Model Throws Paint

Throw yourself into this audacious shoot.

As Karl photographs a model throwing paint, you’ll learn how to capture your own version of this stunningly daring image. You’ll cover everything from from lighting to posing, plus learn how to protect your gear, clean up all the paint, and contain this sort of mess in your studio.

You’ll also learn how to combine speedlights with studio flash, as well as how to achieve the fast flash burst necessary to freeze fast-moving subjects.

In this class:

  • Creative photography ideas for product photography
  • Precautionary measures for protecting equipment
  • How to freeze paint splashes using fast flash duration
  • Lighting techniques for edge lighting and hair lights
  • How to combine speedlights with studio flash lights

If you enjoy this class, be sure to check out Liquid Fashion and Model Paint Blast.

Questions? Please post them in the comments section below.

© Karl Taylor

Comments

  1. The lighting equipment is listed as
    6x Speedlite
    2x 3 Way Speedlite Bracket
    5x Elinchrom RX 1200 Head
    Elinchrom EL-Skyport Trigger

    Did the Elinchrom EL-Skyport Trigger control wirelessly all of the lights, including the Canon and Nissin Speedlites? Does the EL-Skyport have compatibility in controlling individually the flash output of each of those lights?

    1. Hi Hannu, yes although we had elinchrom recievers on the Canon speed lites I think (see at 2:39 on the far side set of flashes). From memory some of the speedlites had built in slaves so they would fire when the main flashes fired but some of the speedlites didn’t so we put elinchrom reciever triggers in them. However these days things have been simplified much more. Most flashes now have built in receivers or slave cells. Other flash trigger systems such as Pocket Wizard also allow you to reconfigure for different brands of flash.

      1. Thank you!

        I am currently considering how to combine my existing Canon 600EX-RT and 430EXIII-RT Speedlites (two of each) with 1-2 studio flashes (that I haven’t specified yet; perhaps 600–800 Ws each with built-in batteries of their own). I would like to get “oomph” enough for shooting, among others, aircraft inside hangars and display halls plus outdoors, seeking a working compromise within a reasonable budget. Perhaps I need to trade in the smaller Speedlites.

        The wireless synchronization can hardly happen with my present Canon Speedlite Transmitter ST-E3-RT, but the Pocket Wizard seems like a useful tip in searching a solution.

  2. Hope that light wasn’t damaged…
    The mode’s expression on the last shot was genuine after realising she splashed the beauty dish

    I wanna try to do something similar but can’t handle the mess.. Will think of it ..

  3. I do not understand the setting. Image taken in 1/500 of second (which is shutter speed) or in 1/8000 of second (Which is light speed)? what is relation between them

        1. Hi Abu, so in very simple terms if you watched those videos you would now know that from your original question that the flash is doing all the freezing of the paint. The shutter speed doesn’t matter it could have been 1/30th if the studio had been dark, the shutter speed only cuts out the daylight or room lights or modelling lights. The shutter speed doesn’t affect or cut out any of the flash because the flash happens to quickly for the shutter. The shutter speed I was using was mostly irrelevant as is the case in all high speed work in a studio. If you watch those videos that I gave you the links to you will have a very detailed and clear explanation of how that all works.

    1. Hi April, they are made from MDF I had my carpenter make them and then I painted them. I still have them in my studio and use them all the time although they have been painted white now. Find a carpenter and he can make them easily.

  4. Hi Karl,
    Iam currently studying flash duration since I need to do some shots with dancers and splash. My question is: using speedlights with low power make flash duration very low and allows freezing, but I see you used also other flash heads that I am not sure if they have the same short flash duration capabilities.

    Can I use different flash duration units and focus my shortest duration lights to the fastest moving parts of the scene? In case I use mixed lights, does the ones with longer duration affect/blurry my shot?

    Thanks and regards

    1. Hi Renato, yes you can do what you said as long as the other mixed lightings are not affecting your main subject to strongly and/or their duration is not too long. As with all these things a certain amount of experimentation will be required. Remember also that one of the biggest effects on flash duration that can cause light pollution is the modelling lamps being too bright and also being recorded in the shot, so take a test shot without flash to check if they are being recorded.

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