Last week I was lucky enough to be invited back to deliver two more full day studio lighting workshops at the wonderfully equipped studio at Hotz near Antwerp. The workshops were a great success with a sell out audience. Here are 45 shots from the event.
The event: Broncolor sponsored studio lighting workshop with Damien Lovegrove
The Location: Hotz in Aartselaar, Belgium
Model: Rosalinde Kikstra
Styling: Rosalinde and Damien Lovegrove
Camera: Fuji X-T1 with 56mm lens at f/8
01. I started the session with just one light, keeping everything simple.
02. One light magic using a single pool of light from a 21cm reflector and grid. I was shooting against a white cove – not my usual set up.
03. Working with curves and design I kept shooting with the single spot of light.
04. I introduced my ‘old friend’ a classic beauty reflector for the shot on the right. Both shots are still with one light.
05. Next up was a one light set up using a strip light soft box and grid.
06. The strip light soft box and grid was still the only light source.
07. Rosalinde’s natural beauty shines through these minimalistic one light shots.
08. After the strip light I used a familiar soft box for this one light fashion shot. The evenness of light, top to bottom was created in camera using careful light positioning.
09. The high key background was a tad bright for my liking but I still set it to grey.
10. There is a black cyclorama at Hotz so I pulled it into action to kill the white background. (Still using just one light)
11. I love the colour of this dress so I decided to post a colour frame too.
12. I then introduced a few other lights for good measure. 4 lights in total were used for these shots.
13. Back with one light and my Venetian blind.
14. I showed the group of 40 delegates how to use a single spotlight to light the black curtains to make an interesting background. The top shot is a 3 light set up and the bottom shot is a one light set up.
15. I showed how I create a Hollywood look with flash lighting.
16. Then I removed the flash trigger and used the modelling lights with the 56mm lens wide open at f/1.2
17. I introduced my bit of jungle and worked with the fresnel attachment on the Picolight.
18. I finished off with a classic Lovegrove shot with a spotlight through a gobo to light the background and a 2 point lighting set up on Rosalinde.
19. After the practical demonstration I gave a 45 minute demonstration of how I process my images. In that time I selected and processed the complete set with my Lightroom window projected onto the studio wall for easy viewing.
Here are some more behind the scenes shots taken by my friend Ioannis Tsouloulis, Fujifilm Ambassador and all round great guy:
20. Me with my ‘old friend’. The output from my X-T1 camera was projected to the screen above the audience.
21. Working with backlights and controlling shadows is a delicate process. Bottom left: I apply the finishing touches to the styling with a bird cage netting.
22. Top: An all star studied audience included top pro photographers, left to right: Tom Museeuw, Piet Van den Eynde with myself and Ioannis Tsouloulis. Bottom left: Marc Pirmez and I sign invoices and books respectively and bottom right: Marc kicks off the proceedings with a kind introduction.
“I’ll be back” Autumn 2017 will be my next visit to Hotz. May I take this opportunity to thank the complete Hotz team including Carina, who always had a smile. The hospitality you gave me was superb.
Please feel free to comment on this set of pictures or your experience of the day.
Damien,
Wonderful shots as always. I’ve always loved how you use hard light for that dramatic look. I’ve been having an issue with camera what I believe is camera shake so I thought I’d get your 2 cents. My lighting setup is speed lights, as I sadly cannot afford the gorgeous Lupolights. Running in full manual, I keep my shutter speed at the max Flash Sync speed. Sadly I still believe I’m getting camera shake at those speeds. I know you use a monopod for your longer lenses such as the 90, but most of my shots wouldn’t let me get away with one. Am I hitting a way with flash sync and minimum shutter speed for sharp images with the 56? Thanks much for any help!
Cheers,
Mason
Hi Mason,
You should be ok with 1/180th and flash with the 56mm however when the ambient light is significant in the mix you will get some blurring. I find 1/250th safe with the 56mm. When the ambient is not part of the exposure you should have no problems with Speedlights due to the short durations of the flash. Older studio flash can be different with a long tail burn. I like to use the IS on the 50-140 for my Speedlights on location work.
Kind regards,
Damien.
Wonderful images and interesting blog. Must try and get on one of your workshops soon.
Thanks Martin, I’ve got a USA road trip coming up and the Venice carnival. Keep an eye on http://lovegroveshop.com/experiences/ for new workshops or join Lovegrove Creative Facebook Group for advanced notice of new events. Cheers, Damien.
Hi Damien a superb set as usual
It’s lovely to see the Fuji pop on the colour samples too
Cheers, Mark :)