(photos behind the scenes straight from the iphone without any modification like straightening the horizon)

For the third time in a row I did the traditional shoot with the new Miss Belgium 2023, Emilie Vansteenkiste on the beach of De Panne. The shoot always takes place the next day after the election and we all had very little sleep. It was in the news there was an attack planned against the Miss Belgium contest but due to the excellent work of police the attacker was caught beforehand.

I never felt unsafe and was happy the show could go on with an hour delay. We had a party afterwards and we slept at the wonderful Plopsa Hotel.

Thank you Darline Devos for asking me & Emilie Vansteenkiste for the wonderful afternoon.

First Emilie did the traditional shoot in bath for the press but that is not my thing. Too crowdy…

My wife Nancy Vrancken did the make-up and kept it very natural. It was perfect for Emilie because she is already beautiful without make-up.

Below is a photo of Emilie when she was waiting for the make-over at the shoot I did for the 32 finalists in October 2022.

I thought Emilie looked cute that way and asked to take place for a quick photo because I was waiting for the next contestant. I only needed to press my shutter button once to get this shot. Personally I like this picture very much.

It was 8° Celsius in De Panne. I always have a warm blanket in the car. I know from experience that this is often forgotten and the model appreciates this very much.

Most of the time I use flash. The reason is simple and is explained in more detail during my lectures and workshops. Using flash I have full control over the light, can determine its quality and direction, and therefore have more options in comparison with natural light and/or reflectors. It is an extra parameter to reckon with out of the lightning triangle.

I will be giving a workshop at Cameranu in Antwerp on April 29 with Miss Belgium 2021, Kedist Deltour if you are interested in my working method from preparation to the finished product.

WORKSHOP AT CAMERANU

Although I am an avid user of the Godox Parabolic 128, it is not always possible to use it due to its size and weight. So I took a small parabola from the brand "Smallrig". This brand is mainly known for making housings for cameras and all kinds of accessories. I regularly use their L-Plate for my Sony A1.

I will make a separate extensive review for the small rig RA-D55 and RA-D85. I can already say that the build quality is top and the light quality very good. You will quickly find other light shapers with this quality at this price.

I also used the newly released Godox Xpro II for Sony. It is the successor of the popular Xpro with some improvements. Especially the lock mechanism has improved, but I also think the menu structure is a welcome improvement. If you use a Sekonic L858D with godox module, there is now an L858D option that puts the trigger in dumb mode when you need it. In the previous trigger, this function was called "app". The separate TCM button disappeared. As soon as you switch from TTL to manual, the measured value is automatically converted.

I do not use the bluetooth function with which you can control the strength of the flash via the trigger. It makes no sense in my opinion as the Xpro II is very user friendly. I haven't fully went to all functions of the trigger yet, but there aren't many changes to make a detailed review. Still, I would choose the new version over the old one which is still a good trigger.

The RA-D55 is a small parabola with a diameter of 55 cm. You cannot compare this 55cm parabolic with a real parabola with a movable rod. Yet these small parabolas are very useful since the light can also bridge a greater distance. I only place the indoor diffuse because I place the lightmodifier at some distance from the model.

Here's a short video of the shoot recorded with a smartphone.

I attach my Godox AD600 Pro via a Manfrotto clamp on a standard light stand. The weight and low postion of the Godox AD600 Pro ensures that it cannot fall over that easily. You need the extension cable to make this possible. This setup is very practical. I can carry it myself or a helper can do it for you.

Unfortunately it was very cloudy that day, so you have to deal with flat light. I absolutely don't like it. There are no shadows and this results in less vivid images. Still, the clothing will come to life and it makes sense to use flash.

I'm not allowed to post the result with the pink dress yet, but this photo with Caroline Biss's clothing is.

(update 20/02/2023): Pictures are posted on the MB Instagram page.

For this photo I placed my Godox AD600Pro at an angle from the model so I could simulate some sunlight. It's a technique I use regularly.

Here you can see that I measure the light to make sure that the light of all the images I take is consistent. The advantage is mainly that I save time. The first photo I take after the measurement and adjustment is therefore always good. In my workshops I also show the importance of a light meter in the digital age.

We had a great time and another shoot is already planned at Rana Hair Extensions in March.

Because of the ugly light we decided to postpone the shoot and we plan for another shoot in De Panne.