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Day in the life of a photographer at Copenhagen Fashion Week

While still in the shadow of its more established New York, London, Paris or Milan counterparts, Copenhagen Fashion Week has, for the past few years, carved out a place for itself in the fashion world as a front-runner in sustainability and is turning heads among trendsetters and influential personalities within the industry.

As more people open their eyes to the trends coming out of the Danish capital, the photographers who are there to capture the latest designs, street style, and behind-the-scenes moments are busier than ever.

We followed local fashion photographer Mark Dexter who pulls up the curtain on what it is like being a photographer during fashion week in Copenhagen and the new tools that let him go from location to location without stop.

 

On a misty February morning on the streets of Copenhagen, the sun is slowly starting to peek out between the buildings, hinting at the first signs of spring after a long and dark Scandinavian winter.

“The weather can be really bad some days. Especially during winter, you don’t want to be outside in the cold and rain, waiting around with your gear. But the show must go on,” says Mark Dexter, referring to the one part of shooting at Copenhagen Fashion Week that he is less excited about.

The Filipino-Australian fashion photographer has been living in Copenhagen for the past decade, becoming a part of the Danish fashion scene through shooting campaigns and editorials with brands and magazines.

“In their natural habitat”

Today he’s on a busy schedule. Starting the day together with Fumina Tsuji, who is covering the events of the week for ELLE Japan and her thousands of Instagram followers and attending every single runway show. Together they are capturing her and other influencers, journalists, and industry people’s best street style as they move from one show to the next, changing outfits along the way to get the most out of the celebration of fashion happening all across the city.

“I wanna try and catch my subject in their natural habitat, hitting their strides. You’ll get a sense of confidence,” Mark says.

“Being part of an event that’s full of creative people and free to express themselves in any way is the best. Some are luxurious, some are outrageous, but it’s all individual, unique taste.”

From capture to published in minutes

Following Fumina as she moves down the streets of Copenhagen, Mark is shooting tethered directly from his Fuji XH2S into Capture One for iPad. With his assistant staying close, holding the tethered iPad, Mark moves around freely while capturing Fumina and the rest of the audience getting ready for the next show. Occasionally he stops to review the images on his tablet.

“At this point, I probably don’t have a style, but at the same time, I’m analyzing my images to look for consistency in them.”

With a few quick edits, Mark exports and airdrops the images to his subjects, making them ready for publishing online in just a few minutes.

“It’s amazing that I can check the pictures of me taken by a professional photographer via iPad, select my favorite one, and post it on my social media literally without waiting,” says Fumina, who is sharing moments from the day as she goes with her followers on Instagram.

The devil is in the details

It’s time to move on to the next assignment. At one of the week’s highly anticipated shows by Danish clothing brand Wood Wood, Mark has been called in to capture the anticipation and buzz backstage as the models get ready for the runway.

“I am looking for details,” Mark explains. “If you can get access to backstage, then you have a bit more edge over your competition for obvious reasons. Here you can capture all sorts of angles and energy. Details of the garments, pieces, and hairstyles, you’re basically part of the process leading up to the show.”

With the iPad still tethered to his camera, Mark reviews the images with the client and makes a rough selection before the main event starts and the models line up to enter the runway in front of the expectant crowd.

“A good workflow is essential”

Wrapping up the shooting part of the day, Mark joins the crowd of photographers that have gathered at the end of the runway to get the best shots of the new styles coming towards them.

With the last shot of the day in the bag, Mark does a final review of the images before packing up.

“A day at fashion week is so hectic. So many angles to cover, not just in the shooting and framing sense. A lot of preparation, coordinating, movement, and people management goes into it.”

“So a good workflow is essential.”

See more of Mark’s work on his website.

 


 

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Behind the image – 10 minutes with Mads Mikkelsen

There is pressure in photographing one of your idols. Having only 10 minutes to set up and get multiple good shots of your idol takes that pressure to a different level. On assignment for Scandinavian Traveler (the in-flight magazine for Scandinavian Airlines), Danish portrait photographer Andreas Houmann took on the challenge of getting a cover and a spread of the world-famous actor Mads Mikkelsen while working against the clock. 

Join us behind the image with Andreas as he shares how he spent 10 hours preparing for the 10-minute shoot and got what he needed without compromising on his vision.

Let’s start from the beginning. What was the brief you had for this job?

The brief was quite open because it was my first assignment for [Scandianvian Traveler], but they had seen many of my images and liked my style. So, it was up to me to create what I wanted.

I was told that I would have 10 minutes with the actor Mads Mikkelsen. From that, they wanted a cover shot and five to six images for the article.

My first thought was that that’s impossible. But after thinking about it, I realized what a great experience it could be. Mads has always been one of the top Danish people I want to meet and create a great image with. So, I told them I’d do it.

How did you go about planning the shoot?

Even though I knew I would only have 10 minutes, I didn’t lower my expectations for the final result. But to be able to create something special in such a short time, I knew that I had to plan everything down to the tiniest detail.

The most important thing for me was to not create an image of Mads that you have seen before. When you photograph famous people, they’re often just as cool as they seem. And so, I could have just taken a photo of him on a white or black background where he’s just looking into the camera, and that would also be a great and cool image. But I wanted to add something more.

Therefore, I knew I had to plan everything very thoroughly. I started to create a mood board, searching to see which kinds of images already existed of Mads.

I also knew that we would be at the d’Angleterre hotel in Copenhagen. I was told that we had a suite, but not which suite. So, I checked all the images of all the suites on their website.

With so little time, it was important to me that we had a controlled setting where I would know which kind of light and background I would have to work with. When you only have 10 minutes, you can’t wait for the sun to appear. So the day before, I went to the hotel to search for any cool places inside.

I was also talking with Mikkelsen’s PR manager, who told me that if I needed to set up any equipment, it would be a part of that 10 minutes. And at that time, I had planned that I could come three hours before with my team, and we could set up and test everything in the suite before Mads would arrive.

So change of plans. Now the question was, “How could I still create a studio setting without using any of those 10 minutes?”

Because I had to use all the time together with Mads in front of my camera, we had prepared the background to fit exactly into the space. So, when Mads arrived, my assistant could quickly pull up the background while I was saying hello and presenting the idea. He’s such a kind person. So, it was important for him also to say hello to my assistant as well. And then we started shooting.

Did you know what kind of shots you wanted to get before the shoot?

I have a folder with over 5,000 pictures in it, and whenever I see an image I like, I save it and put it into that folder. It could be an interesting pose, something about the colors – it can be anything, but it goes in there so that I have an inspiration folder with only good images to get ideas from.

I have always been a fan of hands and faces, and I knew I wanted to create something with the hand and the face.

What was going through your mind during the actual shoot?

In my head, I knew that I couldn’t use the 10 minutes in front of the background because then I wouldn’t have anything else to show.

So, because I was aware of the time limit, I told my assistant to let me know when the first two minutes had passed. I had said to myself that four minutes was the limit for when I had to move on to the next setting to get the images for the spread inside the magazine.

In the end, it only took us two minutes to get this image. I had shown Mads the mood board to explain my thinking. That’s the great thing about working with artists and actors; they are professionals, so he got it right away.

What kind of direction did you give him?

He liked the idea of the hand, and I asked him to drag his hand from the top of his head down across his face because I like to have movement in my photos. It looks more natural than just standing there with his hand covering his face.

I want to create a space for the talent or the model to have free movement on a shoot. It’s very, very important that you, as a photographer, let the model or the talent know what you want to create and help them. But still, on the shoot, it is also important that you capture what comes in between. I always end up going for the in-between shots.

That’s often when you get the magical and personal shots.

 


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Behind the image with Marie Hald

Three photographers on finding their creative voice

 


What equipment did you use?

I used my Canon RS with a 50-millimeter lens and only had one light – a Profoto B10 with a beauty dish.

What settings did you use to get the shot?

F./5,6
1/200 sek
Iso:160

What have you done to the photo in post-processing?

I did some minor retouching of the skin. He’s a good-looking guy, so it didn’t take much. But I liked the idea of making it black and white and keeping the minimal colors.

Did you work with anyone else to get this photo?

I had an assistant with me on this shoot. The support of having a person I trust a 100% at my side who has their eyes on the lights so that I can focus on shooting is great.

When working with my assistant, stylists, makeup, or fashion stylists, it’s important to me that everyone is part of the team. Because if everyone on set is having a great time, then everyone wants to do the best thing to succeed. The atmosphere is just much nicer to be in, also for the talent or the model or the actor.

I let them know that if they have any great ideas or see something that I don’t see, to let me know because I only have two eyes.

You have a lot of experience working with well-known people. What is the secret to getting a good shot of them?

I always see the model or the talent as equal to anyone else. Even if it is one of my idols, I always meet the person in the same way. I let them know that my only goal is to create the best image and show them that I am well prepared. And when you do that, they relax.

I always let them know what my plan is and tell them that if they don’t like some of my ideas or have any comments, they should let me know. I like to let them be a part of the decisions. But still letting them know that I know what to do.

I also like reading articles about the person I am photographing, and I often try to go back and see what they have said and done in the past. It’s easy for everyone to know what is going on right now. But knowing something that is not just about the new film they’re making, showing that you have done some research, tells them that you’re willing to go a little bit further to get a good shot.

A picture says a thousand words. What do you think this image says?

I think this picture is more of a mood than a story. It wasn’t important for me to create an image with a particular story here. I’m very much into aesthetics, authenticity, and presence. Those were the three main goals for me in the picture.

And what I really like about this picture – and maybe it is something I always like – is that you don’t see everything. Because, as a person, it’s rare that we just give away everything. So, when Mads is holding his hand in front of his face, it’s like, “I’m here, but a part of me is not,” and I really like that.

How does this image represent your work as a whole? Is it representative?

Yes, I think this image represents well who I am as a photographer, both in style and mood. I’m not creating images with a lot going on in them. I really like the calmness. I really like a lot of the great old photographers, Peter Lindbergh and people like that. Because when you look at their pictures, they were cool 30 years ago, 20 years ago, ten years ago, and they’re cool today. They have that simplicity, which is not just a trend.

 

Follow Andreas on Instagram to see more of his work

 


 

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Different Styles applied to the same image in Capture One. Use Styles to get a consistent look faster

Working with Styles

Different Styles applied to the same image in Capture One. Use Styles to get a consistent look faster

Capture One Styles and Presets are easy ways to give your images the look you want or get to a good starting point for your editing with just one click.

With hundreds of premade Styles available and the ability to make and save your Styles, you can edit different types of photos within all genres to easily get a consistent look and save hours as you create the perfect image.

In this guide, we’ll take you through what Styles are, how to use them, the difference between Styles and Presets, and some tips to get you started, save time, and take your photography to the next level.

What exactly is a Style?

A Style in Capture One is a set of pre-made adjustments that you can apply to one or more images with a single click. A Style can include as many adjustments as you like, thus enabling photographers to create an extensive bank of ready-to-use adjustments for any workflow.

What is the difference between a Style and a Preset?

As mentioned, a Style is a saved set of adjustments using multiple tools. People who are familiar with other editing software might know this as a preset. Presets also exist in Capture One. However, in Capture One, a Preset is a pre-made adjustment to a single tool. You can access Presets instantly directly from the tool itself. If you, for example, make a Film Grain Preset, it will be available from the Film Grain tool as well as the Styles and Presets tool.

Using the Style FL-01 from the Film Styles pack the image goes from dull to wow in just one click.

What are Smart Styles?

If you are using Capture One Pro 23 or later versions of Capture One Pro, you will have access to so-called Smart Styles.

Smart Styles uses Smart Adjustments like Smart Exposure, Smart White Balance, and any other adjustments and combines them into a one-click editing solution to give your images a consistent look.

Smart Styles and Smart Adjustments give photos shot under different lighting conditions a similar look by automatically adjusting Exposure and White Balance – reducing editing time massively.

The tools are specifically designed for event, wedding, and portrait photography as it uses faces and skin tone as guidance to determine which adjustments to make to your photos. This means that if you have a shoot outside and the weather changes or if you move inside, you can use the same Style to get a consistent look even if the lighting conditions are different in each picture.

How do you make a Smart Style?

In Capture One Pro, you can also make your own Smart Styles. Here’s how to do it:

  • Edit a photo to your liking using the adjustments you want to include in your Smart Style
  • Navigate to the Smart Adjustments tool
  • Pick Exposure and/or White Balance to decide what to include in the Style
  • Select Save Style…
  • Make sure other adjustments you want to include in your Smart Style is ticked

OR

  • Start by editing your reference image how you like it using the exposure and white balance adjustments
  • Select the image in the Browser
  • In the Styles and Presets tool, navigate to … and then select Save Custom Style – the dialog where you can select which adjustments to include in the Style is presented.
  • At the top of this dialog, you will see Smart Adjustments, whereby you can choose either Exposure or White Balance – along with any other desired adjustments.
  • By checking at least one Smart Adjustment and then selecting Save, you have successfully created a Style that will intelligently apply White Balance and/or Exposure corrections to each image it is applied to

Explore all our Styles packs here

When should I use Styles?

Even though Styles can give an immediate wow effect when you apply them to your images, they aren’t a magic solution to editing. Instead, they boost the creative process, putting you ahead.

With that being said, every photographer is different and has their way of working, so there is no wrong way of using Styles. Below are a few ways to use Styles in your workflow.

Adjusting a large batch of images

Large batches of images can be a time-consuming task to edit. Styles can help photographers go a long way in this type of workflow. Wedding and event photographers, who often have hundreds of images to edit, can benefit greatly from using Styles to get a consistent look without spending hours on end.

How to apply a Style when importing or shooting tethered

You can apply Styles automatically when importing or shooting tethered into Capture One, providing instant adjustments from the beginning of the workflow. Any Style applied this way can be removed to get back to the plain RAW file. Reset the full image or reset parts of the Style you don’t like.

You can select any Style from the Adjustments tool with the Importer window.

Add a Style automatically when shooting tethered in Capture One by selecting your favorite in the Next Capture Adjustments.

When shooting tethered, you can apply any Style in the Next Capture Adjustments within the Capture tool tab. This will instantly apply the Style to any image shot into Capture One. This is an excellent way to get an idea of what you want the look of the specific shoot to be, as you can quickly browse different Styles and find one that suits your images. As always, you can further adjust or remove if wanted the Style later.

Use Styles for creative brainstorming

Even the best photographer can sometimes feel lost when it comes to the initial stages of editing an image. By having a selection of Styles ready, you can quickly get inspired to find the desired direction with your image. This is especially useful for Black and White photos, where individual channel luminosities significantly affect the final image or images that need a subtle color grade.

Capture One Style Packs

Capture One offers a range of pre-made Style packs made in-house or by experienced photographers from different fields. In addition to the built-in Styles included in every version of Capture One, you can explore and buy more Style packs in our Styles store.

RELATED: Q&A with landscape photographer Paul Reiffer about his Elevation Style pack

How to install a Style Pack

You can install Capture One Style Packs in three different ways.

  • After unpacking the downloaded file, choose one of the following methods:
  • Double-click the Styles Pack directly.
  • Open Capture One Pro and drag-drop the Styles Pack into the application window.
  • From within the Styles and Presets tool, click the ••• icon (upper right), select Import Styles…, browse your Styles Pack and click Open.
  • The Styles Packs will now be available within Custom Styles in the Styles and Presets tool.

To learn more about using Styles in Capture One, watch this tutorial

 

 


 

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capture one webinar sessions

Unlock the Power of Sessions

Join David Grover as we follow up on our January Livestream regarding catalog management and strategies – this time diving into Sessions. Catalogs are great for larger image collections, but Sessions are beneficial for single tasks or short-term projects. We will explore the differences between Catalogs and Sessions, how to set them up for success, and strategies for different tasks.

If you’re interested in managing your photos on a project-by-project basis, then Sessions are for you. They are a powerful tool for tethered capture and unique projects outside the studio.

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