Needless to say, the resolution of the GFX helps to bring out every little bit of texture.

Knut Koivisto (Sweden)

Knut appreciates the fact that the camera works as well in the studio as it does outside of it, in the streets. He uses the X-T2 and the GFX intermittently. For him, DSLRs have been sidestepped now.

Fujifilm releases new GFX Challenge videos

Fujifilm today have released no less than 7 new GFX Challenge videos. For the GFX Challenge, some 20 photographers worldwide got to work with a prototype of the upcoming GFX medium format camera and the three lenses that are going to ship with it when the camera is released: the 63 mm f/2.8, the 32-64 f/4 zoom and the 120 f/4 stabilised macro. 

The photographers were free to do what they wanted. The only thing is they had to make a three minute video of using the camera. It's really refreshing to see what people do with the camera. Not only the photography is truly breathtaking, but some of the videos are also beautifully made and most of them were filmed in 4K with Fujifilm X-T2 cameras.

Gary Heery (Australia)

Australian photographer Gary Heery uses the GFX and the macro lens to create some really beautiful still lifes (litterally) of objects frozen in time. I cannot wait to see these printed large. And neither can he, apparently!

Roméo Balancourt (France)

French portrait, architecture and food photographer Roméo Balancourt uses the GFX on location to shoot upscale restaurants and their crew. It's interesting to see him set up an entire lighting studio on location. He mixes available (tungsten) lights with flash and fresnel spots. He appreciates the Q menu and the Electronic Viewfinder that shows him exactly what he's going to get. I blogged about the advantages of an EVF a while back in this post. Roméo admits that before using the GFX, he always had to add extra sharpening to his images before delivering them to his clients. With the GFX, he no longer has to, he says. I also loved how the images he made during the video come together in a final composite, at around the 4 minute 5 seconds mark.

Luciano Romano (Italy)

For his GFX Challenge, Italian photographer Luciano Romano wanted to combine his three favorite elements of photography: art, architecture, and theater. He loves the excellent ergonomics of the camera (something I can confirm: if you're used to working with a DSLR or Fujifilm's X-T2, you'll feel right at home).

Victor Liu (Canada)

Perhaps it's slightly over-the-top, but I just love this Canadian landscape's photographer's video. I love the low angles, the fades from the video to shots of the GFX and back. It's like a trailer for a blockbuster movie. Or should I say, a blockbuster camera? Victor shows that the GFX absolutely feels at home in very rugged conditions. Now I want to go to the Rocky Mountains, too...

Ivan Joshua Loh (Singapore)

Medium format and cars. It's a marriage made in heaven. As such, the Mercedes SLS appears to be a hot ticket amongst car photographers: Ivan Joshua Loh from Singapore is the second GFX Challenger to photograph this gull-winged beauty of a car, yet he does so in a completely different way than Satoshi Minakawa.

Per-Anders Jörgensen (Sweden)

Swedish photographer Per-Anders Jörgensen describes his own work as "faked documentary" (a term I have to remember as it kind of reflects some of the stuff I do). Just like Roméo Balancourt, he takes the GFX to a restaurant but he uses it to photograph the preparation of food. It's interesting to see hem use a curtain as a diffuser tent and get under it to get the softest light possible. That's the nice thing about these GFX videos: you always pick up a thing or two that you can insert in your own workflow...

Minoru Kobayashi (Japan)

Japanese Minoru Kobayashi takes the GFX outside to photograph a sports car. I'm no petrolhead, but I think its a Honda NSX. Its 573 bhp sure goes well with the GFX's 51+ megapixel. He loves what he calls the "resolution with density" that only medium format can provide. His favourite film simulation is Velvia back from in the days where he shot Velvia on film, at ASA 50 or 100. He really loves the fact that he can now shoot Velvia digitally, with a previously unthought of ISO of 1600 and above!

With a price point of "well under $10,000" including the standard 63 mm lens, the GFX might very well wind up to be not only a "medium-format-killer" but also a "high-end-dslr-killer". And we've still got a couple of more GFX Challenge videos to come! In the mean time, if you want to see how the GFX behaves on the busy streets of India, have a look at (shameless plug, I I know), my own GFX video:

And in case you still need some more convincing, here's the other GFX videos that have been released thus far:

Testing the GFX was a lot of fun. Actually, it only had one drawback. I want one, now... 

The 2016 edition of the 5 Day Deal: What's in it for you?

From now until Wednesday, October 19th, noon PST, it's 5 Day Deal time again! The 5 Day Deal is a unique bundle of photographic training content. If you were to buy every item separately, you'd be looking at a total bill of over $2.500. Now, you're only paying $97, a savings of more than 95 percent! The bundle contains over 60 hours of video training, 15 eBooks and almost 500 Lightroom presets and Photoshop actions. In total over 25 gigabyte of training goodness.

From Lightroom presets over video courses on how to shoot wine or photograph models to a complete landscape postprocessing photography course: there's something for everyone in this bundle.

From Lightroom presets over video courses on how to shoot wine or photograph models to a complete landscape postprocessing photography course: there's something for everyone in this bundle.

Of course, the real question is: 'What is this bundle worth to you?' Unless you're really into all genres of photography, probably not the full $2.500. But I can guarantee you that even if you're only remotely interested in photography, the 5 Day Deal bundle is certainly worth more than the measly $97 it's selling for. In fact, this bundle will do more for your photography than the umpteenth camera bag or a shiny new UV filter. 

To help you determine if it's worth your dollar (well, 97 of them), I've broken the bundle down into three typical areas of interest: general postprocessing, landscape photography and portrait photography. You'll see that even if you're only really into one of those three areas, the bundle is a steal. Heck, if you're into two or more, you should already be ordering!

1. You're into Lightroom and Photoshop

Postprocessing seems to be the main theme of this year's bundle, so if image editing is your thing, you're in for a treat. The bundle is ideal to hone your editing skills over these cold winter months and get you ready for a great start in 2017. There's hundreds of Lightroom presets and Photoshop actions, textures and loads of training videos. There's also a lot of HDR training, and I mean photographically interesting HDR, not the headache-inducing variety! The total value of the highlighted items alone is over $1.600. The 5 Day Deal price is less than ten percent of that. If you're a Lightroom or Photoshop user, this bundle really is a no-brainer.

2.  You're mainly interested in nature photography, landscapes, cityscapes and how to postprocess these

The total value of the highlighted items is about $700. From previous 5 Day Deals, I remember the excellent quality of the stuff that people like Jimmy McIntyre, Klaus Herrmann and James Brandon put out, so I'm looking forward to discovering their new courses. Also, note that I've only counted items that have a direct relationship to landscape photography. There are lots of resources, like the many preset packs, that will without a doubt also be useful when you're editing your landscape images.

3. You're mainly interested in portrait photography and portrait retouching

The total value of the highlighted items is also some $700. Again, there are some hidden gems in this line-up. For example, I really enjoyed Serge Ramelli's no-nonsense approach to compositing: he photographs a model and then puts her in front of a different background. This course alone by itself normally costs double the entire 5 Day Deal bundle price.

Other areas of interest

But that's not all. There's also more general, introductory courses such as David duChemin's 26 part email course on the one hand but also some highly specialized ones on the other: how 'bout an in-depth course on Photo Mechanic (I know I can use one since I'm using this app more and more as a front-end to Lightroom). Or what about a course on how to photograph wine? It's all there.

If you're still in doubt, here's 5 final reasons why you should really consider this bundle:

The ever-funny-yet-to-the-point Zack Arias has written an eBook of over 100 pages with business advice for photographers. It's an excellent and at times hilarious read.

The ever-funny-yet-to-the-point Zack Arias has written an eBook of over 100 pages with business advice for photographers. It's an excellent and at times hilarious read.

  1. This way of learning is one of the cheapest to improve your photography skills, at your own pace, when and where you want it. Furthermore, there's always a couple of hidden gems in bundles like this. For example, I thoroughly enjoyed Zack Arias' 'Get To Work - Business Primer' eBook. It's not something I'd probably buy (in fact, I didn't know it existed), but it was included in the bundle anyway! 
  2. A lot of this bundle's resources are new and if they aren't new, at least they've never been in any other 5 Day Deal bundle, so there's no overlap with previous 5 Day Deal purchases.
  3. If you're more interested in the business side of photography, there's a couple of interesting items as well, like the afore-mentioned guide by Zack Arias. Zack's studio is doing great now, but he once was nearly bankrupt. So, he knows what he's talking about.
  4. The bundle is gone forever on October 19th, noon PST (that's 9 PM Brussels time).
  5. 10 percent of the entire turnover (not the profits, but the turnover, so almost $10 on every sale) goes to charity. Since the start of the 5 Day Deal in 2013, over $650.000 was donated to good causes. For this year, the 5 Day Deal team is hoping to achieve $250.000 of charity donations and they even silently hope to reach $350.000, which would bring their total over one million since 2013. To that effect, upon checkout, you can choose to pay an extra 10% ($9.7) which goes entirely to charity. And, as a token of good karma, you get an extra bonus-download worth $250. Some 50% of people who bought the bundle so far have chosen this option. It's called 'Charity Match', you'll see it on the 5 Day Deal page.

You see, I'm shutting up already. Yes. I'm that easy :-)

5 products that caught my eye at Photokina 2016

I have just returned from a bustling two days at Photokina, the biannual photographic gear lovefest that is held in Cologne, Germany. I was travelling in the exquisite company of fellow Belgian X-photographers Isabel Corthier and Ioannis Tsouloulis. I want to thank the people from Fujifilm Japan and Belgium for inviting us over. Trade shows like Photokina are as much about people as they are about products. So, it was great to reconnect with longtime friends such as Tom, Bert (who used Tom’s bald head as a reflector during his 'Small lights, big results’ demo on the Fujifilm stand), Rob, Damien (energetic as ever), the German ‘rock star’ trio Dieter, Jens & Peter and Marco, Julia, Shusuke and Kunio. I also had the privilige of being introduced to new people such as Patrick La Roque, Jens Krauer, Martin Hülle and their impressive work. Finally, I am happy I got to meet Rico Pfirstinger. He’s the author of the unofficial Fujifilm manuals. If you are struggling to get the most out of your camera, his books and workshops are among the best resources to turn to.

Now of course, apart from the social aspect, Photokina is obviously also about gear. Lots of gear! In fact, it's probably the most GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome)-inducing show on the planet. Even during those two days, I was unable to visit each hall, let alone each booth. Yet, there were a couple of products that caught my eye. Because the Internet loves lists, here's five of them, in no particular order. Well, except maybe for the first! 

1. Fujifilm GFX

The GFX looks like a beefed-up X-T2. Image © Fujifilm.

The GFX looks like a beefed-up X-T2. Image © Fujifilm.

Call me biased (I'm an X-photographer after all) but the Fujifilm GFX was the star of the Fujifilm booth and probably even of the entire Photokina. In case you've just returned from another planet, the GFX 50s is Fujifilm's first digital medium format camera. It has a sensor size roughly 4 times that of the other X series cameras and a pixel count of 51.4 megapixel. The GFX 50s will be available with three lenses at launch, which you should be ‘early 2017’. By end of 2017, another tree lenses should be available.

Literally everybody wanted to get their hands on the camera of which only a couple of prototypes exist. I was lucky enough to get to hold it in my hands for a couple of minutes. I was surprised at how well it focused even in the dark venue where I was and also at how lightweight it was: this beast of a camera weighs less than many a professional DSLR! If you want to read more about the specs (even more than is available on Fujifilm's own website) read this excellent article by Rico Pfirstinger.

The price of the GFX hasn't been set yet, but Fujifilm management did promise it would be 'well under $10.000' with the standard lens. We have yet to see into how many Euro that will translate...

Official press release here.

You'll be able to use two EVF viewfinders with the GFX: a regular one and one that can be tilted and rotated, allowing almost every imaginable capture angle. It will even be possible to use an external monitor.

You'll be able to use two EVF viewfinders with the GFX: a regular one and one that can be tilted and rotated, allowing almost every imaginable capture angle. It will even be possible to use an external monitor.

2. Phottix Spartan beauty dish

As you know, I use a lot of artificial (flash) lighting in my images, so I'm always eager to learn about cool new lighting accessories. One interesting modifier I came across was at the stand of Phottix. The Spartan beauty dish (full specs here) is a modifier that seems to come straight out of a Transformers movie: it's easy to set up and you can remove the disc in the center to turn it into an octabox. I also like the fact that it comes with a grid. More and more, I seem to be using grids in my own lighting. The Spartan comes in two sizes: 50 cm and 70 cm. Price for the latter is about $145. That is very affordable, considering that some companies charge about that much for just a grid!

3. SMDV BRiHT-360

The SMDV BRiHT-360 is a lightweight 360 Ws battery-powered barebulb flash with removable battery that slides into the main unit.

The SMDV BRiHT-360 is a lightweight 360 Ws battery-powered barebulb flash with removable battery that slides into the main unit.

Just as I thought I could finally finish the manuscript of the second edition of my Making Light e-book, I came across the SMDV stand... I could not help but notice their BRiHT-360 portable barebulb flashes (there were about 10 of them placed along the counter). As you may know from previous blog posts, I am a fan of their easy to set up (and even easier to break down) Speedbox series of softboxes. At Photokina, it was the BRiHT-360 that stole the show, though. As its name implies, this is a 360 Ws barebulb flash. What I like about it is that it's super lightweight at only 1.25 kg including the battery. The latter lasts about 300 full power pops. Basically, this thing produces the same amount of light as four Speedlights at the weight and price of only two. What I also like, is that it works well with SMDV's Speedboxes, who happen to be also very lightweight: the combination of the BRiHT and an 85 cm Speedbox only puts 2 kgs on the scale!

The BRiHT does TTL and HSS with Canon and Nikon cameras (using a compatible SMDV Flashwave 5 trigger) but luckily enough it also works in manual mode on my Fujifilm cameras. I am looking forward to testing this unit more in-depth and to see whether I might even be able to get some sort of HSS with my Fuji cameras by using the Cactus V6 Mark II triggers, which I reviewed here.

In the mean time, you can read the full specs of the BRiHT 360 here. In Europe, the BRiHT will be available through www.foto-morgen.de. Price should be somewhere around €700 / $750.

4. Godox

The AD600 exists in a Bowens and a Godox mount and in a TTL and manual version. All versions support HSS with Canon, Nikon and Sony (provided you use the matching Godox X1 trigger). Image © Godox.

The AD600 exists in a Bowens and a Godox mount and in a TTL and manual version. All versions support HSS with Canon, Nikon and Sony (provided you use the matching Godox X1 trigger). Image © Godox.

Godox, whose Lithium battery-powered Ving V850 speedlight I’ve reviewed here, also had a stand at Photokina. Their AD600B battery powered studio flash has recently been reviewed in Shoot, the Belgian photography magazine I write for (Dutch link here). This unit packs 600 Ws of power in an affordable package with TTL and HSS support for Nikon, Canon and Sony. By default, it comes as an all-in one light with a battery that attaches directly to the body of the flash. The advantage is that you don’t need cables and you don’t have a separate power pack to worry about (or carry around).

The potential disadvantage is that if you put your light on a boom stand, especially with a heavy modifier, the setup can get a bit top-heavy. Also, if you’re using an assistant instead of a light stand, it’s quite a workout to hold a setup like this in the air for any prolonged period of time.

Image © Godox

Image © Godox

So I was happy to see the 600 Ws Extension Head. This accessory allows you to separate the pack from the head. Just unplug the flash tube from the AD600, plug it in the Extension Head, connect the power cable to where the flash tube used to be and boom, you've transformed your all-in-one into a pack-and-head system.

Godox also had a 1200 Ws Extension Head on display: this accessory has a special, more powerful flash tube which effectively allows you to turn 2 AD600s into one 1200 Ws pack-and-head system. With so much power, you can overpower the sun even when using larger modifiers. Or, you can benefit from faster recycle times.

Finally, Godox also had an AC adaper on display which allows you to turn the AD600 into a mains-powered flash. The adapter includes a fan as well.

If you live in the US, note that the AD600 is sold by Adorama under the Flashpoint XPLOR 600 brand name.

Image © Adorama

Image © Adorama

The 600 Ws Extension Head ships without a flash tube because you use the one that comes with the AD600. Price is around $80. Image © Adorama.

The 600 Ws Extension Head ships without a flash tube because you use the one that comes with the AD600. Price is around $80. Image © Adorama.

The 1200 Ws one has a special flash tube which actually consists of two 600 Ws tubes. Price is around $300. Image © Adorama.

The 1200 Ws one has a special flash tube which actually consists of two 600 Ws tubes. Price is around $300. Image © Adorama.

5. 3 Legged Thing Albert Tripod

I have been using the Three Legged Thing Brian tripod during my travels for the last couple of years. The main reason is that it is a lightweight travel tripod that still can be extended really high. For me, it serves a dual purpose: I can use it as a traditional tripod for long exposure photography (in which case I obviously don't extend it all the way up) but I actually use it a lot more as an impromptu light stand. Having this versatility (transformability really seems to be a theme in the products I selected in this blog post) allows me to travel with less weight without compromising on photographic opportunities. Alas, the Brian is no longer available. At Photokina, I was introduced to his successor: Albert. The Albert was improved on a number of points but still shares the Brian’s adventurous and multi-purpose DNA. Price of this carbon-fibre travel tripod system is about GBP 400 (including a ballhead).

Full specs here.

The Brian used as a light stand.

The Brian used as a light stand.

So there you have it, a quick round-up of some of some of the products that caught my attention at Photokina. If you were there, I’d love to hear what caught yours!

 

 

Tutorial review: The Complete Guide To Portraiture by Sandro Miller

When I first heard about ‘The Complete Guide To Portraiture & Building A Body Of Work For Print & Publication’ I knew this was one I just had to watch. After all, it’s about all the things I love in photography: travel, portraiture, lighting and retouching. So I contacted the guys over at RGG EDU (that's short for Rob and Gary's Great EDUcation), the producers of this video, and they were kind enough to set me up with a review copy and a really cool discount code for readers of this blog. Full details are at the end of this post but basically, it means that as a reader of my blog, you can get RGG EDU's newly released 6 hour Capture One Pro training video as a free bonus when you purchase the Sandro Miller tutorial.

UPDATE: the discount code no longer works, but there is currently (until May 29th, 2017) a 66 percent discount on this tutorial, making this an even much better deal than the one I had for you back when I originally wrote this review...

This tutorial follows internationally acclaimed photographer Sandro Miller from start to finish on a project in which he photographs indigenous tribes in the remote and sometimes downright dangerous parts of Papua New Guinea. Here's the official trailer below.

This day and age, everyone and his dog seem to be producing video tutorials geared towards photographers. As I can tell from my own area of expertise, Lightroom training, there’s a lot of chaff amongst the wheat. Yet, the videos from RGG EDU, a relatively young photography tutorial website, definitely fall in the ‘wheat’ category. Having bought, watched and highly appreciated their ‘The Complete Guide To Composite Photography, Color & Composition with Erik Almås’, I knew I could expect high quality, and I wasn’t disappointed. By the way, here's an in-depth (Dutch-only, unfortunately) review of the Erik Almås tutorial.

Sandro Miller

One of Sandro's most recent books is the result of a seventeen-year collaboration between photographer and subject. I'll try and keep that in mind the next time I make a one-minute portrait of someone :-)

One of Sandro's most recent books is the result of a seventeen-year collaboration between photographer and subject. I'll try and keep that in mind the next time I make a one-minute portrait of someone :-)

To be really honest, I did not know Sandro Miller. At least not by name. But I did know some of his work, and chances are you do, too: just google his latest book Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich, which features photographs that Sandro made during his 17 year friendship with this incredibly versatile actor.

Incidentally, this is just one of the things this tutorial taught me: getting a book published takes time and patience. Sandro visited Cuba 14 times before he did a book on it. But... it is not undoable, especially after watching this tutorial...

What’s in this tutorial?

In this tutorial, we get to follow Sandro while he is preparing a new book project: a series of portraits of tribal people in Papua New Guinea. 

Obviously, the highlight of the tutorial is the actual documentary in which you get to see him set up a makeshift studio, set up his lights and interact with the people he photographs. If this tutorial where a five course dinner: this would be the main course. But the appetizers, served as 'prerequisites' and desserts (the compositing tutorials and final interviews) are just as... mouthwatering.

Gear and Lighting Prerequisite 

First of all, there are a number of so-called prerequisites or series of introductory videos: there's one about the gear that Sandro uses and then another series of videos about lighting where you can see how he puts that gear to use in his studio in Chicago. The contrast between the high-end equipment (Sandro's studio looks like a mix of a Profoto and Broncolor flagship store) and what he used in Papua New Guinea could not be bigger. It’s another proof that it’s the photographer matters more than the gear, or as the publisher of my own eBooks, David duChemin would say: Gear is good, Vision is better!

The idea of the prerequisite videos is to teach you some of the basics so that you can follow along better when the tutorial shifts to a higher gear. To that effect, we see Sandro make 2 portraits: a moody male portrait and a fashion portrait of a woman. During these sessions, Sandro explains why he uses a certain light and how he modifies it with flags. We also get to see that lighting is often a game of inches...

‘I can create a novel in a man’s face by the way that I light it’
— Sandro

I found it interesting to see the progression in the images: from ‘I can do that, too’ to ‘Damn, that’s a setup I have to remember’. It was also kind of comforting to see that even a highly respected portrait photographer has to work a scene and a model to get to great results. Success does not come easy. In fact, if there’s one theme that recurred throughout the work of Sandro Miller in general and this tutorial in particular, it’s the importance of practice, perseverance and attention to detail. I really picked up lots of little nuggets from those prerequisites.

Digitech prerequisite

Another thing that I found really interesting was the interview with Shad Wilson. Shad works - amongst others - as a so called Digitech: a digital tech assistant. He even has his own custom truck stacked to the roof with tripods, pelicases and light stands. Sandro being a high-end photographer, he can afford the budget for a Digitech to come along on this project.

'I'll be in the shed...' Shad WIlson talks Gary from RGG EDU through how he turned a regular Pelicase into a sun-shielded laptop case.

'I'll be in the shed...' Shad WIlson talks Gary from RGG EDU through how he turned a regular Pelicase into a sun-shielded laptop case.

But even for mere mortals like you and I, this section has some really interesting advice on backup and workflow that can be helpful when you have to be your own Digitech. I also learned an interesting idea from this section: Sandro already had a specific idea from the start as to how the final images should look. He created that specific style in Photoshop and then gave that file to the Digital Tech. Shad emulated the look in Capture One so that he could apply it to the images while shooting tethered.

Postprocessing and retouching prerequisites.

As this tutorial is as almost as much about postprocessing as it is about photography, there’s also a couple of introductory videos on postprocessing and retouching.

In these videos, we get to know Pratik Naik of Solstice Retouch. Pratik is a world renowned retoucher and another example that RGG EDU will only work with people who really know their stuff.

Pratik has some interesting ideas on how to redefine some of Photoshop's shortcuts so they are grouped together better for retouching. Even though these prerequisite tutorials were primarily aimed at beginners, I picked up a couple of interesting ti…

Pratik has some interesting ideas on how to redefine some of Photoshop's shortcuts so they are grouped together better for retouching. Even though these prerequisite tutorials were primarily aimed at beginners, I picked up a couple of interesting tips, not in the least about Capture One, which I I'm not so familiar with as I am obviously more of a Lightroom user. Yet, the things I learned definitely made me want to check out Capture One more in detail.

Again, the idea is to get you up to speed for the ‘real’ postprocessing sections towards the end of the video, where the Papua New Guinea portraits that were taken on a green screen are composited into the backgrounds which were also photographed on location, but separately.

Sandro shot the backgrounds separately. At first, I had a hard time understanding why but after seeing the whole series come together, it made sense!

Sandro shot the backgrounds separately. At first, I had a hard time understanding why but after seeing the whole series come together, it made sense!

I have to admit that at first, I thought it was a strange idea to be shooting people against a green backdrop and then, sometimes as little as 100 feet further, shoot the actual backdrop separately, only to combine them later in Photoshop. I mean, why not just put your subject against the backdrop of your choice and photograph him right there and then, right?

It's what I have been doing so far with all of my travel portraits. It was only after viewing a number of finished images that I understood why this at first sight overly complicated procedure made sense: by having separate control over the background and the foreground and by also being able to exactly control the lighting of the subject in his makeshift studio (much more than under the glaring Papuan sun), the resulting photographs work much better together as a series. This in turn makes the work better suited for a book. It's definitely something I might also try in the future. 

The actual Papua New Guinea documentary

Although ‘only’ slightly over an hour, this is obviously the ‘pièce de résistance’ of this tutorial. Here we get to see Sandro created the raw material (pun intended) that will form the basis of an actual book project. We see Sandro check out locations that can either be suitable to create his makeshift studio or as a so called black plate, a background for compositing.

The setup (left) and the resulting raw file (right). Sandro used a digital Hasselblad on this shoot so he has virtually unlimited postprocessing options in terms of recovery and dynamic range.

The setup (left) and the resulting raw file (right). Sandro used a digital Hasselblad on this shoot so he has virtually unlimited postprocessing options in terms of recovery and dynamic range.

To me, the most important take away from this video was that you don't need expensive or complicated lighting setups to create really impactful images. Everything was done within a relatively simple, double diffused soft box. No rim light, no reflectors, nothing.

The video below has some behind-the-scenes footage and it gives you a good idea of what to expect in the full-length tutorial.

For me, the tutorial also re-emphasized the importance of having a good fixer on location. When you spend a lot of money on a location project in an area or a country that you're not familiar with, it really is a good idea to set some money aside and hire someone who can help you, not only logistically but most importantly help you scout interesting locations and faces and interact with them.

In terms of makeshift studios, it does not get much more makeshift than this :-)

In terms of makeshift studios, it does not get much more makeshift than this :-)

On my most recent trip to India, I did exactly that: we hired a really great local guy who helped us find interesting people and locations and who at the same time could translate  as my own Hindi is limited to ‘Hello’ and ‘Look this way’ and ‘Look that way’.

I would rather buy an f/1.8 portrait lens and have some money left for a fixer, than buy the most expensive lens there is and not have any budget left for travel, let alone a fixer. If you're interested, below you can find a short video with some of my own location lighting work. Although it's not in the Hasselblad range, I'm very happy with the dynamic range of my Fujifilm X-Pro 2 and I'm even happier its price isn't in the Hasselblad range, either!

The Compositing videos

As much as I liked the actual on location video in Papua New Guinea, I was even more looking forward to the compositing videos. And again, I was not disappointed. Pratik does a really good job of explaining how to blend these rather complex subjects with all their feathers and beads into the background. I found his explanation on how to get rid of the green fringes that remain (shooting against a green backdrop is no miracle solution) and how to use the blur and smudge brushes to tweak the mask, invaluable.

Before... As you can see from the screenshot, the original mask leaves a lot of problems in terms of green fringing. Pratik shows a couple of really interesting tips that I have never seen before (and Lord knows I've watched my share of compositing …

Before... As you can see from the screenshot, the original mask leaves a lot of problems in terms of green fringing. Pratik shows a couple of really interesting tips that I have never seen before (and Lord knows I've watched my share of compositing videos) on how to get rid of those.

And after... The final image is dark and moody. Yet, by keeping everything nicely organized in layers, adjustment layers and groups, everything can still be changed should the photographer prefer a different blend of foreground and background, or a …

And after... The final image is dark and moody. Yet, by keeping everything nicely organized in layers, adjustment layers and groups, everything can still be changed should the photographer prefer a different blend of foreground and background, or a different white balance. By the way, these quick screen grabs don't do the images much justice...

As a photographer, you have to have your own characteristic style. Part of that style is obviously created during capture, but this tutorial really made clear that an important part is also added in postproduction. The original files were rather dark and flat. Using a bunch of adjustment layers and filters, Pratik turns them into very moody portraits. As a nice extra, the tutorial includes a number of backgrounds and original raw files so you can follow along with the compositing videos. And I really recommend you do because it's the best way to learn anything. 

Two images waiting to be combined into one...

Two images waiting to be combined into one...

Another advanced technique I picked up was how to use Photoshop's Blend If options to restrict the effect of an Adjustment layer to specific areas.

Another advanced technique I picked up was how to use Photoshop's Blend If options to restrict the effect of an Adjustment layer to specific areas.

The printing videos

In these videos, we see Sandro meet up with his longtime friend and printer, Jon Scott of JS Graphics. We get to see Jon prepare the final images for print and if you have ever printed on a large format printer yourself, you'll recognise the mix of anxiety and excitement that you feel when an expensive large-format print comes rolling out of the printer. This section wasn't as in-depth as I wanted it to be but on the other hand, you could probably easily fill another 11 hours with just a printing tutorial.

Sandro and Jon inspecting a large format print. As an interesting side-note, this image, which was shot with available light and was not composited, is one of my favorite images of the entire series.

Sandro and Jon inspecting a large format print. As an interesting side-note, this image, which was shot with available light and was not composited, is one of my favorite images of the entire series.

Final interviews: hug a book!

This tutorial wraps up with two more interviews: the first is with Sandro’s publisher, Martha Hallet from Glitterati. It's an interesting talk about the publishing business and all of the artistic, financial and marketing considerations that go into  publishing a book. I chuckled when I heard Martha say that Sandro wanted to use seven inks for the Malkovich book (compared to the standard of four) and how they finally settled for five.

I dont’t want to look at a book on an iPad. That’s ridiculous. You want to feel a book. You want to hug a book!
— Sandro

This section really is an ode to the printed photo book and rightly so. One thing I found missing was some insight as to how to actually layout a book like this. The publisher goes briefly into it but an interview with the graphic designer would really have interested me, too. Well, I guess the RGG EDU guys had to draw the line somewhere!

The final interview not only gives an insight in Sandro's career, which spans four decades, but also in his amazing collection of photo books, which seems to span 40 feet!

The final interview not only gives an insight in Sandro's career, which spans four decades, but also in his amazing collection of photo books, which seems to span 40 feet!

That ode continues in the last interview with Sandro about his life and career. Sandro is filmed against a bookshelf that literally contains hundreds of photo books. After all the tech talk of the previous videos, this more inspirational interview is a great way to end a great tutorial.

Conclusion

As you may have guessed by now, ‘The Complete Guide To Portraiture & Building A Body Of Work For Print & Publication’ is an excellent tutorial in my opinion. If you're into location portraiture, postproduction and the entire process of working towards a published book, whether it's self published or with a publisher, this is something you must watch and then... probably watch again.

Everything is relative
— Einstein

Update: the discount codes in the next paragraph are no longer valid but as mentioned in the introduction, there is currently (until May 29, 2017) a Memorial Day discount on this tutorial that offers no less than 66 percent off, making the price only $98. And, even better, if your total bill exceeds $99 (in other words, if you buy two tutorials), code REMEMBER gets you an additional 25 percent off your entire bill AND if you spend more than $300, code REMEMBER35 shaves 35 percent off your total bill! Only for two more days!

Two fantastic RGG EDU discount codes for readers of this blog

Now... about the price. At first sight, $299 isn't cheap but as Einstein said: 'Everything is relative'. For the price of a camera bag, you get 11 hours of very well produced, in-depth, concise and above all very motivating training that will probably do more for your photography than any camera bag ever will!

Knowing what it already takes to produce a relatively simple Lightroom or Photoshop tutorial, I can only imagine the planning, effort, time and money it has taken to create the Sandro tutorial. So I would say that although not cheap, the price is more than fair for the length, quality and production value of the tutorial.

With code MTW25, you basically get RGG EDU’s new 6 hour Capture One Pro tutorial for free!

And if $299 is too much to pay in one go, you can even finance it in monthly installments of $29.

Better still, I’ve got two very cool discount codes for you, my dear readers: code MTW10 gets you 10 percent off the Sandro tutorial (or any other RGG EDU tutorial, for that matter). Code MTW25 even gets you 25 percent off on any order that's over 375$. That basically means you can get RGG EDU's freshly announced Capture One tutorial (a $79 value) completely free: the trick is to add both tutorials in your shopping cart, enter the code MTW25 and you'll pay less for both than the regular $299 price of the Sandro tutorial alone! But don't wait too long, because these codes expire end of August, 2016.

Before I forget: the RGG EDU contest!

When you buy the tutorial, you also get access to a private Facebook group and you get to enter the Sandro Portrait Photography Contest which RGG EDU specifically set up for this tutorial. The contest has $50.000 in prizes! I told you these RGG EDU guys don’t do half work… Find out more about the contest here.

Subscribe to my newsletter and get my '10 Tips for Better Travel Photographs' for free.

Subscribe to my newsletter and get my '10 Tips for Better Travel Photographs' for free.

And - shameless plug to end this long review - if this tutorial gets you in a traveling mood, don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter: you’ll receive my 10 tips for better travel photographs absolutely free.

Finally, if you want to do more than just read about travel photography, Matt Brandon and I have just announced the 2017 edition of our Location Portraiture and Lighting Masterclass in Delhi and Varanasi, India.