Here are the ProPhotoNut posts that relate to studio photography.
1 comment April 19th, 2013 09:13pm damien
01. Kate is one of those models that truly shines through any shoot. I used just an Elinchrom Quadra flash head for this simple shot.
I shoot model portfolios from time to time and here are 12 frames from a recent studio session. (more…)
2 comments April 6th, 2013 09:52am damien
01. Creativity overflowing in Munich. I lit Wlada with a Lupolux 1200 HMI fresnel spotlight with a Lovegrove ‘Alto’ gobo gel clipped to the barn doors to add the dappled effect. Wlada wears a fabulous hand made corset by Lisa Keating. I provided the tutu skirt to complete the look.
Creating fun moments and capturing them with a good sense of timing is what it’s all about. In this post I’m sharing a few sequences that I shot last week in Munich from a 1:1 studio boudoir tutorial with Radmila Kerl followed by a studio lighting workshop for six delegates. Here is a selection of the images we created.
These pictures have only been through Lightroom and have not been Photoshoped. The beauty, love, and fun you see here is real. NSFW after the jump. (more…)
5 comments February 22nd, 2013 11:01pm damien
01.
My studio is normally fine for head shots and mid length shots at a push but we filled it with a brand spanking new Harley Davidson straight out of the crate and there was not much room for anything else. Luckily I did manage to save a bit of floor space for my friend Vicki. Here are a bunch of pictures from our fab studio shoot. (more…)
13 comments February 4th, 2013 03:06pm damien
01. Classic looks and locks lit with crisp hard light. Priceless.
Here are a selection of my pictures from a 1 to 1 training session with my friend and fellow photographer Aneil Sharma. Aneil booked Chloe Jasmine, created the mood boards and styled the shoot. Vicki Waghorn designed the hairstyles and did the makeup and I was left to recreate the lighting looks from Aneil’s mood boards. This is what we got up to (more…)
10 comments February 1st, 2013 04:13pm damien
1. Katy McGee lit with one light in my latest etherial style.
Hair and make up by the fab Jenny Davies
All corsets and accessories by: Lisa Keating
I’ve been shooting this ‘light and bright’ style for a while now in my studio. I used this shoot to work on the background proximity options. (more…)
5 comments January 19th, 2013 12:16am damien
01. Lea Reah is the most beautiful striking angel for my project.
I have long been fascinated by the suffering and pain that some people can muster in expression. Great actors and people with character seem blessed with a way of communicating that has a depth far deeper than I can ever imagine the source. My life has been largely free from pain and suffering on a surface level but I have a very shallow emotional plateau. I have tears streaming down my face Just writing this blog. My hard shell poorly disguises a soft vulnerable interior. I am very close to the edge sometimes but I have a knack of avoiding the spiral of doom. My life is lived on a level above the norm guided by a freakish positive force that seems rarely to elude me. I’m lucky. I’ve seen many people who rarely surface, let alone reach their potential. Their enduring misery is not the subject of this post however. I want a fictional narrative to provide the shell that protects me from the harsh realities I am not equipped to empathise with. This is ‘Maiden Flight™’ and ‘Fallen Angel™’.
The working narrative:
A young, beautiful, vulnerable girl leaves/ is driven out/ or abandons her home. The first escape/ exposure to a harsh reality. The pull of the demons within leaves her destitute/ without friends/ abused/ homeless/ dependent or addicted. The maiden has fallen. Her character strengthens, her resolve deepens, she toughens up and surfaces a triumphant yet hardened person. She has identity and discovers herself. She is an artist expressing herself through dance and music. Her expressive talent is a result of the torment and strength her circumstances have dealt her. Her art transcends the intellectual and without academic achievement she achieves greatness. A Phoenix rising from the ashes.
02. My angel has fallen.
I set out to create a photographic essay that characterises the narrative and here are a selection of pictures from my first shoot with the amazing Lea Reah. Make up for the Maiden Flight™ section was provided by Vicki Waghorn. (more…)
8 comments December 16th, 2012 01:22am damien
01. Silky tones harmonise with wonderful curves in this shot of Holly Smith wearing a bespoke corset made by Lisa Keating. Taken with the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 lens on my Canon 5D mk2 camera.
I am in the process of fine tuning my studio lighting for shooting lingerie, boudoir and fashion collections. It’s all about the greys in this shoot. 50 shades of grey is just not enough (more…)
22 comments November 29th, 2012 12:58pm damien
01. Helen Diaz in a corset by Lisa Keating. Lit in a classic style using Lupolux continuous lights. All these pictures are ISO 800, 1/60th at f/4
December is the month that I set aside for creative time. Time to write, shoot and think. This shoot has been planned for several weeks. I won’t discuss the original concepts but it’s fair to say they were (more…)
9 comments October 6th, 2012 11:27pm damien
01.
Every now and then I come across a character asking to be set free and that’s just what we did on this studio lighting workshop. Rohini from Gingersnap model agency is utterly gorgeous and fizzing with verve. (more…)
6 comments August 24th, 2012 11:53pm damien
Hi Prophotonut readers. I’m sorry that you may have felt abandoned for the past month but I’ve been busy. I’ve launched new products in the UK, written a book on the business of wedding photography, I’ve been fortunate to have a family holiday and I’ve done 6 shoots/ workshops. I know it is bad to make excuses but it does make me feel better. The book is now in the design stage and my recent pictures from the shoots, workshops and Santorini all need selecting before adding a splash of Lightroom for good measure.
To ease the wait I thought I’d share a few recent studio lingerie and boudoir shots of the fabulous Iskra Lawrence. These were taken in my studio on a 1:1 training session for a husband and wife team exploring the opportunities for a new boudoir and portrait studio that they are currently building.
01. A simple three light studio shot of Iskra against my grey background.
2 comments August 3rd, 2012 06:19pm damien
Here is a short demonstration in real time showing one way that I use hard spotlights to light a studio portrait.
More videos and information about Lupolux spotlights for video and photography can be found at the official Lupolux UK shop.
Credits: Camera Operator – Brett Symes, Editor – Luke Knight, Model – Johanna Ormsby, Presenter – Damien Lovegrove
Please feel free to comment.
14 comments July 20th, 2012 11:31am damien
The new LED Fresnel spotlights from Lupolux deliver unrivaled levels of power, quality, efficiency and control in a unique lightweight compact lamp housing.
Fresnel lenses have been at the heart of the best spotlights for decades. The dimpled surface on the back of the lens delivers a delicate soft edge. Other lens systems claim a more accurate beam pattern but none create the beauty of fresnels. Lensed lights are here to stay.
The Lupolux DayLED lights have the same beautiful fresnel lenses with a flood/spot control and high quality build construction as the Lupolux HMI family of Fresnel spotlights. The daylight balanced (5600°K) light produced is from an array of power LEDs. The LEDs have instant restrike capability and are fully dimmable from 0-100%. The high colour rendering index of this latest generation of LEDs makes them perfect for photographers and videographers alike.
Both the new Lupolux DayLED fresnel spotlights side by side. The 1000 on the left is ⅔ of a stop more powerful than the very capable 650 on the right.
These LED spotlights are DMX (remote) controllable making them the ideal choice for video and theatre productions. You will also never have to think about changing the bulbs as they have a life span of 50,000 hrs. This makes these lights much more cost-effective than other continuous lighting options. Here are the vital statistics (more…)
1 comment July 19th, 2012 12:32pm damien
01. The beautiful Dagmara lit with one Elinchrom BXRi 500 light in my studio. Shot on a Nikon D700 with a 24-70mm lens.
These frames are just a few from a recent 1:1 training session I gave. My client has a small studio in London with four flash heads, 2 Elinchrom and 2 Bowens. She uses a Nikon D700 with various pro lenses. I matched the kit we used on this training day with her kit so that everything we shot could be easily recreated in her own studio in town. (more…)
4 comments April 25th, 2012 09:12pm damien
01. The gorgeous Charlotte Roest Ellis captured with my 100mm macro lens on a Canon 5Dmk2.
I’m finally catching up with my blogging. Here are a few frames from recent studio lighting workshops, 1:1 sessions and the occasional test shoot. They are not all masterpieces but if something inspires you or triggers a thought or idea then they have done their job. (more…)
4 comments April 25th, 2012 03:39pm damien
Last week I was helping an A level photography student realise the ideas she had for a set of pictures and I suggested we use a data projector to project patterns, spots and stripes on people and not use gobos in projector lamps. Here are a few frames I took of my daughter Francesca using my Fuji X-Pro1.
A simple pattern pulled from Google and modified in Photoshop was used as the source image to my data projector. I used a 3000 lumens, DLP projector with a resolution of 1400 pixels x 1050 pixels. Since I took this shot I have now bought a new LCD projector with 1920 pixels x 1200 pixels and 4200 Lumens. DLP is not great for colour photography because it forces a slow shutter speed in order to get an even colour rendition. LCD is better.
8 comments April 4th, 2012 12:17am damien
1. Amina and Sadia
About once a week at the moment I’m teaching shooting skills on a 1 to 1 basis. This set of shots were taken in my studio last week using basic Elinchrom kit or Dedo lights owned by my client. This journey of evolution for my client is as exciting for me as it is for him. I wanted to share some colour and energy pictures with you as my blog is looking a bit bland with the current mono look. Enjoy (more…)
6 comments March 29th, 2012 09:31pm damien
Day 2 of 2 in Stuttgart was a continuous light session. Boudoir photography is big business in Germany and I showed how I craft exciting pictures from just 1 or 2 Lupolux lights or Arris.
01. Tiffany in the Paris room lit with a pair of Lupolux lights. An 800 via a reflector on Tiffany's back and a 1200 through the window to simulate sunlight.
Once again the location for the day was the amazing Park Studio run by Bernhard Frei and Stephan Glathe. Stephan is a master beauty photographer in his own right and I am grateful to him for letting me loose in his hand crafted sets. Here are a few of my pictures. (more…)
9 comments March 29th, 2012 08:07pm damien
The Stuttgart sessions 2012 – Part 1
1. A single Lupolux 1200 light with a simple modifier and an in camera white balance shift was all I used for this striking shot of Patricia Vitacca taken on my Fuji X100. (I was on a set of step ladders looking down to the floor. Patricia's legs were up the wall)
Day 1 of 2 in Stuttgart was a studio lighting workshop using the fabulous resources and facilities at the Park Studio. Our model was Patricia from Seka Models. Makeup and hair was by Anika Eisenschmidt of Alba Frei beauty. Here are 30 of my images (more…)
3 comments March 11th, 2012 11:04am damien
4 comments February 26th, 2012 10:56pm damien
I’ve chosen to study a couple of Rembrandt’s self portraits to reveal the strategies and tools he used to light his subjects. He painted these masterpieces at different ends of his career. Rembrandt was a Dutch painter in the Baroque period influenced by the Renaissance painters that went before him. He painted many self portraits, perhaps he was practicing or maybe he was vain.
We have all heard of Rembrandt light but what exactly is Rembrandt light? (more…)
34 comments January 7th, 2012 01:23am damien
Intro: I’m in no way a self proclaimed expert in these matters and I do recognise that there are many ways to make pictures and systems to use that differ from the ones I’ve highlighted in this feature. However, I do produce prints with a high image quality and the processes that I use work for me. I do hope you can find them useful too.
1. Canon 5D mk2, 100mm f/2.8, ISO 125, 1/125th second at f/18 This simple ballet inspired shot of Johanna was lit with three gridded studio lights.
21 comments December 30th, 2011 12:03am damien
The past 12 months have been a challenge for most photographers eking out a living in a contracting market. It’s been tough on some counts but all this economic turmoil has given us the perfect excuse to explore new markets, change the products we offer and to push forward into uncharted waters. Art and humanity have always made great progress in times of trouble, when they have been forced to take on new directions.
Click on the picture to visit this years gallery. There are 372 pictures and their exif data in easy to browse galleries.
Fashion in wedding and portrait photography has always been (more…)
21 comments December 22nd, 2011 07:18pm damien
01. A picture of Iskra Lawrence taken with my Canon 5D ir camera.
Over the past few months I’ve done numerous shoots and have barely had time to edit them let alone blog them. Here are a few of my recent shots taken in the studio. They are not award winners, just run of the Lovegrove mill.
I’m moving on to new styles and genres for 2012 and it all takes a lot of research and most of all practice. Practice is what make the results flow. Nothing is more exhilarating than experimenting with new ideas. It’s a kind of creative buzz that feeds my soul.
I’ve blogged a staggering 5700 pictures in 2011 alone. What does this go to show? Well, it certainly means I’m prolific. I’m happy not to chase perfection but to achieve a consistent quality. I love to capture emotion and soul in my work. I shoot collections, and when I shoot for clients, I shoot for albums, big albums. A typical family portrait will result in 40 – 120 prints in the album. I never blog my client work, just my workshops, 1:1 shoots and some of my personal work.
If my blog readers like 3 or 4 of the images in each of my posts I’m happy. I started numbering my photographs this year to see what ones are the most successful and to my surprise the ‘hits’ varied considerably. I’m learning a lot about photography and about myself at the moment. The way I see the world is not quite the same as most people I know with the exception of Francesca my daughter. I’m often considered strange, metro-sexual is a word banded around me and I like to think I can recognise and capture beauty in a respectful and elegant way.
Over the next few days I’ll be whittling down those 5700 pictures to produce my definitive best of 2011 set. Will I make the right choices? No, but I’ll be happy with them and sometimes that’s all that matters.
Please enjoy this slightly random and motley set of recent studio portraits. (more…)
7 comments November 30th, 2011 03:35pm damien
This is a sample chapter using just one Studio Flash head at a distance of one metre from Chloe Jasmine Whichello. (more…)
7 comments November 25th, 2011 10:27pm damien
13 comments September 13th, 2011 09:29pm damien
I’ve often worked hard at unlocking the code of the Hollywood portraits to examine their DNA. In this post I discuss how we can recreate the classic look today using simple continuous lights. I have three images from the John Kobal collection to asses. These along with many others are in exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London until the 23rd October 2011. I’ve chosen one from the 30’s, one from the 40’s and one from the 50‘s and I’m starting with this portrait of Marlon Brando shot by by John Engstead in 1950 (more…)
34 comments September 11th, 2011 11:36pm damien
Here is a small selection of the recent pictures taken by me on my workshops or 1:1 sessions. I’ve been so busy shooting for clients this summer it has been a challenge to keep up. I’ll blog some of my commissioned fashion work soon but for now here is my random choice for the week.
1. A simple four light portrait of Edyta taken from eye level in my studio to capture intimacy and beauty. Contrast can be so delicately controlled with such depth because I'm not in a white studio. The fabulous make up was created by Vicky Waghorn.
17 comments August 6th, 2011 01:30pm damien
1. One of the last images of the day was this ballerina with attitude shot. I can hear the screams now "Balerinas don't wear nail varnish" Luke my picture editor decided to have fun with the split toning facility in Lightroom and I love the results.
I’ve been shooting regularly in my studio for about three years now and I’m finding the restrictions it puts on me to be very useful in defining my repetoir and house style. If I had a big studio I could easily get lost in the multitude of options open to me. Too much choice limits the creative process. Sketching at home with charcoal and chalks is strangely satisfying. I’d hate to but let loose in an artists shop with the instruction ‘use anything you want to create your piece of art’. No matter what I produced I’d be left feeling that I had not made the most of the opportunity I was given. (more…)
21 comments June 9th, 2011 08:43pm damien
For many months now I’ve been researching a new genre that combines my work with ‘Feminine Beauty’ and ‘Shooting Couples’. A product for the brave and beautiful. My customer base will most likely include celebrities plus footballers and their partners. The format is a two to three hour shoot in my studio or their home or a combination of the two. The commission includes a fabulous Jorgensen album containing 30 to 40 pictures printed by me on Hahnemuhle on fine art paper.
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I invited local couple to test for me. We had a fun time on this journey into the unknown. I had created mood boards from the many hundreds of inspiration images I’ve collected online. I acquired ideas from many sources underwear advertising campaigns, movie stills and celebrity portraits. Here are 30 of the many pictures we created together. Every frame was shot on a Canon 5D mk2 with a 100mm L lens apart from the Pool table shot that I took using my 21mm Zeiss lens on the same camera. (more…)
6 comments May 6th, 2011 05:30pm damien
Here are 25 shots from a recent 1:1 shoot training day for a keen amateur photographer and his daughter who is training as a make up artist. The brief was to shoot a variety of fashion style images using studio flash, continuous lighting, reflected sunlight and Speedlights on location. I’ve trained the photographer in the studio before and this was very much a refresher shoot session.
1. This shot was taken at our local beach against the cliff. It was lit with a pair of Canon 580 EX2 Speedlights attached to a Lowel Grand Stand with a Lovegrove Gemini bracket. The behind the scenes shot showing the stand and Speedlight rig is shot 21 of this set below.
13 comments April 14th, 2011 06:16pm damien
Dudeoir is the catch phrase but I wanted to shoot clean simple images in my studio to see what lighting styles work well for men. I booked Damion from the Gingersnap agency for a two hour test shoot to find out more. Here are my shots…
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27 comments March 21st, 2011 11:14pm damien
1. The pictures in this article were shot on recent studio lighting workshops in 2011. They are previously unpublished and I wanted to share them with you. This shot of Marie - Francoise is lit with just one light, in one exposure! How did I do that? Have a think about it.
In lifestyle or reportage portraiture the environment completes the narrative. The story is all around the subject and the viewers eyes can wander the scene reading new information with each pass. In my studio I have abandoned the narrative to reveal just the subject in isolation. I’ve opted for purity of design. A sumptuous immersion into minimalist shape and tone. With everything in control – well, nearly. (more…)
12 comments February 25th, 2011 04:44pm damien
Here it is at last. We have just taken delivery of our first 100 Geminis, our latest precision engineered lighting accessory. The design is simple and effective. The finish is first class and the Gemini was designed and made in England.
Gemini ~ The twin Speedlight bracket designed for use with Nikon or Canon Pocket Wizard TTL receivers.
33 comments January 28th, 2011 12:35am damien
1. This shot of Katy was from Day two of our feature rich agenda. It was lit with a pair of Lupo HMI spotlights and my Venetian blind MK2. One of my delegates asked "Can you gel up a Lupo"? I said "let's do it." In my TV days we used to light shadows with a complimentary colour so I showed how that's done too. (The walls are white).
Two fabulous women delegates, one agenda, two models, a penthouse apartment in Bristol and (more…)
12 comments January 24th, 2011 10:12pm damien
A screen shot from my 2010 collection. Click on the image to visit the gallery.
I have uploaded a selection of my 2010 pictures in a gallery. This has become customary for me now in January of each year. I’ve included my EXIF data to make your journey through my shots more interesting. All the pictures were taken in 2010 between March and December. Choosing is always tough and I never seem to know which images I should select, so please forgive me if I’ve missed out your favourites. I could have just shown shots of the fabulous Chloe Jasmine Whichello and dedicated the year to her such was her impact on my evolving style. There were of course many other wonderful people that I had the pleasure of photographing too. This collection is for everyone.
Enjoy.
31 comments December 22nd, 2010 12:23am damien
October to December 2010
Here is the first stage in my process of defining a picture style of my own. Elements of the pictures here have probably all been shot before but to put them all together has been my quest. I want to shoot beauty without sexuality, beauty with soul and beauty with passion. I want to capture intimacy with respect and depth. I want a fusion of connectivity with my subjects and I want to develop my own style. – Not too much to ask then Haha.
Fine art nudes are fabulous but often void of personality. They are pictures that celebrate the grace and beauty of human form but regularly separate it from the soul within. Anonymity is the order of the day. NSFW after thew jump (more…)
31 comments November 24th, 2010 12:41am damien
I’ve been so busy these last few weeks I’ve barely had time to blog. Here are a few of my studio pictures from a couple of recent workshops. I’m so excited to be working with Katy and Natalia, both beautiful girls and delightful with it. Make up is by my house expert, Vicky Waghorn. I hope you enjoy my snaps.
1. One light - A Bowens 750Ws unit fitted with a 40cm beauty dish and honeycomb grid from Ebay.
26 comments November 12th, 2010 04:28pm damien
1. Vogue, Vogue, Vogue ... Lit with a Lupo 800 HMI (150W)
Here are 24 of the pictures from my first ever studio shoot with Natalia. The shoot was a Lighting Workshop for three delegates. This small intimate group is perfect for a sensational learning experience. Make-up was provided by our house stylist, the very talented Vicky Waghorn. Enjoy the pictures…
8 comments November 2nd, 2010 10:09pm damien
1. Amy in front of my Ice Storm 2 background with a Lovegrove gel providing the colour.
A while ago I was fortunate enough to have a couple of hours with Amy Willerton the current miss Bristol for a test shoot. Make up was by Vicky Farrah. Here are a few pictures… (more…)
19 comments October 14th, 2010 02:50pm damien
1. The way to Chloe's heart. Lindt Excellence Orange Intense Dark Noir Chocolate with Veuve Clicquot Champagne.
Hair and make up: Vicky Waghorn
Styling: Chloe Jasmine
21 pictures for you to view
24 comments July 23rd, 2010 09:09pm damien
Here are a set of pictures in the nude, (with clean post production). Just the odd monochrome conversion and a bit of white balance shifting. All my photographs get edited like this and a few copies then go on to get pulled around with actions etc. I’ve been blogging a few too many of the variations lately so here are the ‘nude’ set.
1. A simple white balance shift to 4200k was all I needed to create this cool aqua look. The lighting was from one Lupo 800 HMI and a top secret reflection making process 
Our house make up artist Vicky Waghorn created the looks and the fabulous hair styles too. Enjoy…
4 comments July 2nd, 2010 01:59pm damien
I wanted to end the week by sharing with you some shots I took of Sarah Beaufoy using my Canon 5D IR. I took them during a private 1:3 studio lighting training session. The session was for a newly formed studio with a forward thinking approach to portraiture.
Infra red shots have a naturally low contrast in this kind of light. A texture and tint applied in post production completes the look.
12 comments June 26th, 2010 11:19am damien
Here are some new product information videos that I’ve put together. The motivation for the project was to use video to answer some of my most asked questions freeing up my time and educating site visitors in the process.
I’m in the process of replacing my existing Flash online video content with Quicktime H.264. All the videos were shot in SD and are iPad or iPhone compatible. If you have any compatability issues with the videos below or you have codec settings that I could use to make the videos better, bigger, and load faster please use the comment facility below. Thanks in advance, Damien.
Here are the links to six of my latest videos:
Which lighting stand is right for the job?
The Orbis ring flash adapter in action
How easy is the EzyBox by Lastolite?
How do Arri Fresnel lights produce such beautiful light?
How can I use the LoveCube on location with a Speedlight?
How do I use the Lovegrove Studio Collection of colour gels?
18 comments June 12th, 2010 11:44am damien
Here are a few ideas for creating striking portraits using one or two studio lights and minimal props. All the pictures in this article were shot during one Studio Lighting workshop at my studio in May.
My lighting workshop delegates often expect to dive in to complicated multi light set-ups right from the off when the simple techniques using just one light need refining first. Using just one light sounds easy – switch it on and shoot, and it is, if you are careful and know what you are doing. It is often the simple single light images we start with on a workshop day that bring out the creativity in all of us.
Shot 1. Canon 5D Mk2 with a 100m lens at f/2.8 This shot is completely lit from one Bowens Gemini flash unit rigged above and behind Chloe. It was fitted with a 7" reflector and a fine honeycomb grid. I’m really happy to let thing go in my shots. I’m never one to worry about a bit of detail loss in the highlights if the shot is great. In fact I positively go out of my way to blow out highlights in frames like this taken against my patch of yellow wall in my studio. It looks sunny and I like that.
My studio lighting concept is simple, I start
19 comments May 30th, 2010 11:58am damien
Here are a few pictures from a test shoot I did with Rosie Pitt last Wednesday. I set the pictures to some royalty free music using Fotomagico slideshow software. (more…)
74 comments May 23rd, 2010 08:36pm damien
Well here is a little something to get your heads around. I’m not sure on the physics or the tech behind this post but I do know the maximum published sync speed for non Speedlight flash kit is a measly 1/200th of a second with the Canon 5D and 5D mk2. Not any more! The techniques used in this post were hinted to me by Martin Hogeboom in a cafe in Amsterdam last week and I vowed to give it a go and see if the rumours are true. All the exif is intact so please learn from it as you wish. (more…)
51 comments May 17th, 2010 10:22am damien
This is part of my guide to posing couples and groups available in full as a PDF for just £2.95 here.
Let’s first discuss couples in photographs. Working with more than one person at a time as your subject causes all sorts of complexities. Let me unravel them for you.
1. I used a flight of stone steps to form the base of this shot. The groom was sat on the step above the bride and she is sat within his legs leaning back into him. I like to ensure the cuff links and watch are visible on the groom when I’m shooting wedding couples. They are blissfully delighted and intimately unaware of those around them. ISO 400, 1/1500th second at f/4
20 comments May 7th, 2010 09:16pm damien
Here is a set of images from Thursdays studio lighting workshop. All my pictures on the day were shot with my Canon 100mm f/2.8 L IS macro lens on a 5D mk2 camera. The lens is surprisingly light to hold, pin sharp, and has a rock steady viewfinder image thanks to the amazing 4 stop image stabilisation. Chloe Jasmine from Gingersnap was our model. The fabulous hair styles and make up were provided by our make up artist of choice at the Lovegrove studio, Vicky Waghorn.
Timeless beauty, lit with hard light (2x Bowens Gemini ProR 750s with 7" reflectors and tight grids) to create rick dark shadows, and clearly defined cheekbones. The low viewpoint and over the shoulder look create an opportunity for an intense moment. You can see into Chloe's soul in this frame and I love that in a portrait.
The workshop started with a simple demonstration of the property of shadows and went on to creating vintage portraits with (more…)
17 comments April 15th, 2010 12:18am damien
What did I say to shock Henri here? Answers on a postcard. Punchy lighting was created with the minimum of fuss and a sheet of Lovegrove gel. The background was my grey studio wall.
19 comments February 11th, 2010 11:15pm damien
Here are the pictures from the second of two one day workshops earlier this week.
The LoveCube™ takes centre stage for this shot of Becca.
Three Bowens flash heads with grids provided the key, backlight and background illumination whilst a Speedlight on 1/4 power triggered with a PW Flex was inside the LoveCube™ (more…)
20 comments February 10th, 2010 09:47pm damien
Tango the dog finally gets to share the stage with Sarah. This shot was lit using a Broncolor ring flash plugged into my trusty Mobil A2R kit. Wall colour was provided by Dulux.
Wow what a day! We shot simple set ups, and created repeatable dynamic images. We studied shadows, the qualities of light and had fun on the way. (more…)
25 comments January 4th, 2010 12:21am damien
I’ve been on a fabulous creative trip in 2009 teaching photography and researching my latest DVD/ Blu-Ray, Speedlight Mastery. The journey has taken me to six cities in Germany, the Meatpacking district of New York, Sienna in Tuscany, Castlefield in Manchester and my beloved Bristol Waterfront. On the way I have shared creative moments and precious times with talented photographers from around the world.
Below are my favourite 50 pictures of 2009. It is a strange notion to choose pictures over a time span. I thought about sharing the following sets: My 50 career best pictures, or my 50 favourite pictures of the last decade, or perhaps 50 favourite pictures of the past year, or 50 best shots of the past month. I went for the past year option.
I wonder how many of my pictures I would have selected for all four sets? It’s worth thinking about this. Ask yourself, Is your photography going in the right direction. This is totally subjective and only your opinion counts. Another list category I thought about was the 10 photographs that charted my photographic career. This would be more of a narrative that discussed each images significance rather than the image itself. A lot of the shots I’d choose in the key career shots set would not make any of the ‘best’ sets listed above. It’s got me thinking so I’ll write about the career milestone shots in the coming months but for now here are my 50 favourite pictures of 2009:
The season started with my big flash in the country workshops. And this frame was one that shone out of the overcast day in the dark woods. Lit with two barefaced Broncolor Mobil heads powered from the same A2R pack.
83 comments December 31st, 2009 04:17pm damien
Here is my technique for creating striking studio portraits using a grey background and the Lovegrove Studio Collection of gels. Grid collections like the one above make fantastic large acrylic products or canvas prints for the home. They are easy to shoot, command high prices, and they look great in a studio shop window too. Here’s how I shot the one above. (more…)
35 comments December 31st, 2009 04:16pm damien
Here is the full colour chart showing picture samples taken with each of the 38 gels in the Lovegrove Studio Collection at various levels of illumination. The gels are listed in numerical order. The 38 gels each measure 12″x 12″ (305mm x 305mm). For the technical details of how these shots were taken please see my other post here. These shots are ‘straight from camera’ I used a Nikon D700 with a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens set at f/11 and I used the ‘flash’ white balance preset. All the shots were batch cropped to 10×8 proportions in Adobe Lightroom before being exported.
What’s your favourite colour? Let me know in the comments box below.
LC01
38 comments December 9th, 2009 07:59pm damien
This simple shot against a white section of my studio was simply lit with 2 hard lights (Bowens heads with 7" reflectors and grids). The low angle viewpoint was inspired by the classic Holywood portraits.
It was my first ever studio lighting workshop at my own studio and I absolutely loved the process of starting to unlock the bijou spaces potential. At just 6.5m x 4.6m the Lovegrove studio is very compact. The high vaulted ceiling adds to the space and lets me get the lighting rig up and out of the shots. Here are 20 of my shots from the day. (more…)
23 comments November 29th, 2009 02:47am damien
I recently decided to replace my Canon wide angle zoom lens with a fixed prime lens. I shoot mainly portraits and it’s worth bearing this in mind as you read this out of the box review. My decision to go prime for my super wide shots was an easy one to make.
The Zeiss Distagon 21mm f/2.8 ZE attached to my Canon 5Dmk2
10 comments November 8th, 2009 02:43pm damien
I’ve had many questions from Nikon users waiting for the new Pocket Wizard TT1 and TT5 units and here is my response to the most common one. Should I buy an SU-800 or wait for the new Pocket Wizard TTL units to come out? (more…)
13 comments November 7th, 2009 12:35am damien
Here are a few of the pictures I took on yesterday’s workshop. I asked Marko to knock them into shape in Lightroom and Photoshop so that I can share some my key picture making thoughts with you.
We explored working with just one light to take simple striking portraits like this one shot against a mid grey paper background. One Broncolor Mobil head in a softbox provided the light.
23 comments November 1st, 2009 08:02pm damien
After a period of 5 years of not doing an annual ballet photo promotion in the run up to Christmas I decided this year that I’d make a fresh start and redesign the promotion from scratch. I refitted my studio and did a test shoot with my daughter Francesca. The promo artwork was designed by Luke using these test pictures and 500 fliers were printed last week while I was in Tuscany.
This picture of Francesca was taken with in camera diffusion and a simple studio lighting set up.
With a promotion like this you need to ensure absolute accuracy and attention to detail. The position of the feet and hands, body posture and pose are all important as most ballet mums used to do ballet themselves and they can spot a sickle-foot instantly. (more…)
1 comment September 11th, 2009 03:29pm damien
The Lite Tite from Arri is the perfect accessory for the job.
We are now official distributors of the LiteTite from Arri UK and below is my suggested rig for use with a Canon Speedlite on a Lovegrove Flash Bracket on an Arri 050KA lighting stand.
Click the jump to see how the flash head can be rigged inline with, and touching the umbrella shaft… (more…)
6 comments September 9th, 2009 11:46pm damien
The colour temperature gradient
‘Colour temperature’ is the unit measure often used to describe the colour of light emitted by a light source. But what is meant by colour temperature? (more…)
21 comments July 21st, 2009 08:22am damien
If you want to use a non TTL radio remote set up to trigger your Speedlights or you want to know how to use them in manual mode, follow this guide. (more…)
13 comments July 17th, 2009 09:30am damien
Floating on air, lit with an SB800 and triggered by the pop up flash on a Nikon D700. Chloe is the Angel of The South.
A 1:1 shoot session can be tailored to your needs exactly. This session was Nikon based and involved location shooting with natural light and off camera flash plus a session in my studio using flash and daylight. Here are a few of the pictures. (more…)
10 comments July 8th, 2009 09:58pm damien
We are right in the middle of the shooting season here in the UK and barely a day goes by without a few significant shots being taken of clients or on workshops. I can’t blog them all and I choose not to blog my client work here on ProPhotoNut unless I’ve had clearance to do so.
Julie and I are off to Santiago in Spain tomorrow to shoot a wedding at a wonderfully romantic castle this weekend. I have to pinch myself at times to ensure that fantasy and reality are defined.
I taught a few styles of studio lighting to workshop delegates and I indulged in some beautifully simple portable studio shooting with my Evolve2 group. Here are a few of this weeks shots together with a few shooting tips.
I lit this shot with my ancient Bowens Prolites. Light is light and they are still banging it out some 16 years after I bought them new. I used 2 3/4 back lights (500ws), a soft overhead key (1000ws), a gelled up background light (1000ws) and a 1995 Lastolite tri flector to complete the look. Intimate, intense, attention, and an unusually high viewpoint define the style. A pose that implies vulnerability gives the shot tension.
32 comments June 28th, 2009 11:36pm damien
I used square on two point lighting for this shot for one of my clients. It was lit with the sun as a back light and I used a hand held off camera Speedlight as the key. The Bristol waterfront is a favourite area of mine for photographing clients and running workshops alike.
I often find myself looking at the world a bit differently (more…)
6 comments June 9th, 2009 02:31pm damien
My strategy to review a camera or lens puts my subjective observations at an equally important level as objective facts and figures. So when a Phase One camera and a couple of backs arrived I had a bit of product familiarity work to do. See how this camera got on in my fairly steady hands. (more…)
7 comments May 8th, 2009 03:05pm damien
I demonstrated how to shoot punchy pictures using just a grey paper background roll, portable Broncolor Mobil flash lighting kit and some coloured gels.
Here are a few of the many pictures I took during the fourth studio lighting workshop. We had a great day being creative, learning new basic and advanced lighting techniques. (more…)
13 comments May 8th, 2009 01:08pm damien
In order to correctly assess exposure when shooting on location, you need to start with a calibrated screen. This is a simple process but can often be overlooked. Here is my quick guide. (more…)
11 comments April 3rd, 2009 11:05pm damien
There's nothing like a set of pictures to lift a business piece so here is a selection of last nights street portraits I took in Cork with Liam Ramsell, my host for the previous two workshops. (workshop pictures coming soon).
I walked into a bookshop in Singapore back in August 2008 when I was returning from a holiday in Malaysia, and stumbled across a book called ‘Pro Blogger‘ with a sub title ‘blog your way to a six figure income’ (more…)
28 comments March 28th, 2009 11:11pm damien
Back in the depths of winter a group of friends and myself descended on Imagist studios near Bristol for a lighting ideas development session. We photographed a very cold Vanessa, our model. The studio was just above freezing hence the electric heater giving off the warm orange glow. I asked ace cameraman Simon Tagney to film the proceedings and here is nearly 8 minutes of the resulting movie. (more…)
7 comments February 18th, 2009 01:22pm damien
My message today is ‘Get ready to reap the benefits of the upturn’. If a lack of portrait bookings at this early stage in the season is worrying you, it’s time to… (more…)
3 comments February 15th, 2009 11:46pm damien
Are your portrait bookings down? Promotions becoming increasingly less profitable? The good news is there are several ways to buck the trend and here is one such system. (more…)
22 comments February 10th, 2009 10:28pm damien
If you look in any of the key fashion magazines at the moment you will see… (more…)
11 comments January 30th, 2009 12:37pm damien
Follow the links below to see the picture collections of Damien & Julie Lovegrove. (more…)
7 comments January 24th, 2009 02:52pm damien
I am in the privileged position of being commissioned to write a product review of the Nikon D90 for Warehouse Express. As part of my testing of this new camera, I shot a studio session under arduous conditions to put the camera through it’s paces. My full review will be available on the Warehouse Express site soon but for now here are some pictures for you to enjoy. Click on the pictures to link to the full resolution jpegs if you wish.
A Calumet 'Storm Grey' background roll and three hard lights did all the work here. Nikon D90, ISO 200, f/14, 1/125th, 62mm lens setting.
5 comments January 21st, 2009 07:17pm damien
I am often asked about my ballet photography for the local dance school. Here is a gallery showing some of my images. I’ve kept them neutral to show you the clarity of the original files. These images lend themselves to a fair amount of post production to take them to the next level. All the shots were taken on a grey background roll and lit with 2 or 3 lights.
Please feel free to comment on the pictures and link to ones that you have taken. – Damien
5 comments January 12th, 2009 11:42pm damien
Last week I gave a masterclass on shooting colourful studio pictures using grey or white backgrounds. The delegates of the 4 hour session were on our Evolve business development programme. I want to share these pictures with you because the webpage was created with Adobe Lightroom and integrated with my website CSS. Are you making the most of the resources you already have to share pictures with your clients?
Take a look at the proof pictures here.
The rest of Katie Younger’s test shots from Thursday’s shoot are here. These pictures were taken as part of a 1:1 shooting session using off camera flash. The various looks were a result of batched Photoshop actions. These are only proofs and a few are a bit red for my liking.
4 comments December 2nd, 2008 12:45am damien
Whilst teaching studio lighting last week I couldnt help but take a few frames on my converted Canon 10Dir.
I took this picture in infra red and I lit it with three Broncolor flash heads.
2 comments December 1st, 2008 11:05pm damien
Here is a small selection of the pictures shot at last Tuesdays studio lighting workshop.
A rich gradient background was lit with two lights fitted with yellow and orange filters clipped to the grid reflectors. A white balance of 8000k was set in camera to warm up the picture.
2 comments December 1st, 2008 10:07pm damien
Here is a small selection of the pictures shot at last Mondays studio lighting workshop.
Rolls of Calumet background paper and a Kia car in the scene dock made a funky background for this Broncolor ringflash shot.
3 comments November 19th, 2008 12:02am damien
One light studio pictures started off the session.
Here are the pictures from Mondays shoot. It was a great opportunity for us all to have a bit of fun.
24 comments November 3rd, 2008 12:57am damien
A picture is worth a 1000 words but can it be worth £1000. Putting a price on photography has always presented itself as a bit of a challenge. How much should I charge is one of the most frequent questions I am asked. Here is my guide to getting it right.
I shot this into the light in the sweltering Brisbane sun using a Nikon D3 with a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens.
12 comments October 31st, 2008 01:05am damien
I’ve been asked the question “How do you use a Speedlight with a brolly”. Well I thought I’d share a few pictures of my system taken on my new Canon G10 with an STE2 fitted to trigger the flash.
Even illumination of the whole umberella canopy is the aim of the game.
34 comments August 30th, 2008 10:42pm damien
From time to time a new technology emerges that changes the way I light or shoot. I seem to be on this ever progressing conveyor. A photographic journey fueled by the endless supply of new bigger, better, more sensitive cameras. However it pays to look back from time to time. This is my recent shoot with the wonderful Fresnel lens spotlights of the motion picture industry.
Timeless elegance created in the Lovegrove studio with a pair of Arri 300 Junior Fresnel spotlight. A classic style reborn.
Take a look at more upcoming photography training courses here. Helpful tutorials, tips and training workshops on Speedlight Photography. Useful resource page covering all aspects of Continuous Lighting Systems.
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A comprehensive guide to posing clients, couples and large groups, by Damien Lovegrove |
Chloe Jasmine Whichello the latest, lavish, hard bound book by Damien Lovegrove is available here for just £25 (signed first edition). It is packed full of inspiration and beauty. "A visual delight."
A jounrey of Take a look at the range of Lovegrove photography training dvds here.
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A comprehensive guide to posing clients, couples and large groups, by Damien Lovegrove |
Chloe Jasmine Whichello the latest, lavish, hard bound book by Damien Lovegrove is available here for just £25 (signed first edition). It is packed full of inspiration and beauty. "A visual delight."
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