Studio
Here are the ProPhotoNut posts that relate to studio photography.
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…
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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.
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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?
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.
Keeping it Simple
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
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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…)
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…)
May 17th, 2010 10:22am
damien
Here is my mini guide to posing 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
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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…)
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.
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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…)
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…)
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.
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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…)
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
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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…)
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
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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…)
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.
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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…)
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…)
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…)
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…)
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…)
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.
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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…)
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…)
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…)
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…)
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…)
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…)
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…)
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…)
February 10th, 2009 10:28pm
damien
If you look in any of the key fashion magazines at the moment you will see… (more…)
January 30th, 2009 12:37pm
damien
Follow the links below to see the picture collections of Damien & Julie Lovegrove. (more…)
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.
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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
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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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