Tag Archives: Studio

Portraits

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Michael Willems

Here’s a shot from last night’s Portrait Lighting workshop: That is a classical portrait: Key light (metered normally); with a softbox. Fill light (two stops darker), also with a softbox. Hairlight (a speedlight using a grid). Another speedlights as a … Continue reading →

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Last call for….

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Michael Willems

….tomorrow night’s course in Hamilton, Ontario on Studio and Portrait photography (www.cameratraining.ca/Studio-Ham.html). In just three hours, from 7-10pm, get the fundamentals plus lots of practical tips and “guaranteed success” starting points, or “recipes”, for studio-style portraits. It’s just $145, a very small class, taught by me in … Continue reading →

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Posted in Light, Picture of the day, Technique | Tagged | 2 Comments

Studio is simple

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Michael Willems

Studio shooting is very simple. This, today at my Vistek flash course, took but a moment or two to set up: a studio, using just ordinary speedlights and a few accessories: Two speedlights, fired by pocketwizards. One on a lightstand, … Continue reading →

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Building a studio portrait

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Michael Willems

A “standard” studio portrait is very simple to build if you have three or four flashes; and it is entirely repeatable, that is its beauty. Here’s how you do it in six easy steps: ONE set the camera to settings … Continue reading →

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Sam The Studio Man

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Michael Willems

When I prepare a tricky shot, I tend to use  stand-in model while I work on light, so the model does not need to stand there for half an hour while I adjust and move lights. But these stand-in shots … Continue reading →

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Cool colour

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Michael Willems

I shot some demo product shots with my student Merav today, and I thought I would share them here to underline the importance of colour. Here’s one, a simple one. Lit by a softbox on the leeft, an umbrella on the right, … Continue reading →

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Tip of the day

Posted on September 10, 2011 by Michael Willems

Thinking a little more about yesterday’s post: here’s a suggestion for you. When you find a setup thart works, or when you pack your bag just the way you like – anything like that, make a one-page cheat sheet for … Continue reading →

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A simple lighting setup?

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Michael Willems

What one person finds complicated, another finds simple. And vice versa. A friend who visited the other night reminded me of this, when I talked about the simple four-flash light setup I was using for a headshot: And as he … Continue reading →

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Studio cameras

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Michael Willems

Professional studio portrait cameras have to be the most expensive models. That’s just a given. Right? Oh wait. No… they do not need to be the most expensive. I have taken many studio shots with Digital Rebels and a 50mm … Continue reading →

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About that home studio

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Michael Willems

One more about the simple TTL home studio. I can give you some pointers to do your own. Here’s how. You need: A modern SLR camera. A lens – anything over 50mm will do. A 50mm f/1.8 might be a … Continue reading →

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Posted in Gear, Light, Technique | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment