Studio Techniques

Summary:

In this FotoTV film, photographer Urs Recher discusses at length how to create a typical beauty portrait using atypical harsh lighting. In his first installment on portrait shooting, "The size of the light source", Recher discussed the difference between various sizes of light sources and incremental distances to the subject.

The main emphasis of today's film is that of modulating the face to bring out its three-dimensional characteristics. Recher achieves this by creating two distinct shadows along his model's face using a light modulator, resulting in multiple gradations from light to dark. Typically, a beauty shot is known to most as having a set-up with a large soft box placed close to the subject to create an even, soft and almost non-existent shadow. But Recher does the exact opposite in that he uses harsh lighting, which produces stylistic, sexy results on model Julia's striking face. Another important aspect of the film is the model's make-up and industry standards regarding booking models for shoots. Recher gives a comprehensive breakdown of Julia's make-up technique and application and shares important tips and tricks to enhance the beauty aspect of the shoot.

This film is a treasure trove of information for photographers interested in portrait and beauty shooting. Recher's photos are absolutely stunning and he teaches the one most important thing about photography; Photographers will never create anything remarkable if they don’t experiment and try new things.

Photographer Urs Recher has been involved in photography for a good 17 years. He is responsible for all the advertisement photography for Broncolor, Visatec, and for Kobold which are daylight, halogen and tungsten lamps.

Summary:

In this video Herbert Wannhoff shows us how to play with smoke.

Herbert has first hand experience with smoke and has conquered the technical challenges .A black background, two lights, directional shades for lights and camera, incense sticks and you're there.

This list of easily assembled props are utilized to optimum effect. Smoke is not very easily captured but Herbert shows us how these simple easy to find items can make the task easier.

After assembling the items and a few  tests to determine the settings, the fire is lit and we're off on a smokey journey of swirling images, billowy dream clouds held only by one's imagination.

Summary:

Photographer Urs Recher has been involved in photography for a good 17 years. He is responsible for all the advertisement photography for Broncolor, Visatec, and for Kobold which are daylight, halogen and tungsten lamps.

A specialized shoot for women's portraits is what Recher shares with the FotoTV viewers today: beauty shots, and the affects of using different sizes of light sources as well as define the difference between “hard” and “soft” lights so afterward the light can be implemented precisely. Most importantly, the difference pertains to the size of the light source.

Recher begins by shooting with a soft box that is relatively far away from the subject that will produce a very “hard” light, actually a two-dimensional light consisting of just light and shadows, without gradation. Then, he changes the size, as well as the distance of my light source. This results in a softer light. It significantly affects the skin and it’s appearance. The skin appears more matte, less reflective, and less shiny. Therefore, a more three-dimensional photo is achieved and the skin will have more gradation in its tones, a three-dimensional illumination, not just light and shadows.

Recher rarely uses a light meter when working anymore. He relies on viewing the Polaroid or looking at the preview image, in this case the display monitor. In the beginning of the film we saw the enormous influence the distance of the light source had on the model and on the harshness of the light. That meant the further the light was away from the model, the harder and more two-dimensional it was. The gradation between light and shadows were more abrupt. The farther away the light was placed the brighter it would have to be to light up our entire set-up. The light being so bright will have a harsh or domineering effect on such features and aspects such as the direct reflection on the eyes, lips and the tip of the nose, on shiny skin, or with people who wear glasses. When the light source is brought extremely close to the model or subject, reducing the distance, the light can be dimmed and the light source output power is much lower. Still resulting in wonderfully exposed skin tones, but no longer with the disturbing reflections on the lips, in the eyes, and areas on the face without adequate make-up.

Recher gives FotoTV further important information on fill lights and selecting the right values with the RGB mode in Photoshop to collectively achieve a striking, beautiful woman's portrait.

Summary:

In this segment, photographer Martin Krolop covers the topic of mounting system for portable flash. Most photographers have at one point or another run into problems as soon as they remove the flash from their cameras. The most common dilemma being that the flash will not stand up on its own and is otherwise not very manageable with the factory foot-stand it comes delivered with, making a flat and level surface almost always necessary.

Krolop covers an assortment of possible solutions to remedy the many different application needs of today’s photographer. Two essential mounting systems, the foot-stand, which is ideal for flashing from under beds, in shelving units, or any other place with a flat and level surface, or places with little space to mount or place a flash, and the second system, the tripod and umbrella method, which is more appropriate to be used in average day-to-day flash situations.

An unconventional mounting system can be constructed by using gaffer’s tape and as Krolop points out, gaffer’s tape is an absolutely indispensable component when it comes to photography applications and he himself has often used this practical solution to mount flash heads. Another special mounting system Krolop discusses is a super clamp from Manfrotto, in actuality a mounting system for backgrounds. It relatively simple to use and is very good when setting up a tripod would not be possible, for instance, on the rim of a basketball net, or on ledges of structural framework.

By far the most talented mounting system that offers the most creativity has to be the gorilla pod. The magic arms can be wrapped around all sorts of objects, such as a tree branches. This allows photographers to create unique lighting situations in places that would generally not be accessible with a super clamp or tripod flash mounting system.

In conclusion, Krolop shares several brilliant photo examples depicting the different mounting systems he discussed in the segment, giving photographers innovative ideas on how to create mounting systems for portable studio-light effect flash best suited for their needs.

Based out of Bonn, Krolop comprises half of the creative team at Krolop & Gerst photography. Combining traditional photography techniques with the latest technology and software, Krolop and Gerst specialize in editorial, fashion, location and wedding photography, providing excellent visual solution services to many satisfied clients.