View allAll Photos Tagged bertstephani
Steenokkerzeel, BELGIUM
Wedding photography superstar Mike Larson and our very own master Pieter Van Impe joined forces for a LIME workshop at the Barn. This was simply a multiple orgasm of wedding photography information.
Check out my blog: www.bertstephani.com/blog
or our photography project: www.squeezethelime.com
Lovenjoel, BELGIUM
I was asked to give a demonstration about the way I work with off-camera flash on an event for the Belgian Federation of Professional Photographers. I gave a presentation for 20 minutes together with my buddy and wedding photographer Pieter Van Impe. Later that day we did a 45 minute live shoot.
I wanted to show how I improvise with the model and the location, so I didn't prepare anything. It wasn 't easy to look for backgrounds, set up lights, make pics and at the same time explain what I was doing to 60 photographers. So it's not my best work but I hope I gave an idea of the endless possibilities of small flashes.
Check out my blog:
Oostende, BELGIUM
I recently did a guerilla shoot together with my friend and fellow photographer Jean. The goal was to test the California Sunbounce Micro Mini reflector with flash attachement. We decided to go on a completely unplanned mission: no location, no make-up, no models, not much gear and no concept. Just shoot what we came up with at the moment.
Behind-the-scenes shot
Here's the YouTube video of this shoot.
Check out my blog:
Steenokkerzeel, BELGIUM
Accidently removed these pictures from my Flickr stream, so here they are again.
Shooting just for the fun of shooting is something that I need to do every now and then. No clients, no equipment test, no instructional videos - just fun. And when you can do that together with a very talented and equally charming photographer, it's even better.
One speedlight with shoot-through umbrella to camera right.
Check out my blog: www.bertstephani.com/blog
and our photography project: www.squeezethelime.com
Alpendorf, Sankt-Johan im Pongau, AUSTRIA
Like almost every year for the past 10 years or so, my parents and our little family went for a ski holiday in Austria.
When I recentely borrowed an Ixus in Valencia because my gear was stolen, I realised I had to get a good compact camera myself, so I bought a Canon Ixus. It's far from as powerful as my DSLR's but because it fits in my pocket I can take it with me all the time. Great for some memories I wouldn't have captured otherwise.
Closing ceremony at the ski school.
Also check out my blog:
Ghent, BELGIUM
After six months of work, MOTIVATIONAL LIGHT, my instructional video about lighting is finally available.
For more info, trailers, bonus footage and purchasing, visit:
This image was shot during a fast paced real life wedding shoot. We shot with the 5DmkII and my old Hasselblad 500cm with a combination of Kodak Tri-X 400 and a borrowed 39 megapixel CFV-39 digital back
Also check out my blog: www.bertstephani.com/blog
and our photography project: www.squeezethelime.com
Somewhere in Limburg, BELGIUM
Last Saturday my cousin got married and I had the honor to photograph this fantastic day. They choose to have a winter wedding and boy did they get what they wanted. Because of the unexpected snow we almost didn't get there.
Between church and reception I asked them to jump in the car and give me 15 minutes to make some pics in the snow before the sun would set. I saw this vineyard, pulled over and took some pictures.
I shot most of the wedding on digital but couldn't resist shooting a couple of rolls of film on my Hasselblad. This was all natural light and shot on Tri-X 400
Check out my blog: www.bertstephani.com/blog
or our photography project: www.squeezethelime.com
Oslo, Norway
I'm having a blast teaching a two day workshop in this wonderful city with an equally wonderful group of photographers. Linnea was our model for today. Despite the fact that posing when 25 photographers are watching you is really difficult, she was amazing and unleashed one killer look upon the other.
Check out my blog: www.bertstephani.com/blog
or our photography project: www.squeezethelime.com
Diepenbeek, BELGIUM
Some photographers loose their freshness, spontanity and creativity after a few years in this very competitive business. To avoid that happening to me, I take some time to play every now and then.
This time my friend and fellow photographer Karla, showed me some tricks for working in a small studio and I took her outside for some strobist style shooting.
TECH INFO
Vivitar 285HV on 1/2 or 1/1 power about 30 degrees to camera left as the main light. Another Vivitar with a grid was placed opposite the main light to provide just a liitle separation light.
Also check out my blog:
BELGIUM - Kraainem
A while ago I did a model shoot with the fantastic Kim Van Noten. We didn't have a real plan except for having fun while creating pictures. Ake was my kind assistant for this shoot and she also shot some video.
LIGHTING INFO:
I used one bare SB-24 on full power as a main light to overpower the ambient light. I zoomed it in to 50 or 70mm to create the vignetting effect.
More info, pics and video's can be found on my blog
PHOTO BY BERT STEPHANI - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Valencia - SPAIN
I went to the first congres of the European Federation of Professional Photographers (FEP) in Spain. My camerabag was stolen on the last day so I lost a lot of money and all my images. Luckily I got to use a friends IXUS to make at least some images.
Also check out my blog:
Steenokkerzeel, BELGIUM
Another shoot I did for LIME a while ago. I photographed Herlinde on her first shoot ever.
For a making-of video and more info, please visit www.squeezethelime.com
Hofstade, BELGIUM
After six months of work, MOTIVATIONAL LIGHT, my instructional video about lighting is finally available.
For more info, trailers, bonus footage and purchasing, visit:
This image was shot for a sequence in which we used the sun as a back/hair light and used several ways to light the subject.
Also check out my blog: www.bertstephani.com/blog
and our photography project: www.squeezethelime.com
Zaventem, BELGIUM
Suzanne is an Egyptian beauty who lives in Antwerp. She needed a small portfolio to audition for a part in a videoclip from her favorite Egyptian artist.
Suzanne's great looks, fantastic smile, natural posing skills and fun character made it easy for me. It's hard to believe that she never posed before and was very nervous the first 15 minutes.
Check out my blog:
Strombeek-Bever, BELGIUM
UPLACE, a fine corportate client, is going to sponsor triathlete Bruno 'Bruce' Clerbout so he can completely focus on his sports carreer as a professional athlete. They asked me to do some promo shots.
TECHNICAL INFO
The biggest difficulty for this shoot was that it was near freezing and extremely windy. To get some interesting light on this grey day, we had to light every shot with flashes. We also had to work extremely fast to avoid Bruno getting ill.
Bruno is lit with a Vivitar 285HV (full power) in a small softbox about 90° to camera right. We let just a bit of ambient light in to act as fill for the shadow side. The wall in the background went completely black, so we lit it with two Vivitars to get a subtle spot of light wich helps to separate from the background.
Also check out my blog:
Cologne, GERMANY
At photokina I only took one picture and my friends didn't do much better. On our way home from Photokina we were all so tired that we started taking pics anyway to stay awake.
The car at sunset
Check out my blog:
De Haan, BELGIUM
In my never ending quest for original angles and creative compositions, I started playing with an Olympus E-PL1 and an underwater housing.
Last weekend I took the kids for a short trip to the Belgian coast and took the camera and my wetsuit with me just in case I felt crazy enough to get into the freezing water for some first test shots. And yep ... I was crazy enough :-)
I only spent 10 minutes or so in the surf but I'm pretty happy with the results.
Check out my blog: www.bertstephani.com/blog
Steenokkerzeel, BELGIUM - Pictures from another shoot/video I did for LIME, our new educational project for photographers.
I tried to squeeze the most out of the available light on a short shoot with professional model Sylviane.
For a making-of video and more info, please visit www.squeezethelime.com
Also check out my blog: www.bertstephani.com/blog
De Haan, BELGIUM
I strongly (convince myself to) believe that professional photographers should take some time to play every now and then. We played around all the time when we where amateurs and that's what made us good enough to go pro anyway. So to become a better pro, I try to allow some time to play in my tight schedule.
A few months ago I got into a conversation between some like minded photographers and we decided to do some kind of fun shoot together. I actually didn't have the time but I went anyway. And I'm glad I did, because I came back with more energy and motivation.
More pictures soon, but we decided to publish our pictures all at the same time.
Check out my blog:
Erpe-Mere, BELGIUM - Professional photographer Pieter Van Impe (www.fotografie-vanimpe.be) shoots a real-life engagement session
For a making-of video and more info, please visit www.squeezethelime.com
Steenokkerzeel, BELGIUM - Professional photographer Bert Stephani (www.bertstephani.com) photographs Herlinde on her first shoot ever.
For a making-of video and more info, please visit www.squeezethelime.com
Aalst, BELGIUM
We did this series of pictures in an old factory to illustrate how you can 'flow' from one lighting setup to the next. Check out the cool making-of video we made at:
Brussels, BELGIUM
Tonight I was one of the few fortunate people who got to play with a beta version of the new Canon EOS 5D mkII
I only held it for like two minutes but that was enough to be really impressed. It feels and handles well and it's amazing how little noise you get with such a megapixel packed sensor at high resolution.
I shot some HD video's at high iso's and they look just amazing. Too bad I'm not allowed to share them yet.
Because this is a beta camera there's no software that can handle the RAW-files, that's why I shot this picture in jpeg. This pictures was shot at iso 3200.
This is how it looks straight out of the camera.
I'm very impressed with this camera, thanks Canon.
Check out my blog:
Erpe-Mere, BELGIUM
After six months of work, MOTIVATIONAL LIGHT, my instructional video about lighting is finally available.
For more info, trailers, bonus footage and purchasing, visit:
This image was shot for a sequence to illustrate how to use the "shelter technique" aka the "afdakskes technique".
Also check out my blog: www.bertstephani.com/blog
and our photography project: www.squeezethelime.com
BELGIUM - Ghent
It's allways difficult to make a good corporate groupshot. It's even harder if it's almost completely dark, without a good indoor location and if you have only about 5-10 minutes to make the picture.
PHOTO BY BERT STEPHANI - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
LIGHTING INFO:
I used two speedlites on stands to my left and to my right. By placing these small flashes further away from the subjects and not too much to the sides, the light fall-off is not that extreme, so everyone gets a fair amount of light.
I gaffer taped a third flash to a railing behind the group to create some separation and make the image a bit stronger.
By photographing at iso 800 and using a shutterspeed of 1/13 I managed to keep some blue in the sky.
Amsterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
I'm teaming up with the famous wedding photographer Mike Larson (www.mikelarson.com) for 3 workshops organized by Calumet Photo and California Sunbounce in Belgium and Antwerp. To be honest Mike is doing most of the work and I just demo how I use Sunbounce reflectors in combination with off-camera flash to create a natural look. Long days but lots of fun.
In Amsterdam the weather was reasonable (cold and windy but no rain). We had a pretty nice sky so I choose to take our amazing bride Julia to the parking lot for a little shoot.
I bounced just one Vivitar 285HV on a Sunbounce Pro reflector for some soft yet directional light and still keep detail in the sky. We used the zebra to warm up the main light for a nice contrast with the blue sky.
Putting Julia on a couple of pallets and shooting up allowed me to get rid of the pretty ugly buildings in the background.
Check out my blog: www.bertstephani.com/blog
or our photography project: www.squeezethelime.com
De Haan, BELGIUM
After a stormy periode in my life, the kids and I needed to recharge our batteries again to start a new chapter. So we went for a couple of days to the Belgian coast.
This was shot with my Hasselblad 500cm, 80mm, Ilford HP5+ 400
Check out my blog: www.bertstephani.com/blog
and our photography project: www.squeezethelime.com
Zaventem, Belgium
I live pretty close to the Brussels airport, so when I heard that a plane of Kalitta Air ran out of runway and crashed, I hurried to the place of the accident to take some pics. I was there before they closed of the place, so I could get pretty close.
Rotterdam, THE NETHERLANDS
I'm teaming up with the famous wedding photographer Mike Larson (www.mikelarson.com) for 3 workshops organized by Calumet Photo and California Sunbounce in Belgium and Antwerp. To be honest Mike is doing most of the work and I just demo how I use Sunbounce reflectors in combination with off-camera flash to create a natural look. Long days but lots of fun.
Today In Rotterdam, we were in a large studio. Great spot for studio photography but not much available light to find. A couple of small tungsten lights were pretty much everything I could find. I used them to create an out-of-focus background. The model was lit with a single speedlight at 1/16 power bounced of a Sunbounce Pro (zebra fabric). On the shadow side we put a silver Mini reflector as fill light.
Check out my blog: www.bertstephani.com/blog
or our photography project: www.squeezethelime.com
BELGIUM - Melsbroek
Lately I've been incredibly busy. I'm really grateful that business is going so well, but sometimes I really need a break from it. That break doesn't have to be two weeks on an exotic beach (but if you offer me I'll gladly accept it). Yesterday my two eldest kids went geocaching (www.geocaching.com) with my friend David and his kids.
These couple of hours outdoors with happy kids and a good friend gave me such an energy boost.
Forget all the expensive toys, kids like to play with sticks. Here's Maya
Viroinval, BELGIUM
Some pics of the camping trip in the Ardennes with the kids.
All shot with the Panasonic Lumix GF1 and the 20mm with available light
Check out my blog: www.bertstephani.com/blog
and our photography project: www.squeezethelime.com
Meise, BELGIUM (studio)
I was seriously considering not doing weddings anymore next year, in fact the decision was made. But some amazing weddings this year made me recall that decision. Bart and Marleen are two fantastic people who trusted my vision and skills completely and are amongst some other couples that pushed me to go on.
Next year I'm going to do a limited amount of weddings and I'm going to do it my way. I'll focus on quality instead of quantity. I won't guarantee to capture every little moment any more but I will guarantee that I'll capture the mood of the day in less but better pictures.
Check out my blog: www.bertstephani.com/blog
or our photography project: www.squeezethelime.com
Steenokkerzeel (studio), BELGIUM
I don't do a lot of typical studio photography and usually white seamless backgrounds are considered as the enemy. So I hesitated to take on this job for fashion designer Griet Verhoeven (www.enolah.be). Having the opportunity to work with my favorite model Erika, made me do it. And I'm glad I did it. It was a valuable lesson about being open to other kinds of photography. Much to my own surprise I enjoyed this shoot a lot. The soft light and white seamless makes you focus on posing much more, because that's the only tool left to tell your story. The extremely professional attitude and fun collaboration with the model, the designer, her assistant/stylist and the photographer was also very enjoyable.
Check out my blog: www.bertstephani.com/blog
or our photography project: www.squeezethelime.com
Steenokkerzeel (Studio), BELGIUM
I really needed to do something different in the studio. After being inspired by a lecture of Paulo Reversi, I set all the flash/studio gear aside and go back to basics. I spent 70 EUR in the DIY store on a pair of halogen worklights and shower curtains (to make a large lightsource) and a couple of rough blankets as a background.
Check out my blog: www.bertstephani.com/blog
Steenokkerzeel (studio), BELGIUM
I don't do a lot of typical studio photography and usually white seamless backgrounds are considered as the enemy. So I hesitated to take on this job for fashion designer Griet Verhoeven (www.enolah.be). Having the opportunity to work with my favorite model Erika, made me do it. And I'm glad I did it. It was a valuable lesson about being open to other kinds of photography. Much to my own surprise I enjoyed this shoot a lot. The soft light and white seamless makes you focus on posing much more, because that's the only tool left to tell your story. The extremely professional attitude and fun collaboration with the model, the designer, her assistant/stylist and the photographer was also very enjoyable.
Check out my blog: www.bertstephani.com/blog
or our photography project: www.squeezethelime.com
Steenokkerzeel, BELGIUM
Another shoot I did for LIME a while ago. I photographed Herlinde on her first shoot ever.
For a making-of video and more info, please visit www.squeezethelime.com
BELGIUM - Kraainem
A while ago I did a model shoot with the fantastic Kim Van Noten. We didn't have a real plan except for having fun while creating pictures. Ake was my kind assistant for this shoot and she also shot some video.
More info, pics and video's can be found on my blog
PHOTO BY BERT STEPHANI - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
BELGIUM - Zaventem/Tervuren
wedding S&N
PHOTO BY BERT STEPHANI - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
LIGHTING INFO:
This picture is taken at noon outdoors. There's a bare SB-24 on a stand to camera right. Placed just out of the frame on full power and zoomed in, the flash overpowered the background 2-3 stops. Triggered with PW's.