Photography has never been a choice for Robert and it’s always been part of his life. Having worked a lot of side hustles, as a factory night-shift worker or part-time bartender, Robert has never stopped to stay focused on his passion. His journey of shooting a lot of skate- and snowboard images from an early age has provided him with one of the most valuable gifts for his dynamic and active photography: pushing the button at the right moment to capture a movement in its best shape. This has led him to shoot cars, travel images and amazing athletes from world-known football clubs, such as the German national football team. Driven by his curiosity for how to improve his craft, he has been constantly on the search for new opportunities to expand his skill-set.
Improving your Workflow
“When you’re on set you must focus on your subject, not on your skills. It’s like playing the piano: If you need to think about which keys to press, you can’t play a great. This is why I always want to improve my skills and be able to perform best while on the job, whether that’s through personal projects, certifications or online classes. During the lockdown I did some paid online classes on post-production, and I became a (EU) licensed drone pilot. When it comes to Phase One, the offered POCP courses has improved my workflow but first and foremost I learned to not be afraid of the system anymore. This started with something simple as sensor cleaning, as arbitrary as it sounds. Learning how to properly set up a tethered session and using an extra router for screening images to the client allowed me to save immense amounts of time. Letting them view and rate the work on set are now key parts of my workflow that not only make the client feel involved but again reduces the need to pick my final images afterwards. In a professional environment an organized workflow is essential not only on the shoot day but also for when my images are archived and I may need to access them in the future. The best way to do this is to use a standardized session template for every shoot. The POCP has taught me how to set up an intelligent folder structure and streamline my activities with the client using tagging and rating parameters. This way I can leave a shoot already knowing what the client has in mind and what is well shot from a technical point of view.“
About Robert’s Equipment
Being able to capture these expressive and often moving people does not come without its thoughtful planning and composing. This has led Robert to work with medium-format camera systems, that journey started in the 90s when he was working as an apprentice.
“Having features to analyze flash duration and adjust my shutter-trim is amazing and unique, this allows me to freeze the movement of my subject with the strobe”
Initially using a Phase One P45, he is now shooting with the XF camera and an IQ1 80MP digital back with a prism finder, switching between the 28mm f/4.5, 35mm f/3.5, 55mm f/2.8, 80mm f/2.8 and 120mm f/4.0 Macro Schneider Kreuznach Blue Ring lenses. Even though his shots are often taken in action-based scenarios, Robert has already preempted exactly what he wants to capture. He knows in confidence that his Phase One will offer the quality and reliability needed to reward him and his clients with a great final image.
What is POCP?
Phase One Certified Professional is a comprehensive training course in Phase One Camera Systems, Digital Backs and Capture One Software. It is designed to give digital techs and assistants the knowledge they need to be more efficient on set and attain the highest level of reliability with Phase One technology. Read more about POCP courses here and find upcoming events here.
Get in touch with Robert:
https://www.instagram.com/roberthoernig.photo/
https://www.behance.net/roberthoernig
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