Miss België fotograaf in de fout (dutch language)

Op 17 augustus 2023 maakte de vrt bekend dat een fotograaf binnen de organisatie ongepast gedrag vertoonde. Algemeen komt het erop neer dat een administratieve medewerker (die ook fotograaf is) ex kandidaten van Miss België contacteerde voor naaktshoots en enigsinds in een kleine vorm #metoo gedrag vertoonde. (#metoo is ook seksueel gedrag maar er waren geen seksuele handelingen!)

Bron: vrt (zie artikel)

“In een van de berichten vertelt de man dat hij enkel een gratis fotoshoot ziet zitten als de vrouwen zonder bh poseren. Soms laat hij ook weten dat hij enkele foto’s van hen wil nemen waarbij ze hun borsten niet bedekken. Ook wanneer de kandidates blijven weigeren, contacteert de man hen opnieuw. Zo kon onze redactie een online gesprek inlezen waarin de man tot zes keer toe terugkomt op zijn vraag, over een periode van drie jaar.“

Bijgevoegd de link naar het artikel.

https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2023/08/17/miss-belgie-fotograaf/

Op dat moment zat ik erg verveeld met de situatie. Iemand van de pers stond na het bericht direct ‘s morgens aan mijn deur voor een interview met het idee dat ik deze persoon zou zijn.

De reden is niet ver te zoeken. Op de Instagram pagina van Miss België staat mijn naam regelmatig vermeld waardoor een ‘link’ snel gemaakt is. “Joeri Peeters Photography”, het zal die wel zijn en mijn adres is terug te vinden op deze website.

Voor alle duidelijkheid ben ik een freelancefotograaf die de afgelopen jaren in opdracht werkte voor het MB comité en dus NIET de persoon ben waarover het artikel gaat.

In het artikel staat vermeld:

“De vaste fotograaf en mede-organisator van Miss België contacteerde herhaaldelijk verschillende ex-kandidates voor naaktshoots….”

Het personeel dat werkt bij Miss België vindt u terug op de officiëlle site van Miss Belgium.

Ik ben tegen elke vorm van #metoo en het is mijn taak om tijdens de shoots met de kandidaten hen te verwittigen van de gevaren van shoots te doen met fOUtografen.

Toch zijn er telkens jonge dames die zich laten vangen. Ik leg echter NOOIT de schuld bij hun. Soms is het naïviteit, het spannend vinden of willen opscheppen tegenover vrienden. De dame in kwestie is NOOIT in fout.

Wanneer echter het ‘jonge’ model zich ongemakkelijk voelt en meermaals twijfelachtig gedrag vertoont op de vraag van de fotograaf om naakt te gaan maar uiteindelijk toegeeft dan vind ik dit spijtig.

Zo contacteerde een jonge vrouw mij een tijdje gelden die inging op de vraag om enkele ‘naakt’ beelden te sturen naar de fotograaf. Op dat moment was ze minderjarig.

Ik ben absoluut niet tegen naaktshoots of boudoir zolang beide partijen hier elkaar in kunnen vinden.

In mijn portfolio vindt u dan ook professionele stijlvolle naaktfoto’s terug omdat ik deze shoots ook aanbied. (Denk bijvoorbeeld aan een vrouw die nooit de stap durfde zetten en een boudoirshoot als cadeau krijgt van haar man —> zie cadeaubons). https://www.joeripeeters.com/boudoircb

Wanneer een vrouw na 20 jaar nog eens fier naar een afgedrukte kwalitatieve naaktfoto kijkt toen ze zwanger was, zijn dit voor haar mooie en dierbare herinneringen. En dat is onze taak als portret fotograaf. We leggen een ‘moment’ vast in iemands leven dat zich nooit meer kan herhalen.

Wat echter niet kan voor mij is ‘stalking’ gedrag vertonen en misbruik maken van je postitie binnen een bedrijf. ‘Nee is nee’ en daarmee uit.

Ik wil hier niet al te negatief zijn want ik ben ervan overtuigd dat het merendeel van fotografen correcte mensen zijn. Toch zijn er fOutografen die nog een stapje verder gaan (tot ongewenste seksuele handelingen) en hiermee wegkomen. De dames in kwestie zijn steeds bang dat de fotograaf naaktfoto’s van de shoot op het internet zou gaan publiceren.

Ik heb dan ook lang nagedacht hoe ik hiermee zou omgaan. Stoppen met het MB verhaal of niet. U kan begrijpen dat ik elke vorm van negatieve reclame als de pest kan missen en ik het helemaal niet leuk vind dat er mensen zijn die maar enigszins zouden kunnen vermoeden dat ik de fotograaf in kwestie zou zijn. Ik wil nogmaals benadrukken dat ik met heel deze gebeuren niets te maken heb.

Ik heb de afgelopen jaren met plezier mijn taak als fotograaf voor het Miss België comité uitgeoefend en mevr. Darline Devos en partner Guy zijn intussen vrienden geworden. Het zou onfair zijn om hen te laten vallen en het is net om die reden dat ik dan ook verder met het MB comité zal samenwerken.

Enkel de medewerker is uit de bocht is gegaan. Mijn vrouw en ik hadden met hem steeds een goede verstandhouding en waren zodanig geschrokken dat hij ondanks een verwittiging van 1 1/2 jaar geleden zijn gang bleef gaan. We hopen dat hij zich herpakt en inziet dat zulk gedrag echt niet kan maar iedereen verdient een tweede kans.

Shoot with Emilie Vansteenkiste (Miss Belgium 2023)

(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…

The new Miss Belgium 2023 and me but this time I am also the model and not the photograper:

Photo: Bjorn Vanryckeghem

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.

From the shoot of all Miss Belgium finalists Emilie quickly posed while she was waiting. I only needed to press the shutter button one time to get this shot. (only some minor dodge and burn was done)

For the picture above I used this setup:

- Godox AD1200 Pro with Godox Parabolic 128 with D1 diffuse to soften the light.

- Lasoltite triflector to brighten the shadows

- Godox AD200 with small round reflector on a manfrotto nanopole to create some vignet light on the back

- A hair blower

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.

The blancket comes in handy when the weather is cold. Always take care of your models.

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.

The Smallrig L plate with Arca Swiss attached to my Sony A1. Easy to switch on a tripod between shooting horizontally or vertically.

The Smallrig RA-D55 parabolic softbox

There is also a larger RA-D85 version. Here shown with included grid (and double diffuse)

These softboxes come in a beautiful and sturdy bag and both inner and outer diffuse is included and you don’t need to buy the grid seperately as it is also included!

The softbox is easy to open and close. Numbers are provided where to start.

The inner diffuse is double layered in the middle so there is no hot spot. The light spreads more evenly. Good thinking Smallrig!

Don’t use the outer diffusion when using the flash outdoors and from a further distance. Too much light is lost. (Inverse square of law)

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.

The Godox AD600Pro attached on a lightstand. I often use the SMDV 70cm speedbox but the smallrig RA-D55 is a great alternative. Good build quality & beautiful light.

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.

Bad weather, zero sunlight makes photos a bit flat.

Using flash I made her “pop”.

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.

Miss Belgium 2023, Emilie Vansteenkiste. Use flash to simulate sunlight. The light quality of the RA-D55 is excellent! Build quality is on par with SMDV but the SMDV mechanism to open and close remains better.

Settings:

1/320

ISO 100

f/2.8

Flash with Smallrig RA-D55 with inner diffuse

A close up picture of Emilie where I used a faster shutterspeed to darken the surroundings.

Measure the light. 2.80 on my lightmeter is f/2.8 on my camera.

Just add the ISO and shutterspeed and set the power of the flash. It is as easy as that.

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.

The new GODOX XPROII for SONY. An improved already good flash trigger.

Camera: Sony A1

Lens: Sony GM2 70-200

With the Legacy hotshoe function you can use a Nikon trigger on a Canon or Fuji and vica versa but without intelligence. HSS and TTL will not work!

The new improved locking mechanism. Sadly the foot of the sony version is still made of plastic.

The new Godox X pro II has a new scan button to check for interferences.

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

We went for a hot chocolate and scrolled through the pictures.

Miss Belgium 2023, Emilie Vansteenkiste, Me and president of Miss Belgium Comité Darline Devos.

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

Fashion workshop at Cameranu with Kedist Deltour!

Happy to announce I will give a fashion workshop with Kedist Deltour on April 29th at Cameranu in Antwerp.

Workshop at CameraNU

Shoot with the 32 Miss Belgium 2023 finalists in Sharm-El-Sheikh Egypt

I just got back from Egypt to Photograph the 32 finalists of the Miss Belgium 2023 contest.

It was again a great experience as both the atmosphere and weather was great. Because of tear muscle I was not able to walk longer distances but the hotel provided me a wheelchair.

80% of the time I keep my camera on a tripod and shoot from a lower angle so I could sit down. For the portraits I was standing up and sometimes my leg did a hurt a lot but finally everything went well. I would not have managed without the wheelchair.

Again I was a little annoyed because the customs always make a fuss about the batteries I carry with me. Arriving in Egypt everything went (smoothly) but when we left for Belgium it became another story. The batteries of the GODOX ad1200 Pro are less than 100 Wh and allowed in the carry in luggage but the customs did not believe me. Batteries were taken back to the check in and the pilot approved. Finally everything turned out well but it is always a moment of stress. Why is it so difficult every time to pass the check points?

For 4 days we started shooting at 07:00 and stopped at around 15:30 and I had to photograph 8 contestants. 32 in total.

• In evening dress

• In Caroline Biss outfit

• Portraits

• Portrait with swimming cap (my favorite of the day)

The day before we left I also photographed the current Miss Belgium Chayenne van Aarle very early in the moring at the swiming pool. I woke up at 04:30 and started photographing at 05:15 when the sun was rising. You only get 15 minutes to get the shot but the result is stunning. I am very happy with the result. Sadly I cannot post any photos until the 12th of February until the new Miss Belgium 2023 has been chosen.

As a light setup I only used one flash. The Godox AD1200 Pro with a 60 cm beauty dish diffused inside. For the close ups a manfrotto 2 stop diffuser was used in front of the beautydish.

The Sony G 24—105 f/4 was my main lens used on my Sony A1. Only for Chayenne I also used the Sony GM2 70-200 f/2.8.

Because of the bright light I choose to use a ND4 filter (2 stops). Most of the time I shot at ISO 50, 1/200 between f/4 and f/5.

With this setup I am flexible. Worst case scenario is the photos are max 1 stop over exposed. (at 1/400, ISO 50, f/5) but in darker places I can shoot at 1/100, f/4 and ISO 250. I never removed the 2 stop ND filter.

Light was measured by a Sekonic L-858d with build in Godox wireless module adjusted to the 2 stop filter.

I also connected a Feelworld Lut6 HDMI monitor. The colors are very accurate and it is very bright even with the harshest sun light. It’s 2600 nits!

The president of the Miss Belgium comité was able to check the pictures I was doing.

I could have used a smartphone or tablet too but I also used this setup in February this year and it worked out well. Never change a winning team…

Doing this kind of work is teamwork. I was very happy to work again with emilieguillermin as a MUA and Brian as hairstylist and of course with the president Mrs. Darline De Vos, Anaïs and my lovely wife Nancy who took care of me in every way. (like pushing the wheelchair)

We used the matras on the ground to block the wind.

To cut a long story it was again a wonderful week and can’t wait to show you the results.

This photo was the cover photo for the show magazine of last years Miss 2021, Kedist Deltour.

For this photo I used a Godox AD600 Pro with standard reflector and AD200.

Shoot with Miss Belgium 2022 Chayenne Van Aarle

On October 22, 2023 I did the photoshoot for the official “portrait” photos for Miss Universe. I am writing “I” but it is always teamwork. The guideline by Miss Universe is to shoot on a flat grey or black background.

Most of the time I use a flash on the background to create a gradient (vignet) to separate the model from the background but this was not allowed. A way to separate a model from the background is to use back light and that is what I did.

My main light was the Godox Parabolic 128 with a D2 diffuser to soften the light even more powered by a Godox AD1200 pro mainly aimed downwards. By positioning the light this way the light does not reach the background. To brighten the shadows I used a tri reflector by Lasolite. To be honest I use this reflection screen not enough. It creates beautiful light and a nice catch light in the eyes.

As backlight I used 2 small jinbei (they are actually very good) 80cm stripbox double diffused with honeycomb grid to make sure the light does not spil in all directions. Both powered by 2 Godox AD200’s in a dual head.

As back hair light I used another AD200 and a Godox AD-S7 as soft box.

Chayenne was positioned about 2,60 meters from the background. I added a white vinyl marker on the ground to make sure photos were consistent. (check photo)

All lights were measured using a Sekonic L-858D.

Settings used:

Sony A1 with Sony G 90mm macro f/2.8

1/200

ISO 100

f/9

The result with this setup. Post processing was done in Capture One Pro & Photoshop. Mainly just dodging and burning and some color grading.