How to Light without Looking Lit

Making your light look natural

There are two ways you can use flash: in an inconspicuous way or in a way that clearly says “this was lit”. To me, as with just about anything else in photography, there is no right or wrong. It’s a matter of personal taste, preference and also a matter of what you want your photo to say. While I’ve done my fair share of images that clearly looked “lit” (and I still love doing this kind of work), I sometimes also try to use my flashes in a more subtle way. The great Gregory Heisler, whose fantastic book 50 Portraits shows you some great examples of flash photography, calls this “motivating the practical”: you have to motivate your light, make it look authentic, believable. The use of colour gels will also help a lot to make your (fake) flash light look real.

An interesting scene… lit by boring light.

I was traveling through Swedish Lapland when this nice scene caught my eye. I liked the patina on the wall and the old bike with the reindeer skin on it. The only problem was again that the available light was too nice, too soft. It did not bring out the patina the way I wanted it to. So I added an orange filter to my flash and put it parallel to the wall, outside of the frame on a tripod (I use my tripods (I use my tripods - like the Sirui Traveller T2204XL I'm currently using - more as light stands than I do as camera stands)more as light stands than I do as camera stands), aiming slightly down. The result is a picture that looks like it was made with the setting sun. The orange filter helps to motivate that.

The same photo with an orange-gelled flash lined up parallel to the wall, simulating golden evening light. The light brings out the texture in the wall and adds some interesting shadows.

The image of the taxi driver below was shot at noon. So the only available light was coming from above him. The roof above him completely blocked the light, so he was completely in the shade. Had I only used available light, the background would have been completely overexposed if I wanted to light him correctly. I chose to add a flash, coming in from the left, to simulate the effect of late afternoon light coming in through the windshield. I then asked him to slightly turn his face towards me to create a nice 'Rembrandt' look.

Fujifilm GFX 50S | GF32-64mmF4 R LM WR @ 44 mm | 1-125 sec @ f - 4,0 | ISO 100

Combining both approaches

In this picture below I took of model Cato, I combine both approaches. To the left of the boiler room we were photographing in was a window. I placed a bare strobe outside, and aimed it through the window as to simulate sunlight falling in.

FUJIFILM X-Pro2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR @ 20 mm | 1/30 sec @ f/9 | ISO 1000

The opening in the wall motivates the light. However, I also put a flash way back in the room to add some rim light to the boiler tanks to prevent that part of the picture from going totally black. There’s nothing really there to motivate that there would be a light over there, other than my artistic choice to put one there.

The lighting setup to the image above. Taken from my latest eBook 'Light it Up! Techniques for Dramatic Off-Camera Lighting

Want to improve your flash skills?

The image I discussed above is also in just-released eBook: Light it Up! Techniques for Dramatic Lighting. This eBook 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).

Light It Up! (including bonuses) is available in two versions: the Standard Edition (185 page PDF ebook) retails for $24.95 + applicable taxes. The Deluxe Edition is $10 extra and also includes three tutorial videos (totalling 45 minutes) and five Lightroom presets. On both editions, you can save 10% with code light10.

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.

Time-limited: watch one of the Light It Up! bonus videos for free

With the cover choice out of the way (boy, what a cliffhanger that was), the launch of my new eBook Light It Up! is getting closer. The 30 second video above gives you a sneak peek at the book's contents. If you buy the ebook during the launch week (April 1st - April 8th), you'll not only get a 20 percent discount, but you'll also receive a bonus set of Lightroom presets and 3 bonus videos, totalling over 45 minutes of playing time!

But there's more, from now until April 3rd, 8 AM GMT, you can watch the first of those bonus videos for free. It shows you how I made and post-processed this shot:

Light It Up! contains all the information you need to create photographs like this yourself.

And the winner is...

With almost 1,000 votes cast, what are the odds of the cover choice for my new eBook ending up in a tie between covers 4 and 5? Luckily, I also asked you which cover you'd prefer as a second choice and as there were significantly more people who opted for cover 5, I can now safely conclude that this is what the cover of Light It Up will look like when it becomes available on April 1st. Congratulations to Lana: you're now officially a cover model :-)

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 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).

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 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...

... 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

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

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.

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.

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

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).

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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.

How to scale back the effect of a Lightroom preset with the new OPAL plug-in

If you like to work with Lightroom presets, then the just-released OPAL plug-in is a must-have: this plug-in allows you to fade the effect of a Lightroom preset. Without this-plug-in, you'd have to find out what sliders a preset changes and then dial them back individually. This plug-in does it all for you, with one handy master opacity slider.

The video below shows you the plug-in in action. It's available here for $15 (+ VAT in Europe), but code MTW20 will save you a nice 20% ($3) - until further notice. For that price, this is a must-have plug-in for any serious Lightroom user! 

Last minute update: the Arrow-Up shortcut only works on Macs. Not sure if this feature will come to Windows computers. For now, Windows users can invoke the plug-in like any other plug-in via File > Plug-in Extras > Opal.

What's new in Lightroom Classic CC 7.2

Today, February 13, 2018, Adobe released the 7.2 update for Lightroom Classic CC. It's an interesting upgrade, because it contains amongst others a new set of performance improvements and even better news is that more improvements are announced for future updates. 

“This news is not only encouraging for the speed improvements in and of themselves, but it also shows that Adobe stays committed to Lightroom Classic.”

There are also a couple of cool new features, such as the ability to search through your folders panel. The video below gives you an overview of all the new features.

If you like it, please give it a little thumbs-up on Youtube or subscribe to my Youtube Channel to get notified of future videos.

As usual, there's also support for new cameras and lenses...

New Camera Support

• Fujifilm X-A5
• Fujifilm X-A20
• Panasonic LUMIX DC-GF10 (DC-GF90)
• Panasonic LUMIX DC-GH5s

Lens Correction Support

• Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM
• Rokinon SP 14mm f/2.4
• Rokinon SP 85mm f/1.2
• TAMRON 100-400mm F4.5-6.3 Di VC USD A035E
• TAMRON 100-400mm F4.5-6.3 Di VC USD A035E x1.4
• TAMRON 100-400mm F4.5-6.3 Di VC USD A035E x2.0
• Zeiss Milvus 1.4/25 ZE
• Leica M
• Leica NOCTILUX-M 75mm f/1.25 ASPH.
• Leica THAMBAR-M 90mm f/2.2
• Nikon F
• TAMRON 100-400mm F4.5-6.3 Di VC USD A035N
• TAMRON 100-400mm F4.5-6.3 Di VC USD A035N x1.4
• TAMRON 100-400mm F4.5-6.3 Di VC USD A035N x2.0
• Zeiss Milvus 1.4/25 ZF.2
• Sony E
• Sony E 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 OSS

Easier selections with the new Select Subject button in Photoshop CC2018

If you're subscribed to the Adobe Creative Cloud or the Adobe Lightroom Classic CC + Photoshop plan, there are two nifty new features in the latest update that warrant some more explanation. In this video, I tell you all about the new Select Subject button and how the new Decontaminate Colours slider in the Select and Mask pane will help you create more realistic composites. Check out the video below.

If you like it, please give it a little thumbs-up on Youtube or subscribe to my Youtube Channel to get notified of future videos.

10 Useful Lightroom Tricks and Shortcuts involving the Option (Alt) Key

The Option key (Alt key on Windows) is one of the so-called 'modifier keys': it modifies the behaviour of a button or a slider. In the following video, I cover ten useful things the Option/Alt key lets you do in Lightroom. I'm sure even seasoned Lightroom users will pick up a couple of useful tips as I not only talk about the shortcuts themselves but also try to give some insight as to why you'd want to use them in the first place.

I hope you'll like the video. If you do, please give it a little thumbs-up on Youtube or subscribe to my Youtube Channel to get notified of future videos.

If you know any other cool Option/Alt Lightroom tricks yourself, let us know in the Comments!

What do these 5 images have in common?

So, I've got a little quiz for you. What do these five images have in common (other than the fact that they show models or ballerinas in a dance pose and that they were taken in industrial environments)? Let me give you a hint: it has to do with the way they were lit.

The answer is... in this video!

I'd like to thank the people over at Photoshop Becker for supplying me with a review unit (they speak English, btw). Here's the full link to the product on their site.

Want to improve your own lighting skills? Check out the 2-day Fine Art Portrait Workshop with Michael Schnabl (English) or the Control Your Flash workshop with Tom Museeuw (Dutch)

The Fine Art Portrait Workshop is an in-depth, hands-on two day workshop in which you'll be producing portfolio-worthy images and learning lighting and postprocessing skills that you can use in your own portrait work.

In Control Your Flash (Dutch) you will learn everything you need to know about mixing flash with available light.

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.

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 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

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).  

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.

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 End of an Era: Lightroom 6.14 is the last update for Lightroom 6

Adobe has just released Lightroom 6.14, the last update for Lightroom 6 users. Therefore, this blogpost is only relevant for those of you who are still on Lightroom 6. If you've already moved  to Lightroom Classic CC (the subscription version of Lightroom, this message does not apply to you).

What's new in Lightroom 6.14

Lightroom 6.14 doesn't bring any new features. Only a couple of bug fixes and some new camera and lens support. Among the new cameras, the Sony Alpha 7RIII and the iPhone X are probably the most noteworthy. 

What should I do when I buy a new camera in 2018?

Well, you have three options, basically. If you stick with Lightroom 6, you can use the free Adobe DNG converter, which will be able to convert your new camera's files to DNG files which you will subsequently be able to import into Lightroom 6.

The DNG converter workflow. Image © Adobe

The second option is to upgrade to Lightroom Classic CC, the subscription version of Lightroom. Not only will you have continuous camera support, but you'll also gain access to all the new features you have been missing out on for the last 2 years, since Lightroom 6 was introduced. You can find a comprehensive video review of all the features in these blog posts (English, Dutch).

Finally, your last option would be to leave the Lightroom ecosystem altogether and switch to one of the many competing applications, such as Capture One, On1 Photo Raw, Luminar and the like. Personally, I won't be making that switch any time soon, as the only true Lightroom alternative is Capture One in my opinion (because it has database functionality in addition to being a raw developer), and this application doesn't support the Fujifilm GFX. Maybe Capture One think it's too much of a threat for their Phase One Medium Format systems, which are three times as expensive. I personally don't.

How can I upgrade to Lightroom 6.14?

The best way to upgrade is to not use the Adobe Application Manager but to use the direct installer links you find here. This way, you won't accidentally install Lightroom Classic CC instead of the 6.14 update.

December Lightroom Update

A New (and much better) Auto Tone algorithm

Good news for those of you who use Lightroom through Adobe's subscription model (either the full Creative Cloud suite or the Photography plan, including Photoshop). Adobe has just released Lightroom Classic CC 7.1. There are a number of bug fixes in this release, including a fix for the bug where Loupedeck users could not use their Loupedeck in specific languages. There's also support for a couple of new cameras, including the Sony Alpha 7 RIII. But, perhaps most importantly, there is an interesting improved feature: the Auto option in the Tone section of the Basic panel has been completely reworked. Contrary to the old version, the tool can now also change Vibrance and Saturation and it is less prone to produce overexposed results. It uses machine-learning technology and a database of thousands of photographs (and their edits) to come up with a better automatic correction of your images. I was never a fan of the old Auto, because it seemed to be very hit or miss to me... The new Auto however is, although not perfect, quite an improvement. It's definitely worth trying out.

In the above example, Lightroom's Auto did a remarkable job of correcting this severely underexposed image.

A slightly less extreme example, where Lightroom's new Auto helped to reveal sky detail.

Delete Color Mask Sample Points

Another small new feature is that you can now Alt/Option click on an individual color sample in the new color range mask tool, to remove existing sample points. If you're unfamiliar with the range mask tool, this blog post tells you all about it and the other new features. It's one of my favourite features of the October Lightroom Classic CC update.

Lightroom D850 users will be happy to hear that there is now tethering support for their camera.

New features in Lightroom CC

The improved Auto technology is also in the new cloud-centric Lightroom CC App (and in Lightroom for iOS and Android, for that matter).  Lightroom CC also received some other new features, such as:

• Tone Curve
• Split Toning
• The ability to edit the Capture Time
• A Full Screen mode (Shortcut: F)

What about Lightroom 6?

If you're a Lightroom 6 user, this update isn't for you. Adobe have announced there will be one more update 'towards the end of the year'. There probably won't be any new features in this update, but there might be support for some extra cameras. If you buy a new camera next year, you'll have to convert its raw files to DNG using the Adobe DNG Converter, if you still want to process the files in Lightroom 6.

What's new in Lightroom Classic CC?

Today, October 18th, Adobe has announced the long-awaited update to Lightroom 6 and Lightroom CC2015, which were released two years ago. The most visible new feature is actually... the name: Lightroom 6 and Lightroom CC2015 are now called Lightroom Classic CC. This probably brings up two questions in your head right away, so let's address the elephant in the room before we talk about the new features. The text below is just a quick summary of my 30 minute video tutorial, so make sure to watch that if you want to get the full lowdown of the name change, its implications and the new features.

In this 30 minute video, I talk about the name change and what it means for Lightroom users. I also cover the speed improvements and two of my favourite new features!

1) If Lightroom CC is now called Lightroom Classic CC, what happened to Lightroom CC itself?

Well, in a marketing move that will probably cause confusion for quite some time for Lightroom users and Lightroom educators alike, Adobe has not only rebranded good old Lightroom 6/CC into Lightroom Classic CC, but has slapped the 'Lightroom CC' name on a completely new application. I explain what Lightroom CC is and how it relates to Lightroom Classic in my video round-up. So, bear that name swap in mind when you go online and look for Lightroom training!

2) What happened to Lightroom 6?

Well, this is the elephant in the room. Lightroom 6 does not get an update. You'll still be able to buy Lightroom 6, and there will still be updates with new raw support and updates that would address compatibility issues with upgrades of your operating system, but... only until the end of 2017. So Lightroom 6 is basically a dead-end street. You will still be able to use it in 2018, but if a new version of your operating system comes out that does not play nicely with it, you'll be out of luck. Your options are - to use a term that was popular in personnel management in the big accounting firms in the eighties  - 'Up or Out': you can either upgrade to Lightroom Classic CC or basically you'll have to find a new home for your images. Personally, although I fully understand the reasons why people might object to the subscription model, I think the price for the Lightroom Classic CC + Photoshop CC subscription is very fair. In a sort of roundabout way, if you decide to upgrade from 6 to Classic CC, you get a great deal because not only do you get the new features of Lightroom Classic CC, but also you can finally play catch-up with the new features that were introduced in during the Lightroom CC2015 lifecycle as well. I'll do a separate blog post on that later.

3) What are the new features?

Well, the first isn't really a new feature as such, but the engineers main priority was speed. And it must be said that Lightroom Classic CC is faster on a number of levels: switching between Library and Develop, switching between images in Develop and other things have become a somewhat to a lot faster. A lot obviously also depends on your configuration.

4) Aside from speed, are there any REAL new features?

Yes, there are two really nice ones in my opinion, and I explain them in detail in the video, so i'll just sum them up briefly here: the first is a feature that high volume photographers will love. In fact, to me it would be worth upgrading from 6 to Classic CC only for this feature: you can now use the embedded JPG in a RAW file to zoom into your image to determine sharpness instead of having to wait up until ten seconds for Lightroom to build its own 1:1 preview. Really folks, this is huge!

The second new feature are two new Range Masks found in the local adjustment tools: you can now refine a mask that you made with the Radial or Graduated Filter or the Adjustment Brush using a luminosity range slider or a color picker. I have a couple of examples in the video and I really love this new feature. 

Other than that, there are a couple of minor improvements but those two features and the speed improvements are the real stars of this update. And, although they might not look as impressive as the CC2015 headliners (HDR, Pano and People View), they're features that really help to speed up your everyday workflow. 

So, what do you think about the name change and its implications and... about the new features? If you're on Lightroom 6, will you upgrade to the subscription or will you turn to one of the competing raw converters? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Lightroom Unmasked. Your ultimate guide to Lightroom.

5DayDeal product review: David Duchemin's "After The Camera" Lightroom video tutorial

As you may have noticed on the blog, it's 5DayDeal time again. The 5DayDeal is a once-a-year event in which an extraordinarily valued bundle of photographic training content, Lightroom presets, Photoshop actions and other digital tools such as overlays and textures are offered at an incredible discount. This year's bundle contains over $2,750 worth of content and it's being sold at more than 95% off, for only $117.

There's something for everyone (see this post for the full lowdown), including a lot of Lightroom training which - as a reader of my blog - I know you're interested in! One of my favourite products in this year's bundle is a After The Camera, a video tutorial series by David duChemin. I reviewed this tutorial last year on the blog. Below is the recap. By itself, this tutorial costs $40 but right now, it's included in the 5Day Deal, along with over 70 hours of other training content, 1400 presets and actions and much more. Some of the training titles cost more than the price of the entire bundle!

The only catch is that you have to buy the bundle before October 18th, because this sale only lasts for five days.

Here's my original review of 'After the Camera'

What can I say. I love postprocessing. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you probably know this by now. The great thing about digital cameras and raw files is that postprocessing has become very accessible. Back in the film days, you had to be a digital alchemist even only for performing basic tasks such as dodging and burning or adding some contrast to your print.

Postproduction in the digital age

These days, it's just a matter of dragging some sliders around. At least, that's what software manufacturers want you to believe. But all the sliders in the world won't make up for a lack of vision, both at capture time but also during postprocessing.

And that's where “After the Camera. Vision-Driven Editing and Postproduction”, the brand new video series of David "Gear is good, vision is better" DuChemin comes in. In 20 video episodes totalling 4 hours of tuition, David introduces you to what he calls his "vision-driven editing and postprocessing workflow".

This video series does not claim to be a complete guide to what every button and slider in Lightroom does. There are already plenty of resources like that, including my own Lightroom Unmasked eBook over at Craft & Vision.

What it does do is show you the entire workflow of a living, breathing, money-making professional photographer. Nothing more, nothing less.

What's in the box?

Well, first of all, there is no box. We're in the digital age, remember? What you do get is an access code to watch the videos online on Vimeo.com, but you can also download them so you can view them offline. The first chapters are about the Library module and give an introduction to importing, organizing, working with collections. As a Lightroom trainer, it still surprises me how many people don’t use collections. It’s like buying a convertible and never taking the top off.

Although the main focus lies in the Develop Module, David does touch on some important aspects of the Library module as well, such as importing, collections and back-up.

David also – rightly – mentions the importance of backing up and explains his own – simple but effective – workflow.

Editing your work

As of Chapter 4, we dive into the meat of the videos: the first couple are about the editing (some say “culling” process): how do you separate the wheat from the chaff. The answer lies again in what your intent, your vision is. David talks about the importance of having a project, even an imaginary one, in mind when you go through your images.

Maximising mood & Minimising Distractions

The next chapters are about “Maximising mood” and “Minimising distractions” and to me, that’s really the core of what good post-processing should be about: good postproduction should make your viewers feel what you felt when you were at the scene while minimizing the uninteresting details.

Drawing the Eye

The bulk of the remaining videos are about the photographic principles (what pulls and pushes the eye) and the tools in Lightroom that you can use to apply those principles.

Whether you work with a Radial Filter...

... or the Adjustment Brush...

Local adjustments help to draw the eye to where YOU want it to be.

I’m happy to see that David gives a lot of attention to local adjustments as well.

Before and Afters

Everybody loves a good Before & After and I’m not different. That’s why I especially liked the 6 cases-studies, in which you get to follow along with 6 images and see the principles and the techniques applied. But again, that’s the difference between this tutorial and many others: it’s as much about the why as it is about the how. Or, to use David’s terms, as much about the artist as it is about the geek.

Final chapters

The final videos are about the importance of sharing your work and speeding up your workflow by using presets so that you have more time to do what you love most (that is, if that’s what you love most): go out and shoot!

Conclusion

Every once in while, a video tutorial comes along where I think "I wish I made that". Well, this is one of those tutorials. If you’re a beginning Lightroom user, I very much recommend this course. But even (or maybe especially) if you’re already more advanced and you know what all the buttons do of the Lightroom cockpit do, but you feel like no-one ever told you where to fly the bloody plane to, you will learn a lot from this video series.

After the Camera is very reasonably priced at $40 (+ VAT in Europe). After The Camera is available here at Craft & Vision.com. UPDATE: If you read this between October 13 and October 18, you can also get After The Camera as part of the 5DayDeal bundle, with over $2,700 worth of other training titles, for only $117. Still not entirely convinced? Watch the trailer below.

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.

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 photo websites. Then, if you still have another $12,47 to burn, you can get the Pro Bundle Add-on as well...

Video review of the Godox AD200 and the AD-B2 dual AD200 bracket

As you may know by now, I'm a big fan of the Godox flash eco system. First of all, because they're the first to truly support High-Speed Sync and TTL with Fujifilm cameras, including my GFX but secondly, because it's a well thought-out, nicely integrated flash system that includes options from small speedlight-style flashes like the TT350 all the way up to the AD600.

Godox' Benelux distributor Disnet was kind enough to send me a review unit of one of the newer flashes, the AD200 and of an interesting accessory, the AD-B2 which lets you turn two AD200 flashes into a 400 Ws, battery powered strobe.

You can find my first impressions in this video:

Want to learn how to work with flash? Then check out my comprehensive eBook Light It Up. It includes 3 bonus videos and a bonus set of Lightroom presets. If you happen to speak Dutch, there's also a Dutch (print and eBook) version called Flash! Flitsfotografie op locatie.

Rock the Cashback: great deals on the Fujifilm GFX and GF lenses

I've been shooting for almost one year with the Fujifilm GFX now and it has become my favourite camera of all times. Especially now that more and more lighting manufacturers are already offering full High-Speed Sync flash support (e.g. Godox) or have announced that they will (e.g. Profoto). If you've been on the fence about buying one, now might very well be the time because Fujifilm Europe has launched what is probably the best cashback deal on the GFX and the GF lens lineup so far. Even the just-released GF45 and the also fairly recent GF23 are included. The cashback started yesterday and lasts until January 15th, 2018. It's a direct cashback at the store, so no need to fill out any annoying online forms and wait for your money back. It's deducted right at the counter. The cashback varies from 300 € to 1300 €. Hey, that money buys you some nice lights to go with your GFX :-)

Here are the numbers (all including 21 % Belgian VAT, Recommended Retail Prices)

• GFX + 63 mm: 1300 € cashback. Price after cashback: 7298 €
• GFX + 32-64 mm: 1300 € cashback. Price after cashback: 8198 €
• GFX + 120 mm: 1300 € cashback. Price after cashback: 8598 €
• GFX + 110 mm: 1300 € cashback. Price after cashback: 8698 €
• GFX + 23 mm: 1300 € cashback. Price after cashback: 8498 €
• GFX + 45 mm: 1300 € cashback. Price after cashback: 7498 €
• 63 mm lens only: 350 € cashback. Price after cashback: 1249 €
• 32-64 mm lens only: 550 € cashback. Price after cashback: 1949 €
• 120 mm lens only: 640 € cashback. Price after cashback: 2259 €
• 110 mm lens only: 660 € cashback. Price after cashback: 2339 €
• 23 mm lens only: 620 € cashback. Price after cashback: 2179 €
• 45 mm only: 300 € cashback. Price after cashback: 1499 €

Still in doubt? Here's two videos of the GFX in action. One by me, using a prototype back in November 2016 in Varanasi and one by Tom Museeuw, in which he uses a confetti blaster to cover his model with cocoa powder. I've chosen these two because they show just what a versatile camera the GFX is: from the alleyways of Varanasi to a studio environment: it captures life in all it's fine colours and details. You might also want to check out my Fujifilm GFX review and the blog post called 'No Flash? No Problem' in which I show you what you can do with a 5 stop underexposed image.

Finally, Fujifilm have also announced a 24 month lease plan for the GFX camera at 0% interest. Check with your Fujifilm GFX dealer for more info.

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

... 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

... 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

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

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

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...

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.

Why I use Godox flashes with my Fujifilm cameras

---

January 23, 2018 update: The below still holds true, in fact, it's only gotten better. In the original video, I am using the TT350F mini flash as a trigger, because at the time it was the only way to use High Speed Sync with Fujifilm cameras. However, over the past 6 months, Godox have not only issued a Fujifilm version of their X1 trigger (the X1T-F), but also of their latest XPro trigger (the XPro-F). I'll report on the latter as soon as I've had a chance to play with it...

---

As I am a Fujifilm shooter who loves to use flash, I get asked a lot which flash system I recommend for Fujifilm users. In my opinion, the Godox 2.4 GHz flash eco-system is currently one of the most interesting choices, especially if you want your flash gear to be able to grow with your flash power needs. Because that's how it generally goes: you start out with one speedlight-style flash on your camera. Then you start to use it off-camera... Then you discover that sometimes, a speedlight isn't powerful enough and so you start looking for a more powerful flash. But wouldn't it be cool if you could still use that speedlight together with that bigger flash?

FUJIFILM GFX 50S | GF23mmF4 R LM WR @ 23 mm | 1/1000 sec @ f/4 | ISO 100 | Godox AD600 in an SMDV Alpha 110 Speedbox. This picture would actually have looked better with a slower shutter speed (to slightly blur the movement of the train), but the point of the tutorial was to show the High-Speed Sync capabilities of the Godox system in combination with Fujifilm cameras, so I deliberately set my camera to a high shutter speed...

That's what the Godox 2.4 GHz ecosystem can do for you. Not only is it currently one of the very few to support HSS and TTL for Fujifilm cameras*, but Godox also has an entire range of Fujifilm compatible flashes, ranging from the small TT350F over the recently announced TT685F, the Ving V860IIF (which I hope to review later) and the 200 Ws AD200, all the way to the 600Ws  AD600. Using an optional head, you can even combine two AD600 units into one whopping 1200 Ws flash system. That's a lot of sun-stopping power! The nice thing about this eco-system is that you can mix and match the flashes according to your needs, put them in different groups and use them in Manual or TTL mode and even in High Speed Sync with an X-T2, X-T1, X-Pro 2 and GFX*. In this video, I am using the TT350F as a commander. If you want a more powerful commander flash, you can opt for the Ving V860IIF or the TT685F. If you just want a trigger, the recently introduced X1T-F will do the job nicely.

Best, of all, the Godox gear is quite affordable, which lets you save some money to invest in Fujifilm cameras or lenses... Speaking of which, in this video, you can see me using the TT350F, AD200 and AD600 in combination with the Fujifilm GFX50S, the GF 23 and the GF 110. Warning: gear overdose ahead! Special thanks to Frannie, Frank & Ioannis. Thanks also to Fujifilm Belgium and Disnet.nl, the Dutch importer of Godox.

* With other Fujifilm cameras, some features are not supported.  Not on all Fujifilm cameras: check the Godox website for specifics.

Want to improve your flash skills?

My just released eBook, Light it Up! Techniques for Dramatic lighting will teach 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! Deluxe (including bonuses) retails for only € 29.95 / USD 34.95. Code light10 gets you 10% off!

P.S. If you speak Dutch, the book is also available in Dutch (both as a print book and an eBook).