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Create striking portraits like these using a hat as a gobo

Jan 10, 2022 by Alex Baker Leave a Comment

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If you didn’t already know, the term Gobo is an acronym that literally means ‘Goes Before Optics’. What does that mean then exactly? Well, it’s simply something that goes in front of a light source, casting a shadow or pattern. This ingenious portrait series by Spanish photographer Alfredo González uses a hat as a gobo. Here’s how he shot it.

Alfredo tells us at DIYP that he loves to use artificial light to try out new ideas, whether it’s new lighting configurations, coloured gels or accessories such as gobos.

“In this set of images I used a hat that I happened to see by chance in a shop in my town of Granada,” Alfredo says, “and even better it only cost 8 Euros!” He explains that he had seen other photographers using this type of hat or other similar objects to create shadows, and although he had already bought the hat, he didn’t have an exact idea of how or when he would use it.

To create the images Alfredo used four Godox strobes:

  • Godox Sk400ii with a standard reflected and grid. The light was placed to the left of the model as the main light and was the light that made the lines on the face.
  • Godox Ad600bm with blue gel and grid as fill for the underside of the hat
  • Godox Sk400ii with standard reflector and red gel as an edge light
  • Godox V1 to light the backdrop behind the model

You can see in the behind the scenes image below the exact set-up and placement of the lights:

 

For post-production Afredo says that he adjusted the colour and contrast in Adobe Camera Raw, followed up with a little healing brush and dodge and burn on the skin in Photoshop.

Here is another of the final images.

You can follow Alfredo on Instagram and see more of his work there or on his website.

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Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: Alfredo González, gobo, hat, portrait photography, studio portrait

About Alex Baker

Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

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Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

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