About Frank Doorhof - Commercial, Fashion, Celebrity Photographer / Netherlands

Frank Doorhof grew up in a family of enthusiastic amateur photo- and videographers. He started teaching photography at a very young age. The motto of his teaching is making great photography approachable to everyone.​

Frank is globally renowned as a lecturer about digital photography. His teaching career rocketed when Frank joined KelbyOne. He is also an instructor in Photoshop World. Especially, his classes about model photography have been a big success online.

In 2013 he published the book “Mastering the Model Shoot: Everything a Photographer Needs to Know Before, During, and After the Shoot (Voices That Matter)” and gained critical acclaim.

Having been devoted to online photography lessons, Frank has an extensive learning program named “Learning with Frank Doorhof” with diverse courses, a guidance program and online video web podcasts. His main focus is teaching workshops, weekly in the studio about “Mastering the Model Shoot” , with diverse themes like Small Flash, smoke, styling, movement, portraits and many more.

His teaching style is inspired by the late Dean Collins and is based on the principle that the language of photography is light so that photographers should be able to speak the language instead of faking it in Photoshop.

Frank is a very strong supporter for the use of the Light meter and his workshops are taught worldwide and are strongly based on lighting, storytelling and manipulating the light.​

Studio FD (short for Studio Frank Doorhof)

We (Frank and Annewiek Doorhof) own a large photo studio at walking distance from our home in Emmeloord.  Before we bought it, the function was a church, so there is a stage, a big aula which is now the studio and an office space with enough space for Annewiek, an intern and some storage

The formerly wardrobe has been transferred to a sitting/relax area. In the best lit corner, we created a dressing table; this is also the area with clothing racks full of clothes for the models.  Friend/stylist, and vintage store owner Nadine often lends us some of her outfits for the models to wear.  And of course, we hung a lot of mirrors to check makeup and styling.

We also created a cozy corner with some couches for our guests/clients and workshops attendees, where we can talk and drink a coffee. The walls are covered with photos of Frank's work.

Because the studio is in an industrial area there is plenty of parking space, also public transport and the city center are close by. Frank and Annewiek have a special deal with the local hotel for customers from abroad, but also the campsite is a favorite place for some students (and their families), the studio is located in a very interesting area for tourists year-round. 

About the studio itself 

When entering the studio through the authentic swing doors you’ll walk past the ‘moving walls’, big walls with wallpaper which can be used as backgrounds. The windows to the office are covered with black curtains, which can be used a black background. Above the curtains there is a paper system with 10 different seamless backdrops, which in all honesty Frank rarely uses.  

Further windows are shut to avoid natural light.

The reason Frank hardly uses seamless is because all the walls in the studio are painted in unique patterns and structures which are great to photograph people against, even the radiators are painted in the same themes.

The walls are so cool to shoot agains that some of these walls were replicated by Click Prop Backdrops in a signature series, this makes it possible to have a little part of our studio in your studio :D

The stage is often used as storage for modifiers but also has a painted back and some background fabrics.

In the rear corner is Frank's “cockpit”, with a couch and side table for guests and a large desk for his computer, BenQ monitors, retouching tablet, and the Digital Classroom live streaming setup. Several times a month there are live streams from the studio.

Frank Doorhof Workshops 

Frank teaches workshops weekly in his own studio. A full day long the attendees can learn all about lighting and the topic of the day. Annewiek and often the intern are assisting him. 

Topics range from “simple", like Essential Lighting setups, to more complicated like Gels and Smoke or even Cosplay and Classical Lighting with one, two, three or even more lights. 

The groups are very small (6-8 students max) so the attendees get a lot of personal attention, which is one of the key elements in Frank's approach to teaching. This is also why the workshops always start with a Q&A;  not only to get to know the students better, but most of all to better understand their needs and questions. This way the attendees really get a custom-made workshop, which is pretty unique in this market.

During the workshop we show our whole workflow, from the concept, light-setup and metering, coaching the model and of course taking the photo itself. All results are shown on a big screen TV so everyone can clearly see the results of even the slightest change in the set. We provide flash triggers to the attendees, and they can also take images with the light setup.

On average there are 3 to 4 sets in one workshop, the models clothing/styling and light-setup changes every set corresponding to the theme and questions from the attendees.

The participant can ask questions all the time.   

BIO

Frank loves to play with light, not only big and small flash, but also continuous light sources like LED.  But in essence every light source can be used in a creative way...   when you understand the light, you can meter, manipulate and steer it. And that is what you will learn in the workshops in his studio in Emmeloord and on location, abroad and in unique locations like castles, museums and urbex locations. Frank teaches worldwide (also online) and is a regular speaker on major trade shows for several manufactures, but also the smaller photo clubs are part of the educational portfolio.

Monthly the team from StudioFD broadcasts “The Digital Classroom”, a free, online, interactive live shoot straight from the studio. 

And it doesn’t stop there, Frank and Annewiek are also very active online with social media and a very active YouTube channel with loads of videos and a behind the scenes vlog.

Need a recap or looking for a particular photography video about model or street photography? Check out his YouTube or one of his instructional videos  

The link for Franks portfolio is frankdoorhof.smugmug.com