The good folk at Rotolight lent us two pieces of kit for this demo: the Rotolight AEOS and the NEO 2. These lights were originally designed for video work, but Rotolight have added a strobe feature that means they can be used like studio flash lights or location strobes (off-camera flash). They are extremely lightweight, very portable and their battery goes on as long as you can. JOIN NOW to view this and hundreds of articles, videos, critiques and discussions …
Another four images to enjoy, another four authors who have submitted their work. We create these critiques to try and help portrait photographers with different viewpoints and ideas. Some you’ll agree with, some you won’t (of course) but watch it through and let us know what you think! If you would like your images critiqued, please use the Image Critique menu option above to submit a file (or more than one of you wish). JOIN NOW to view this and …
An everyday location, some high power flash and a little bit of luck all came together to create this fitness image. This was taken during a commercial shoot for our local gym, Fitlife. Most of the session took place indoors, but on the way in I noticed this industrial-looking garage door. I mentally filed it as offering an interesting potential location for an outside shot. I started working with Lawrence when my mind went back to the garage door, so …
The creative part of a portrait photographer’s job is to look beyond the obvious shot and create something that makes people look twice because it is so striking. In this shot, some creative lighting makes all the difference. Oh, and a whole load of fanning. This was a commercial shoot for Fitlife, our local (boutique) gym. My wife Sarah and I attend a spin class at the gym, and we’d noticed that our instructor, Iona, looked calm and serene. This …
Positioning your subject in the middle of the frame can appear unimaginative. Here, I’ve made sure it’s a bold choice, by using elements of the environment to create a composition that’s both graphic and visually striking. Maurizio Brusadelli was the UK MD for Cadbury when I first met him. I was working with the confectionery giant to capture their part in the 2012 London Olympics. It was a lot of fun but also a full-on year, when I spent more …
Using a low camera angle to make your subject the ‘hero’ in your portraits, and underexposing a bright sky for a more moody and atmospheric background. When shooting on location, I look to re-create the lighting patterns and posing shapes I work with in the studio. Here, I positioned two portable flash heads in the same way I’d position lights back in the studio when creating a ‘hero’ shot. I’ve arranged the stances of Kieran, Tom and Evan to give …
There are locations for portraits everywhere – even in an alleyway. This is how I created a dramatic shot in a local alley by overpowering the ambient light. If you think there are no good locations for portraits near you, think again. Even an alleyway can be the backdrop for an effective image, just like this portrait of Katalin in one of the curved pathways between streets in Haddenham. Here’s how I used a single Speedlight flash to light it …
This comic book-inspired action portrait was taken for my local junior football team. Here’s how I used two portable flashes to create dramatic lighting. I was asked to photograph the local junior football team, which my son played for at the time. I had seven footballers, all under ten years old, and about a minute with each of them to get the shot done. I wanted to replicate the style of the old Roy of the Rovers comic covers, so …
Sometimes you’ve got loads of light sources, stuff everywhere and very little time: this is the world of environmental portraits, & here’s my approach to them. Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons (known locally as just ‘Le Manoir’) is a hotel and restaurant in Oxford that’s owned by French chef Raymond Blanc. It’s a stunning venue, and I photograph a lot of weddings there. During one shoot, the bride and groom asked for a shot of the Executive Sous Chef, a …
Stylised portraits can be the most fun to create, especially if you enjoy overcoming technical challenges. For this shot, I needed to make a bright sky look like night-time, and match the model’s pose to the mood of the set-up. This is one of the trickiest images from our book, Mastering Portrait Photography. It was shot for an old friend of the studio who wanted to create some ‘horror-novel-inspired-images’ for a project for her fashion degree. I knew the location …