News about StudioFD, Frank Doorhof, and more.

iPhone x

Ok so the iPhone x has been released what are your thoughts? Let me share mine.

I’ve been critical to Apple ever since the mbp. Since than my Apple Watch has been switched and even my Macpro and iPad are replaced. The reasons….. very simple.

Where Apple always was first and best it’s now the best in build quality and probably experience but it’s running behind on things that are already available with the competition.

So what are my thoughts.

Don’t worry this will be short.

Love love the iPhone x

Let’s be honest it’s gorgeous it’s amazing and incredible, almost magical (like Apple said) the design is really nice and I like the new camera options although in all honesty you can do the same very quickly in Lightroom mobile or other apps.

Love the depth effect on the front camera

Love wireless charging, although I don’t see me doing this at home. But at Starbucks, airports etc it’s very handy

Face recognition is WOW and I mean WOW. Awesome and magical.

And that’s about it.

I don’t care about animojis. Yeah it’s fun and I would love to use it for fun.

Now in all honesty I was almost planning on not switching to the Samsung note 8. I’m still a bit terrified to do it because I only had ios smart phones. But my experiences with the Samsung tab s2 has been nothing less than good and very positive.

So what did me change my mind…..

Something I never expected to say, the design of Apple iPhone x has a MAJOR flaw and I can’t believe that they did this.

We have all seen the mock ups with the top part where all the cameras are housed. My expectations were that when you watch a video or look at a photo that this part would be totally black. To my horror it isn’t. At first annewiek told me that that would be something I could get used to…… heck no. Never. It’s like a dust particle under my protector. My eyes just drift towards that gaping gap where video or photos are supposed to be…… it’s not the way I would expect a end design team to work. I’m actually quite shocked.

So what next

I’ve been waiting for a new phone because I wanted to do more with video on the phone and IS on the tele is very welcome plus external audio. The note 8 caught my attention to the very bright screen (1200 nits vs 750) which is awesome when flying my drone in the sun. Als the Samsung supports external mics

I love the depth effect but also want raw support and of course being able to alter the effect after taking the shot. Samsung offers this including the option to take both wide and tele shots and altering the effects afterwards.

AR looked awesome but in reality I will never use it. I’m just not a gamer. I shoot and edit photos and video, I consume media, do mail and social media and I love the idea of the spen for video editing. (Love iMovie but with your fingers on the iPhone 7plus was not really handy. With the iPad Pro it’s awesome).

So……

After many many years of Apple iPhones which I absolutely loved it’s now time to say farewell to my beloved iPhone series. And even when you take out the idea of the gap the pricing Is just insane. 999.00 will be 1159 euros in the Netherlands which means the 256gb will probably be 1350. The note 8 retails for 999 plus a free dex station valued at 159.00. Saves me a lot of money.

What will I spend that money on…..

On the Apple TV 😉

Finally 4k and hdr and with Apple TV you know for sure that Netflix and youtube will be supported plus I found a good working remote on android 😉

So what are your ideas?

Don’t get me wrong. I still love the whole Apple feel and mood. And will probably always be an Apple fanboy. Only now without Apple products.

Man it feels weird.

One more thing….

4k 60fps is superb but my other video material is all 4k 25fps so I have to integrate it into that timeline. Also 1080p 240fps is great but I hardly use it for “real” material. But hey that’s me. Your opinion might be totally different.

Ultimate weekend 2017

On November 24/25th its time again for the most intense workshop I teach, the “Ultimate Weekend”. A jampacked weekend with everything you want to know about modelphotography.

Lighting, mixing lightsources, lighting on location and in the studio, building budget sets, working in tight spaces, using smoke, gels, alternative lightsources, coaching and posing the model, styling, retouching, workflow, calibration, business and social media tips, portraits, duo shoots, movement, lightshapers for powerful images and much much more….

ONLY this week we have the early bird offer.
Instead of paying 799.00 you now get 100.00 retour when you book.
So head on over to https://frankdoorhof.com/web/tours/ultimateweekend/ and book your seat.. You WILL love it.

 

 

Our YouTube channel

In case you aren't already, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. During our travels you can see an almost daily vlog with the areas we visit plus some tips (photography and RV related) plus we try to build an active community. In other words you always get an response to your post or question.

When we are home you are seeing behind the scenes vlogs during workshops,including the lightsetups and results.

But also photography and retouching tips in digital classroom, a 2 hour live stream every month with a complete Shoot and retouching session.

And of course we have our review and product video series "quite frankly"

We put a lot of effort in to building our channel and would love for you guys to help out. So spread the news and subscribe, smash that like button (we really like that) and leave comments.

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Black on black

A quick tip

Often people struggle with black outfits against a black background.

In essence it's not really that hard.
First off, to make sure there is no light hitting the background make sure you meter the background app 5 stops lower than your main light (reflective). If that doesn't work chance the distance between the model and the strobe (inverse square law, light falls off over a distance) move it closer to the model and keep the distance to the background equal would mean less light is hitting the background.

Also use a grid to make sure no spill is hitting the background (or use a flag).

I personally love to use side lighting.
Now with side lighting you have this problem of the shadow side disappearing. To solve this place an accent light on the opposite side. Make sure you also hit the jawline and you get an amazing shot.

It takes a bit of moving around and it all limits the posing options, but if it works 😉

Want to know more….?
We are releasing a brand new full length tutorial soon covering everything from black to white backgrounds, posing, lightsources etc.