Q&A with Belle Kringas

We recently met with Belle Kringas to collaborate on a photo/video shoot for the Sony a7R IV. We loved her youthful enthusiasm for inspiring other creatives and encouraging them to push their creative boundaries.

With this in mind, we decided to delve a little deeper to try and find the source of her passion, and determination.

How long have you been shooting? 

I have been shooting for 3 years. Starting in photography and now finding passions in art direction, videography and cinematography. 

Photographer @bellekringas | Models: Mona @shhhhhimona and Melissa @me.lissac

Tell us a bit about your work? 

My work is always focused on telling stories i wish to see more of, whether that’s highlighting a message, emotion or the people around me. I hope to motivate others to take action and trust in their own personal missions, as I am in mine simultaneously. 

 Photographer @bellekringas | Model: Kydra @kydrasaur

Where do you create most of your work? 

All of my work is created “on the road” regardless of shooting or editing, as there is never a set location I come back to. I could travel to 4 locations in a day for a photoshoot, or travel 3 hours for a scenic view, so I try to find creative ways to carry my gear, handle props and manage my editing schedule. When it comes to editing, I travel with my laptop everywhere. Some days that means camping out at a cafe, working from my phone to plan out ideas or meeting other photographers at their places for editing sessions. 

Photographer @bellekringas | Model: Rachel @rachelsyllaa

What are 5 essential bits of gear in your “studio”? 

The 5 essentials when i am out shooting are my tripod for any timelapses or cinemagraphs, a camera flash, or handheld video light, a microphone, my 16-35mm Sony GM lens and a cushioned pouch for all my spare batteries and SD cards. 

Photographer @bellekringas | Model Kymberlee @kymberleestreet

What inspires you?

What inspires me changes every day. There was a period of time where I created an entire visual story in the form of a digital novel, or watching YouTubers / influencers living out their daily lives yet having such a huge impact on people. The biggest inspirations always come back to people that are being true to themselves even when it’s difficult or vulnerable. The more people open up about mental illness, sexuality, feminism, race, culture and share it, the more I learn about myself. 

Photographer @bellekringas | Models: Mona @shhhhhimona and Melissa @me.lissac

Do you have any tips or advice for aspiring creatives who are starting out?

The best advice I could give is to remember we are all rookies and all experts at something. Recognise where you lack, and the skills you possess so you do not equate your value to how much you may fail/succeed. Utilise all the resources we have to learn from, whether that is learning After Effects through YouTube tutorials, or helping out fellow creatives on projects you are keen to get involved in. Researching gear is a massive help as well, if you are wanting to get started as a photographer or a videographer, the gear your favourite creatives use may not necessarily fit your lifestyle and uses. Ask yourself why you love the field you want to get started in, and find like minded individuals on and offline that can guide you or grow as you are.

Photographer @bellekringas | Model: Anonymous

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The Worlds Most Popular One Light Setup

What does the world of modern photography have to do with a Dutch painter from the 17th century?

Rembrandt Lighting. That’s what.

Rembrandt lighting is named after Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. Yes, that Rembrandt.

Generally considered one of the greatest story tellers in the history of art, he was a draughtsman, painter and print maker whose work possessed an exceptional ability to render people in their various moods using the technique of light and shade.

A master in the use of light and shadow.

The Rembrandt lighting setup is characterised by one side of the subjects’ face being lit, with the other side in shadow. The shadow cast by the nose meets the shadow created on the cheek to form a triangle of light under in between. This play between light and shade is why Rembrandt lighting is used when you want to add drama to your image.

The Rembrandt Triangle

Today Rembrandt lighting is arguably the most common one light setup used by portrait photographers on a budget. Its dramatic results make it an easy technique to add to your creative catalogue.

Can you spot the 'Rembrandt Triangle'?

A reflector placed at a 45° angle on the opposite side of the flash can help to soften the shadows on the darker side of your subjects face for a more subtle effect.

Add a reflector on the other side to lift the shadows.

Ready to up your portrait photography? Shop our range of flash, light modifiers and studio accessories. Still have questions? Why not come to a Photology workshop?

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DCW Photo Q&A - Wedding Photography with Ashley K

We caught up with Melbourne based wedding photographer, Ashley K to talk about her portrait and wedding work and to get some useful tips for aspiring photographers.  Ashley is a passionate, down-to-earth award-winning wedding photographer with nine years of experience.

Ashley has a genuine respect for traditional photographic conventions, but also loves to push the envelope and really put her creativity to work. She describes herself as a hopeless perfectionist and can happily spend hours in front of the computer tweaking little details to make masterpieces for her clients.

How long have you been shooting?

I have been shooting weddings for over 8 years now. My main passion is in wedding photography. I love the unpredictability of shooting weddings. Rocking up to new locations and shooting in various lighting conditions.

Tell us a bit about your work.

Primarily I am a wedding photographer, however, I have my own studio and during the week I photograph new-born’s and families.

I like to think my work is very inspired by light. I love the playful use of light in my wedding work. I also advertise myself as a destination wedding photographer and have been fortunate to shoot weddings all over the world.

Just last week I shot a wedding in Fiji and this month I am off to Europe to shoot a wedding in Tuscany. Travelling is another passion of mine, so I am grateful to be able to do both.

Where do you create most of your work?

Being a wedding photographer, I am all over really. Most of my local jobs are shot in Victoria's winery region, the Yarra Valley but as I mentioned, I am so lucky to have shot weddings all over the country and overseas.

Once I am finished shooting, I have a big passion for editing so all the final magic is created in my office at home. I don't like editing from a laptop. I like a large screen to be able to really see the image up close and put the finishing touches to create beautiful artwork for my clients.

What are 5 essential bits of gear in your “studio”?

Apart from the obvious being a camera, essential bits of gear would be:
High-speed Memory Cards:  I like to be able to shoot fast so having high-speed memory cards is really important to me, so that I don't miss moments especially during un-staged events like the ceremony or reception of a wedding. 

Lights and Flashes: These are so important to me especially if I want to create something interesting. I love natural lighting, but I also love shooting indoors and architecture so for me I want to be able to be diverse with my shooting style. Having lights just gives me the flexibility to shoot wherever I want.

Lenses: My main two lenses are a 50mm lens and a wide-angle lens. I love my 50mm for beautiful portraits but I also love having a wide lens like a 16-35mm so I am able to get shots of beautiful landscapes or beautiful buildings. I like to call my wide shots epic shots and they usually feature as a double page spread in my client's wedding albums. 

Hard Drives: I don't know if this is classified as gear, but I would imagine it would be one of the most important things to have as a photographer. I like to have 3 hard drives going at one time. I always back up my client's work x3 I think its really important as a wedding photographer to ensure you take all the right steps to secure your client's photos. I don't think I could live with myself if I was unable to deliver my client's wedding photos. I hear a lot of horror stories online about clients not receiving their photos back because their photographers lost their images or the hard drive failed. 

Back-up Camera: Another important piece of gear which should be obvious, is a second camera body. I had a shutter failure on one of my cameras many years ago and I was about 2 hours out of Melbourne, the failure happened just before the ceremony.

Luckily, I had a second camera with me to shoot the rest of the day but I couldn't imagine what I would have done if I didn't have that second camera. Very important as an event or wedding photographer that you invest in a second body.

What inspires you?

Travelling inspires me, I love shooting weddings in new countries and experiencing new cultures and traditions. I like to shoot 3-4 destination weddings a year.

Last week in Fiji was amazing, they had traditional fire dancers and food at their wedding. But not only that I got to shoot in one of the best sunsets I have photographed in a long time. It's good to broaden your horizons and try shooting in different countries.

Do you have any tips or advice for aspiring creatives who are starting out?

One of the biggest tips I learned many years ago when I attended a workshop was to always follow the light and become obsessed with light. To always see the light before the location. After that workshop, I walked away with the most valuable lesson and became obsessed with light.

I think a lot of wedding photographers these days forget how important light is and don't prioritize it enough in their wedding work.  A lot of people often like to shoot in natural lighting where the clouds are out and it is nice and soft and diffused and don't get me wrong I do too, but that is a very easy way of shooting and then all our images look the same.

To stand out amongst the rest I think it’s important to really familiarise yourself with all sorts of lighting and use light to your advantage to create something different.

A big thank you to Ashley for her insightful answers. Check out more of Ashley’s work on her website at www.ashleykweddings.com and her Instagram @ashleykweddingphotographer

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The Essentials For a Home Studio

For many, a home photo studio is the first step in establishing ourselves as a professional photographer. It represents the first controlled space where we can better understand light and gain an appreciation for how it can affect an image and how it can be employed to create a certain mood or optical effect.

A home studio can be a safe space where we are free to experiment with the relationship between lighting, the camera, and the subject. It’s an oasis where we can play with creating an image without the constraints of a creative brief, client budget or deadlines. Its where our photographic style can be defined, refined and perfected.

Sounds great right? So what kind of gear do you need to set one up on a budget? Here are our studio essentials:

Flash

Blink and you'll miss it!

Of course, the most important bit of gear you will need is a flash to properly illuminate your subject. Some factors to consider when choosing a flash are power, TTL metering and portability. These will determine the versatility and convenience of your setup.

A more powerful flash will allow you to shoot larger objects or scenes, or overpower the sun if you're shooting outdoors. TTL Metering can add convenience to your shooting by automatically analysing your camera settings then determining the exact flash power required for a perfect exposure. 

Portability is important if you think you will want to use flash in an outdoor or on-location context. Think fashion photo shoots, wedding photography, portrait photography etc.  

Speedlights run on batteries and are portable and lightweight. Studio strobes are generally for more professional indoor only shooters and can require plug-in AC power.

Flash Trigger

The flash doesn't always have to be attached to your camera!

The next bit of gear we'd suggest is a wireless flash trigger. You can achieve some great things with the flash mounted on your camera, but where you can really flex your creative muscle is when you're able to position your lighting independent to where your camera is shooting.

A flash trigger also opens up the possibility of using multiple lights to further control which parts of your subject you want to highlight, or use multiple lights to illuminate a larger surface area or multiple subjects. 

Light Stand

Light stands are just simple tripods for your lighting equipment.

The third piece of the puzzle is a light stand. Think of light stands as tripods for your lighting equipment. They enable you to precisely position your lights where you need quickly and easily.

Light stands may also be a requirement for the final piece to the puzzle:

Light Modifiers

Creating interesting effects with 2 different coloured gels.

Light modifiers. This is where you can really get carried away. There is a huge selection of modifiers to choose from and experimenting with what each one does and how it impacts your final image is part of the fun.

Broadly speaking, modifiers are split into two categories. Speedlight or On-flash modifiers and studio modifiers.

Speedlight modifiers attach directly to your flash while studio modifiers are generally larger and will require a light-stand to hold and position them.

Reflectors, soft boxes, coloured gels, bounce cards, snoots, grids, beauty dishes and more can be added to your shooting kit broaden your studio capabilities.

You will be amazed what you can achieve with these 4 additions to your photography kit.

Did we inspire you to find out more? Come into store and have a chat, or give us a call and speak with our expert staff.

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