Tony Kane - A Head-Shot Session

June 11, 2016 in Headshots

Towards the end of May, I got an email from my website letting me know someone had booked a 1-hour head-shot session. This booking was made without speaking to me and from finding me on Google and looking at my work, that is a nice thing to hear.

As a photographer you want to shoot good work/good stories, be successful and also your portfolio to stand on it's own. It seems that the hours of work prepping my portfolio and site were worth it at least in the case of this job.

I called Tony as soon as I could to iron out the details and get a solid idea ready. The brief was fairly simple, to shoot head-shots for web, social media and business use and provide colour, black & white and less formal options.

Once the date was in the calendar and the brief clarified I got to work prepping for the head-shot session by doing some research about my client, who is he? what work does he do?

For research I will check out websites, blogs and social media profiles to gleam information whilst making notes along the way. I usually make a few notes to use as talking points in case things get quite on set. Please let me take this opportunity to say that Tony was great to work with and the shoot flowed well, it's just you sometimes get shy people through the door and it's my job to get them talking and relaxed.

Before Tony arrived at the studio I had a basic set dialled in with lights ready to go because the last thing I want to do is keep people waiting whilst I set up the first set. I make sure the...

1. Appropriate background is set up.

2. The key light is rigged.

3. 2 Lights are ready on the background in case I end up shooting on white.

The equipment I set-up will vary shoot to shoot of course.

Once I was all set it's time to start the warm up shots... wait what?

Let me explain. Whilst I can shoot straight from the start I do prefer to shoot some warm up frames first and make sure all lights are dialled in, no tubes are on the way out, the tether is working. In my experience I have also found that clients/subjects take a little time to warm up also and get use to the camera pointing at them.

With both myself and tony settling in to the shoot we started to get some great head-shots all whilst talking about work, life and whatever subject came up in conversation, Direction was given here and there and collaborative ideas put forward but the bulk of what happens on set other than the technical camera stuff is just simply... talk.

I will leave you with a gallery of head-shots taken on the day.

Thank you for reading.

Rick

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Marita Moore ... + some thoughts on the process of a shoot.

May 06, 2016 in Photo Shoot, Commercial

The shoot with Marita started just like any other by talking, breaking the ice, getting to know each other. In fact I would say it's more important than working on lights and settings, that can come later.

During the getting to know each other part the conversation turned to fitness, not just because of a general interest from all involved but also because Marita is the Director and Founder of Lotus Fitness Academy, a local fitness boot-camp group and personal training service. (more on this later)

Now this conversation was great as it breaks the ice and everyone on set starts to get to know each other & relax a little, me included. In my experience everyone needs to warm up and get in to the mode of shooting.

After the introductions and talking it's time to start working together to make photographs.

Remember no matter who you have in front of your lens and lights (model, client, family, friend) the whole process is a collaboration and it's a process that has to involve both you and your subject... Ideas get formed and discussed, direction given, poses set and images made.

Most shoots I do will start with one light to keep it simple and get warmed up, the only exception is white seamless, which I did not shoot on this day...not sure why as it's my go to.

Another reason for starting with one light is it is less intimidating for your subject if they walk on to a simpler set with one light instead of 4 lights and fill cards, booms, stands etc.

Portraits are about creating what a subject, client and you want but also about capturing the real person and moments... a genuine smile, laugh or reaction to something I say or that happens. These things come from conversation and not having a huge set-up in the way from the get go.

Start simple and build up from their.

Some photographs from the shoot can be found below where you will see a mix of studio and location images but also notice the change in poses, feel and tone of the images.

Directing is something that has taken me years to start to feel comfortable with (it's a constant learning process - I'm no Sue Bryce yet), you can go from a calm/soft look to a serious one and then break it up with a laugh or smile.

Some of that comes from directing but a whole lot of it comes from just talking, having some fun and sometimes me acting like a prat. It's also good to watch what your subject does naturally from how the sit/stand to which way their head leans or that thing they do with their hair or hands. We want a mix of posed and natural images and those two things can cross over sometimes.

A fake smile form an actor/model can look real but it's still fake.. a real one is worlds apart and in my opinion gold.

[Please click images for a larger view,I am trying a different layout for galleries in blog posts and would love to hear any feedback in the comments]

The location based images above were either lit with natural light, off camera flash only or a mix of the two.

Most of the off camera flash images were lit using a relatively new modifier to me the Saber Strip, don't worry we will nerd out on the blog and take a closer look at this modifier in the near future but my initial impressions after using it again are very good. Thankfully my good friend Mark left it with me to play with further or he may of forgotten it.. I'm not sure.

I have said it many times before on-line, in interviews and on pod casts (Anyone remember New To Photo?) that off camera flash gives you options and is a valuable addition to any tool kit/bag. It can be done on the cheap or not.. either way the light is always better off camera.

If you would like to learn about off camera flash I am running my LGTL Workshop in June.

Earlier in this post I mentioned that Marita runs The Lotus Fitness Academy. It also turns out she convinced me to join up. My legs hate me but I already feel better.

I use to be a fit person with a resting heart rate of 53 (Martial Arts training + Insanity twice) and could keep up with many people younger than me, recently that changed and my resting is probably more like 75. Time to change that.

The sessions have been great with a good atmosphere, I am glad I joined.

Photography can be an unhealthy profession with hours spent sitting.. marketing, editing between shoots and not to mention moving heavy bags and equipment whilst working alone. so taking care of me and getting back in shape during 2016 (no the rest of my life) can only be a good idea.

Little did I know that on this day I would not only meet some great new people and go from lifting a 5D2 and 70-200 F2.8/heavy camera bag.. to running the circle of fire and up hills/steps in the local parks. Photography is awesome and my fitness will be again soon.

Thank You Marita for working with my on that day and kicking my ass at boot camp.

Thank you all for reading. I'm off to go do some cardio.

Rick

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Family, Friends + A Weekend in Wales

May 03, 2016 in Family, Personal

During April I helped some friends move house from Stockport to Wales, whilst it's hard to see them move far away I am happy that they have taken the jump and moved to such a beautiful place and on to better things/opportunities.

A little about the weekend...

I want to take this opportunity to let you all know that I somehow managed to miss my junction on the A55 and almost end up boarding a ferry in Holyhead, I am saying this because I know full well my sister from another mister (Hi Ellen) will mentioned it in the comments - some things in life you will never live down.

This was not the only daft thing I did this weekend....anyway.

Once the last loads were moved I decided to stay with them for 2 days and got not only to spend time with people I call family but also visit the amazing Newborough Beach.

The beach has other names that I can't even begin to pronounce but more importantly it's a beautiful place to visit and on a clear day has great views of Snowdonia. I really like this place.

(It also has large sharp rocks, my right hand and elbow tell me... It's ok I saved the camera)

It's one of those places you could go for the day with nothing but some refreshments and good company whilst just sitting and enjoying the location and views, of course on the day I visited I had a camera with me in the form of my Fuji X100+TLC lens and deicide to see what photographs I could find.

Below are a few photographs from the day. ( Click for larger view )

To the family.. Ellen, Steve, Zakk & Saul, keep a bed set and beer in the fridge because I will be back again soon to visit you guys. Miss you all and wish you all the happiness in the world in your new home.

If you need me I am just a phone call and 150 miles away :)

Thank you for reading.
Rick

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Rob James Seymour + Testing new-ish gear.

May 03, 2016 in Photo Shoot, Gear, Philosophy

Back in March I managed to finally complete my stills bag by adding a second Canon 5D Mark II and a Canon EF 70-200 F2.8L IS (Version 1 ) which means I am good gear wise for a while. The only exception would be a more powerful location light which in reality will only happen if work that requires that power becomes a regular thing, that subject matter is a whole other blog post.

One thing I always do with any new gear after sitting and looking at it for a few minuets... is test it.

The lenses and camera bodies go through Auto Focus calibration using Focal software and the gear gets a clean/general test to make sure everything works as it should, the firmware also gets update if required. FYI it was required for the newly acquired 5D2 because it was still on the original firmware.

It's at this point I notice any differences between the cameras, for example the LCD on the backup 5D2 is brighter than my main body at the same brightness setting, this stuff gets filled away in my brain.

I also spend some time making sure the camera bodies are set-up the same from the custom shooting modes (C1,C1,C3) to the custom functions, this is so I can just grab the backup as a second body or a ... (I hope this never happens) backup after failure and the cameras feel and act the same. Same body,same sensor, same everything... ok apart from the LCD brightness but I can live with that.

Once all this is done it's time to use it on a job so I can run the new gear in the field and review the files later in post. That said below are some images from the shoot with Rob.

We started in the studio whilst waiting for the weather to clear and then headed out to see what photographs I could find nearby the studio.

Thankfully I can report the backup camera (Now called 5D2 B) and the 70-200 work great, the only thing I noticed with the lens is that it does not handle a white seamless set as well as the Canon 24-105 F4L but it is plenty sharp enough and I like the way it renders skin and colour which is partly down to that sensor in the 5D2. I love that sensor.

After shooting a lot of studio work lately I enjoyed getting out on location even if it was close by to the studio. Rob was great to work with, the gear all worked... it was a good day.

I understand that a lot of this might seem somewhat anal but, I have a job to do on set and I also need to make sure my gear is good to go. As a working photographer I need to know it inside out, we all should know our gear. We owe this to our clients, the craft and ourselves.

Thank you for reading.
Rick

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