Frank Doorhof

Sony 70-400 G SSM II

Jun 18

Posted by Frank Doorhof in blog, Reviews | 2 Comments

I’m in love with the image quality that the A99 gives me in the studio, on the street and…. well about always.
But how does it perform with sports?
During my first test with sports I was less then impressed with the A99, but found out that this was a know problem and 100% the fault of an error on my side, I left the E-shutter active which results in bad images with high shutter speeds, so when I got the chance to go out this weekend for a little less than an hour to shoot some Motocross I was determined to not make that mistake again. Sony send the their newest 70-400 G SSM II lens to test so I was also curious how this lens would perform.

Let me start by saying that I don’t really like these kind of lenses, now don’t get me wrong they can be great but I always want something faster, on the Canon I used the Sigma 120-300 f2.8 for which I would kill on the Sony mount (please Sigma), the main disadvantage from the 70-400 (kind of lenses) is the maximum apertures which, also with this lens, is F4 – F5.6 which for sports is not ideal if you want ultimate speed, but hey we have to work with it, so let’s go.

The first thing you will notice from the lens is it’s weight, this is a very well build lens, it’s heavy, but not too heavy, it’s white (even the sun hood) and it just feels all very solid and smooth. The lens looks great on the A99 but that’s another story.

So how does it perform….

Read the rest of this entry »

BTS during the UK tour Legoland

Jun 17

Posted by Frank Doorhof in blog | 2 Comments

The last week you have seen some of the images I shot during the workshops in the UK, today I want to share some of the Behind The Scenes shot I got from one of the attendees Chris Rowe, he posted some on facebook and I immediately asked him to send them to me for my personal use on the blog, luckily he agreed so today I can give you a small behind the scenes peek at the workshop in Legoland.

But first of all I would like to thank some people.
First of all the guys from the Flash Centre who made everything possible and were absolutely AWESOME during the workshops (and after/before), over a short period of time they have become almost my “other” family from the UK, they ROCK.

But also of course our crazily creative model/stylist/MUA Nadine who travelled with us during this trip.

And of course Annewiek for filming the setups and being my assistant/manager/shoulder to cry on etc.

But most of ALL…. and I mean most of all the attendees of the workshops, you guys make it 100% enjoyable and create a great mood to work in, you guys are the reason I come over and you ROCK, thank you all so very much.
And now….. the images.
Again with many thanks to Chris Rowe.

Read the rest of this entry »

Workshops Austria July 14-18

Jun 15

Posted by Frank Doorhof in blog | 1 Comment

On July 14-18 I will be teaching workshops in Austria.
I’ve also done this show last year and can already tell you that this will be one of the highlights of the year, amazing locations, stunning models and LOADS of inspiration

See www.photoconvention.eu for bookings.
Also this year there is an amazing line up with names like Gerry Frank, Ondro Ovensy, Jamari Lior, Krolop and Gerst, Robert Pichler, Juri Tscharyiski, Calvin Hollywood…. etc.

For me these workshops are always a special occasion to go completely into overdrive mode because let’s be honest with amazing locations like castle and the ability to to 100% what you want with a small group of students is always a guarantee for portfolio material not only for the students but also for me I will be discussing and showing the following items (and much more).

Q&A, Metering for ambiant and strobes, Metering reflective and incident, Working with smoke, Going from ok to WOW, finding the right angles and views, Coaching the models, Adding motion to the shots, Posing that works, High contrast vs REALLY high contrast, Working with vintage lenses on modern DSLRs for that amazing look, Photoshop tips and tricks, Lightroom workflow, working tethered, One light setups that rock and much much more…. these days will get you so motivated and inspired you only want to go out and shoot yourself.

And the intro video:

Some of the images from last year (and this year will be a lot better )

Read the rest of this entry »

Studley castle with Nadine

Jun 14

Posted by Frank Doorhof in blog | 10 Comments

Now when someone tells me I can teach a workshop at a real castle I’m jumping up and down from joy because I know that there will be some amazing images, especially when your model is the always amazing Nadine. Today some images from the Studley castle workshop in the UK.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tethered shooting tips

Jun 13

Posted by Frank Doorhof in blog, Visions and technique | 5 Comments

I love to shoot tethered and whenever I can I will use my laptop to directly view my images.
In our studio I also shoot tethered of course, seeing your images on a big screen is not only nice for your clients but it also gives me the option to directly flag, delete and of course check my images. Now there are a few tips I want to share with you guys today on shooting tethered.

First of all make sure to check out our friends from Tethertools, they make some of the most useful products for shooting tethered, they ROCK. I always say “even if you shoot tethered sometimes, always use a jerkstopper” and I really mean this, it’s the best protection for your camera you can imagine, nowadays these little ports damage very quickly and the jerkstopper is the best insurance money can buy.

Safety first
One of the things that a lot of people seem to forget is that when you shoot tethered it does not automatically means that your images are save. I always tell people that when working with storage devices there are always a few things that are certain, first one day it will break down, and two it always happens at the moment that you really don’t want it. So in my book you always have to be prepared. So how do we do this ?

Read the rest of this entry »

Final images from the UK trip

Jun 12

Posted by Frank Doorhof in blog | 3 Comments

Today the final images from our trip to the UK.

Read the rest of this entry »

Landscapes

Jun 11

Posted by Frank Doorhof in blog | 2 Comments

Now I never ever called myself a landscape photographer, let’s be honest… I love movement, I love people, I love street scenes, but landscapes was never really my thing. However sometimes you visit areas where you just are breathless by the beauty of the landscape, and because I did watch some of my buddy Moose Peterson’s classes on Kelbytraining I thought why not, let’s shoot some landscapes. Today a collection of my fav shots from the trip through the Scottish highlands.