Work from back to front
The last part of the first post in this series mentioned that I work from the back of the studio towards the camera, so let’s do that. The furthest element away is the background, so that should be simple, or is it? Well, sort of. Let’s take a look at the original headshot photo above and analyse it. That way we can see how we work towards the photograph at the bottom of this post. My late and greatly missed mentor, Andrew Appleton, used to do this sort of thing as an exercise on all of his photograpy courses. It’s a fantastic way of reinforcing the basics.
The background
To make studio portrait images work all of the component parts have to work together and be sympathetic to each other. Looking at the original image there are two major elements, the colour of the background and the main colour that the subject is wearing. In photography grey is a bit of a magic colour. Firstly, camera systems use 18% grey for metering. Let’s not get too deep into that, but it’s a major factor in calculating the correct exposure. Grey also works with just about any colour that your subject wears. Another good thing about it is that you can make it darker or lighter by moving your lights and the model further away or closer to it. That’s all about the inverse square distance law, but again, let’s not get too technical.
The starting image
I try to make all of my studio photoshoots consistent in looks. For me, I try to use the same grey background every time, and keep my lights to subject and subject to background distances the same. That will give me the look I want for my standard portrait. Of course, there might be times that my clients want something different, like a white or black background for use on the web or for corporate images. The lighting principles would still be the same, but tuned slightly for the different colours. A useful thing I have found to do is to look at the colour the subject is wearing, and then choose a background to complement or contrast against. The Adobe colour wheel becomes very handy in those situations. I am digressing a bit here, as we are looking at my standard portrait lighting setup. Don’t worry though, a ‘good camera’ will know all of that stuff and it will sort it out for the photographer. Do make sure that you have bought your camera in the UK though, so it can talk to the subject in the same language.
The subject
At long last we have arrived at the interesting component of the shoot. The subject is what the whole image taking exercise is all about. Interaction between the subject and the photographer is key. Quite simply, and I hate to be blunt, if you’re not a people person you are going to struggle. Don’t worry though, your good camera will once again save the day. It will be able to ask your subject what’s she’s going to wear so you can sort out the background and the lighting setup. It will be able to establish exactly what it is the subject wants from the shoot, and how the images are going to be used. Not least, it will build the rapport and relationship between the photographer and the subject that is vital for all portrait shoots. What’s that? It’s just a camera? You mean the photograher has to do that too? How good is the camera?
The lights
Another step towards the photographer are the lights. Lighting a subject properly for photoshoots can be extremely emotive. When starting out it can be a deeply mysterious and hard to master art. I found the best way to learn lighting was to do it then evaluate the results. There are countless lighting setups, from one light through to lights in double figures. More doesn’t mean better, it simply means different. Find the setup that suits you and your needs, but don’t be scared to adapt it if needs be. Sometimes a reflector or two will be a good substitute for a light. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Having said that I have a standard look for my portraits and that is acheived by using the same lighting setup for every shoot. My lights of choice in the studio are Broncolor; when mobile and working in a location out of a studio I use my Profoto lights. Both are at the upper end of cost for lights, but you do pay for what you get. The light quality from both makes is superb.
The photographer’s equipment 1 – the light meter
For me four things constitute the photographer’s equipment. They are a light meter, a flash trigger, the camera and lens. Each is important in its own right. Let’s start with the light meter. Many will say that meters are obsolete; they are no longer reqired because you can see the exposure on a histogram on the back of the camera. That is true, but it might take a few attempts to get the exposure correct. There is also a slight drawback in that you are measuring reflected light, that is light reflected back from the subject to the camera. It’s another of those technical points, but I find it far better to meter the subject so you get an accurate measurement of the light hitting the subject. That will give you the correct exposure every time. You can also measure the light hitting the background so you can see the fall off. If there’s not enough light the background will be too dark so you will need to move the lights and the subject towards the background to lighten it. The reverse is also true, if the background is too light you can move the lights and subject away from the background to darken it.
The photographer’s equipment 2 – the flash trigger
This is probably the simplest bit of the four pieces of equipment but it is vital. No trigger, no flash. No flash, no pictures. It is that simple. Your trigger needs to work with your camera brand, it needs to be able to fire groups of flashes, and it needs to be able to control the power of each of those groups. How the portraits photographer sets up his flashes and groups is his or her choice, and that is a skill learned through sometimes bitter experience. Get it right and your subject will be perfectly lit.
The photographer’s equipment 3 – the camera
My gear is all Canon. I started with them many years ago and never felt the need to change. I used to shoot with DSLR bodies and in those days Nikon and Canon used to leapfrog each other with technology improvements, but since mirrorless came to the fore I think Canon lead the way. I have two bodies, a Canon R5 and a Canon R6 Mk II. All of my portrait work is done using the R5 but it always pays to have a back-up just in case. The R6 Mk II is a wonderful video camera, and that is its main use for me. The beauty of mirrorless is its impeccable eye tracking focus. Both my bodies find and lock onto eyes and they won’t let go. Focussing on the eyes is the single most imprtant thing for portrait photographers. Mirrorless cameras have changed the way I work, and I no longer have to keep checking the focus in the way that I did with my DSLRs. I know with complete certainty the my subject’s eyes will be sharp.
The photographer’s equipment 4 – the lens
I have two main lenses for my studio portrait work. I have a Sigma 50mm f1.4 which is very sharp, but my go to lens is my Canon 85mm f1.2. It’s one of the original EF mount lenses and it has been supersceded by the new RF mount model, but it is still a beast of a lens. Would I like to buy the new RF mount lens? Yes I would, but at nearly £2,900 I will stick with what I have. All of the images on this website have been taken using my 85mm 1.2, so you can judge for yourself its quality. The advantage the 85mm has over the 50mm is that I can put a bit more distance between myself and my subject. That’s very handy when I am working with nervous subjects as they don’t feel that I’m pushing a camera into their faces. That extra distance gived them a bit of reassurance and helps soothe their nerves.
The photographer’s equipment 5 – the photographer!
Last but not least is the piece of kit furthest from the background – the photographer. Let’s be completely honest here, if you want to be a portrait photographer you must be a people person. You have to have the ability to talk to complete strangers and get them to do things which are going to be totally alien to them. You have to gain their trust and build their confidence in front of the camera. You have to relax them, if not stress and sometimes fear will show in their faces if you don’t have the ability to communicate. Your photographs will show that and the results will not be saleable.
When does the photography start?
So far we’ve gone through a lot of the preparation work. We have the subject and we know what they will be wearing so we can get the background ready. With a bit of luck we’ve had some time to welcome them to the studio and show them around. We have talked to them and started to relax them. It’s very daunting to go to places that you don’t normally visit, so the nerves will be building. The photographer needs to explain how things are going to happen so the subject isn’t suddenly caught off guard. We have the studio equipment ready and in place, subject to a bit of fine tuning. The subject’s hair and make-up is done. It’s a good job I have a good camera because I haven’t had to do anything at all yet. Now we’re ready to start photographing.
