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I’ve posted some previews of the portrait session with sisters Léa & Mathilde 2 weeks ago on my Facebook & Flickr profiles, almost instantly I received questions about the colors & post-processing techniques I used. Some were speculating about added texture to the background others were asking me which actions I used in Photoshop.

These are the images:

I would like to take you on a quick post-processing & coloring tour, none of the images were processed in Photoshop nor was I using exotic actions to adjust colors & looks. Both images were processed in Lightroom where I do 80% of my processing. Lightroom is powerful enough to adjust colors & tonal range, I do admit that I use custom presets based on the lighting tools I use.

RAW conversion:
In the first screenshot I have 2 views, left-side view is the original RAW file (nef) – right-side view is the raw-conversion with a custom preset that adds contrast and decreases the color-temperature (Kelvin). This is a custom preset I always use because my camera white-balance is standard set to “flash”, why I use the “flash” white-balance in camera is something I discuss in my #CreateThatLight workshops (let’s call that my ultra-secret-technique). This first step takes me to a converted file on which I can start working on, I like to call this “base-level”.

Coloring & finetuning:
On this “base-level”-file I start adding brightness and contrast, the “blacks”-slider is used to control hard contrast. After these adjustments I try different settings in the HSL panel in Lightroom, this is a great tool to fine-tune your color-range. Left-side view is the result after contrast-control and fine-tuning the 8 different HSL ranges. After adjusting the color-range I do a final tweak on the color-balance and finish-off by adjusting the clarity-slider, as you can see in the right-side view. Next step is exporting the image to a high-resolution & web-resolution jpeg.

I hope that this quick insider gives you an idea how easy it is to adjust the color-range in Lightroom and how fast you can change the look of a portrait with these simple adjustments.

Images you’ll love or hate … this is a little lighting test I did with the California Sunbounce Wind-killer. This great tool blocks a large part of the wind by placing it next to your subject, that’s what it’s designed for. The rebel in me was curious to see which light-pattern the Wind-killer screen would create by using it as a “swatter”. I always try different product usage situations because they learn me how natural light travels and reacts.

Verdict:
As I suspected, the special woven screen material creates a very hard visible pattern but I like the “broken” look. The Wind-killer can definitely be used as a swatter but only in some cases (don’t buy it for that purpose). If you are looking for a gentle (more controllable) pattern then I would recommend using the Sun-swatter with “Le Louche” screens (mtk).

Colleague photographer Ioannis Tsouloulis was kind enough to share some BTS images from the set-up:

During my last “teaching #CreateThatLight trip” in the Netherlands I planned a meet ‘n shoot with the young and talented Laura Vink. She’s a Dutch photographer with a great vision on children’s photography and her work attracted me a while ago … We’ve made contact and I asked Laura if she could arrange a freestyle session with a local child-model, so she did and in no time the session with Bente was a fact. I’m VERY happy that it’s possible for me to be able to expand my network this way, viva social media!

The location for our shooting was “Maritime Museum” in Rotterdam, a fantastic outdoor location near the Erasmus bridge … If you ever plan to visit Rotterdam by night, this a location to discover!

I’ve started the session with a 1 (oldskool) bare speedlight set-up, off-camera and triggered by the PocketWizard TTL system. As I already mentioned in my previous blogposts I’m becoming a regular user of this system, it’s a bit difficult to get into your personal workflow and to get the TTL system to do what you want but once you’ve discovered the advantages it’s a bless! The  AC3 ZoneController is a must have add-on to control the ratio’s and the flash exposure.

Other examples of using the same TTL system, for these images I used a 43 inch white satin umbrella from Westcott. This umbrella has a unique collapsible shaft which is very handy because it fits my photobag.

After this short TTL lighting set-up I’ve switched to my good-old Sunbounce reflectors, here are some results from a typical “bounced-sunlight” set-up with a Mini Sunbounce and different black&white post-processing try-outs (all results are my custom GF-1 Lightroom presets I will be discussing in the near future on this blog).

When shooting trough the side-hole’s of Sunbounce panels you can create a vignetting … Not a high tech tip but I like the result. Snapshots (as in … not really planned this images – Bente was playing … I captured her).
These images are typical examples of shooting in my comfort zone, these are examples of my favorite reflector set-up.

CALIFORNIA SUNBOUNCE SPOT-SWATTER TESTDRIVE

I also took the time to test a new product by the people @ California Sunbounce, the “Spot-Swatter”. This tiny version of the well known Sun-Swatter is designed to be used as a diffusion screen to soften hard light like direct sunlight, speedlights and flashes or Arri lamps. When unpacking it for the first time I had my doubts because it has a very small surface, 60 x 65cm. Setting-up and handling the Spot-Swatter is a big advantage over the larger Sun-Swatter, within 1 minute the Spot-Swatter is unpacked and ready to use.

For the following example I used hard sunlight as the main lightsource, between the sun and Bente I placed the Spot-Swatter to create soft light. Due to the small diffuse surface it’s not possible to take full-body images off-course.

The Spot-Swatter can also be used to create soft light when you point a speedlight towards it, using the Spot-Swatter this way enables me to really find a perfect balance between available light and fill-in flash.

Set-up image, I used the California Sunbounce flash bracket to clamp my speedlight to the Spot-Swatter.

Funny shot of Bente:

Here are my Pro’s & Cons:

+ Portable, fast & easy set-up
+ Lightweight
+ Build quality
+ Can be used as a Sun-Swatter (to swat hard sunlight and create soft portraits)
+ Turns your “hard” flashlight into a softbox quality lightsource

- Price-tag*, for many “strobist” this product will be too expensive (€ 129,00)
- You need to buy an extra grip-head to mount the Spot-Swatter on a lightstand

(*) A note on the price-tag: when using this product professionally the build quality is very important, Sunbounce people have decided to use the same high-quality materials for this product.

BTS by Laura:

It was a pleasure to work with Laura, big kudos to Bente also!
Enjoy these BTS images that Laura shot and after enjoying them head over to Laura’s blog to watch her results!

My photographic work mainly consists of child fashion-photography but sometimes those commercial clients also create womens clothing lines. A great thing about being the in-house photographer for clothing brands is the extra opportunities you get, like shooting their womens clothing line. This time I want to give you a inside look on one of those shootings, there was no strict plan to follow – just a (lovely) model, a location and a bunch of clothing … this is what I call a “guerrilla” shoot.

A few days before the shooting I launched a call for 2 assistants via Twitter & Facebook … I found myself a crew of 2 assistants who happened to be great photographers as well.  As I mentioned before there was no plan … toghether with Jan & Jef we literally went from corner to corner to decide what would be the next (best) suiting place to shoot the images.  Working with assistants who can see and read light is a big advantage, it reduces stress on an already hectic shooting day and leaves more time to fool around while waiting for the model when she’s changing outfits. All BTS (BehindTheScenes) images are taken by Jan De Coninck, my other assistant aka. voice controlled light-stand was Jef Janssens. Big kudos to both of you – and thank you for the fun … Oh boy

I’ve given up on booking a make-up artist when shooting kids because it really is a hassle to keep kids motivated when they have to go into make-up each time but for a grown-up model it really makes a difference. For this shooting I’ve booked Elisa Utzeri, a professional artist I found via Facebook. Elisa is, in a few words, great / professional / flexible … and a charm to have with you on location.

BTS slideshow video …
Each time I have to work against “a” clock … I don’t know why but every time my clients underestimate the time-schedule. But with the right amount of humorist approach I tend to ignore the pressure and try to create a fun atmosphere for my client, the model and the crew. Here’s a BTS video that perfectly describes that feeling:

Here are some results … enjoy! (these are all California Sunbounce lit images – watch the video above for set-up images).

Often I get questions why and when I use speedlights … I prefer to use my Pocketwizard TT5 receivers triggered with a TT1 & AC3 zone controller while shooting motion because I can shoot wide-open (f2.8) and sync at high shutter speeds.

Here’s an example of using speedlights in TTL mode, without a light-modifier:

For this set-up I’m using a Lovegrove Gemini twin flash bracket with 2 Nikon SB900 (bare) flash in TTL mode (which works perfect to get some subtle fill-flash).

During my #CreateThatLight workshops attendees often ask me: “which actions do you use?” … I process all my images in Lightroom with some minor custom presets, every image is then sent to Photoshop for a custom sharpening action. I always try to reduce post-processing time by having a nearly perfectly lit image in camera, as shown below.

Here’s a screenshot of a RAW file after camera calibration (left) and a processed jpg (right), the only real difference after processing is the overall contrast.

Closer view:

NO tech gear blogpost this time but a plain and simple point and shoot session with my son Lennert (#Littlefolio) in available light, not a planned session but a real-life situation with results I’m sure we’ll (as mum&dad) enjoy many years from now. The GF-1 is always charged with a fresh battery and packed with an empty CF card to be ready to capture those great moments because you never now when #littlefolio will be doing his thing. It’s the best compact camera I’ve ever had and it’s able to shoot 720p video, a great feature …

Here is a iso800 video example of the 720p video quality, shot in available light – custom B&W color scene – 20mm pancake at f1.7.

Here are some stills, GF-1 iso800 – aperture priority – 20mm pancake at 1.7. Processed trough my custom LR presets which turn the raw GF-1 shots into dynamic jpgs.

Are these images the most perfectly lit shots?
Are these images a good example for my professional photography?
Are these images showing my skills as an experienced photographer?

… NO …

These are all snaps that captured a moment in time …

A moment when I forget what forums try to tell me
A moment what online classes want to teach me
A moment when I just forget what I stand for in the photographers community
A moment when it’s just my son and me

This moment is golden, and I wanted to share it with you …
#littlefolio … papa loves you!