023: Eirik Halvorsen – Creating Authentic Connections & StoryTelling Shooting With Album Design In Mind

March 20, 2021

“There are so many amazing people out there in the world, if  you don’t just go and don’t talk to them, then you will never know them. “

EIRIK HALVORSEN

Hey everyone! It’s Sally here, from Studio Ninja. Today’s episode is all about Eirik Halvorsen – we are really excited to have him on the show.

Check out some of the biggest points from Eirik’s interview below:

What are your top tips for photographers who are looking to really hone in on that connection and that genuine authentic feel at a wedding day?

Good question. To me, this is a good way to think about it. Up until maybe 2014, 2015, everything about my photography was me, me, me. It was my photos, my style, it was my way of lighting, it was my way of editing, this is my website, this is my portfolio, you know? And over the course of shooting a number of weddings, I understood it’s not about me at all, it’s about the client. And that kind of mindset shift has really helped me to really focus on them instead of me coming to their wedding, shooting for myself and just hey, I’m the master here, I’m going to paint this canvas, you know? That attitude is not really good.

So one thing that really helped me is actually genuinely trying to get to know my clients. A good way I like to think about it is you know when you’re at a house party and you go to the kitchen to grab another beer in the fridge and someone you know in the kitchen introduces you to a new friend or someone that you’ve never seen before, and before you know it, you had a two hour long conversation with that new person without even going back to the living room. I like to have that kitchen conversation with my clients, so I kind of try to do that when we have the first conversation, usually over Zoom, and that way I’m just genuinely asking about them, who they are, what they like, what they do, and that kind of stuff. I think that’s a great way to start establishing that trust, and also it will help you as the photographer to focus on what’s right for your clients instead of just shooting those gems for yourself.

I consciously alter what I’m looking for. Some people are very close with their family, or my mom is super special to me, or my sister or my brother is my best friend, those kinds of things that okay that’s my main focus, I have these very important people, that’s my main priority for trying to capture moments. Other people are like yeah I’m really not that close with my family, we’re going to have a bunch of friends over, buddies, we’re going to have a party, so weddings can be different in that way and if I enter a wedding with a cookie cutter recipe on how I want this wedding to look like, every wedding is going to look like the same thing.

What is your advice for photographers just starting out in using Off Camera Flash?

First of all, I think it’s important, there are two camps basically. You have the off camera flash people, and you have the oh I’m natural light photographer people, right? I think knowledge about both and knowing when to use which one, that’s what makes you a great photographer. Using flash for me used to be a crutch. So I used flash no matter what, right? And I used to set up two or three lights, make amazing portraits with this amazing background and all yeah this is it, but I was too focused on everything set up here that I didn’t look there, because that was actually better. But then I was also committed to shoot this because I set all the lights up and if I’m going to move now there’s like five, ten minutes of rearranging stuff, right? 

So to me, I actually had to tell myself, one day in the morning of a wedding, I said Eirik, today you’re leaving the flashes at home. And I left the flashes at home and I just went.

And I shot just available light that entire day and it really helped me to rip off the bandaid of having this kind of crutch to use the flash all the time. Then I slowly kind of mixed it back in and this was my backpack of knowledge that I could bring up whenever I wanted to. So to answer your question how to learn off camera flash, I think the simplest and the cheapest and the easiest way to learn off camera flash is to buy a speed light, you can buy a used speed light on eBay or something for a couple of bucks, and some cheap triggers, and a lighting stick and an umbrella. Then one of my heroes, David Hobbie, you should go to strobist.com, there’s a blog post called Lighting 101, and he just takes you through everything, from start to a beautifully lit portrait. Then you will kind of understand the connection between the flash light and the shutter speed and the available light and how to mix those too because that’s where people kind of step into the mud I think and get scared. They have too strong power on the flash, or the direction is wrong and they take a photo, and oh photos with flash are ugly, I’m a natural light photographer.

So kind of learning the colour temperatures and the differences there and the strengths or power, how those things kind of connect. When you manage to mix those two, that’s when it starts to get really interesting.

Eirik:
And I shot just available light that entire day and it really helped me to rip off the bandaid of having this kind of crutch to use the flash all the time. Then I slowly kind of mixed it back in and this was my backpack of knowledge that I could bring up whenever I wanted to. So to answer your question how to learn off camera flash, I think the simplest and the cheapest and the easiest way to learn off camera flash is to buy a speed light, you can buy a used speed light on eBay or something for a couple of bucks, and some cheap triggers, and a lighting stick and an umbrella. Then one of my heroes, David Hobbie, you should go to strobist.com, there’s a blog post called Lighting 101, and he just takes you through everything, from start to a beautifully lit portrait. Then you will kind of understand the connection between the flash light and the shutter speed and the available light and how to mix those too because that’s where people kind of step into the mud I think and get scared. They have too strong power on the flash, or the direction is wrong and they take a photo, and oh photos with flash are ugly, I’m a natural light photographer.

If you could add one final piece of advice for our listeners, maybe something that’s made a big difference in your life personally or your business life, what would that one piece of advice be?

I made a rule for myself in 2014 that I will attend at least two conferences and or workshops every year, and no matter where it is and what it costs, that’s stuff that I have to make room for. And that alone has helped me tremendously to talk to and get to know other vendors, talk to and get to know other photographers in other countries, and making friends. I have really good friends that I met just because I’m a photographer and that person is a photographer and we met at a conference.

And if I didn’t do that, I would still be at home here complaining over stuff on Facebook or whatever and being angry dude that, “Ugh, everyone is doing awesome stuff and I’m just here.” So network and reach out to other photographers and attend workshops, attend conferences, as many as you can. Actually, I want to end with a rule. I make rules for myself, it maybe sounds kind of weird but it’s a good thing.

When I attend a conference, I’m never allowed to sit down at a chair or a table where there’s no people. I can’t be the one sitting down alone expecting people to come to me. So I make a game out of it, so I find a vacant chair, and I go over and ask, “Hey, is this seat available?” And they say yes, usually, and then I introduce myself and I ask questions about them. That’s the best way to make new friends.

Thank you!

Thanks again to you all for joining us and a huge thanks to Eirik for joining us on the show and sharing all of his expertise!

If you have any suggestions, comments or questions about this episode, please be sure to leave them below in the comment section of this post, and if you liked the episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the bottom of the post!

That’s it for me this week, I hope you all enjoyed this episode.

See you soon,

Sally