Portrait Photography
Paul Malley • 26 July 2021
Portrait Shoot - Friday 23 July
A favourite aspect of my photography is Portrait work. I think it comes down to a 'person' confidence and ease in speaking with people, as well as having 'technical' confidence in the camera settings, lighting and equipment in use. During the Lockdown period, there has been little opportunity in improving my Portrait work: however, the recent easing of restrictions has allowed a return to this genre.
During the last few weeks, I had met a young lady who I thought would make a wonderful subject for enhancing my portfolio. In talking with her, she has done remarkably well in her own Film & Media studies at College and has her own genre enjoyment and prolific skill in taking photographs of music gigs and groups. It was a great coincidence which broke down some potential barriers between photographer and subject, in that she was at ease and relaxed at an early stage. I had broached the request for her to pose for a Portrait sitting and she agreed. Following on from this, we met shortly after, with her boyfriend over a social coffee, where again we relaxed and talked of location, timings, - I left the discussion of costume entirely to her, just saying it should be something she is entirely comfortable in. Once she was happy with my aspiration of the shoot, we set the date and time.
Prior to Friday 23rd July, we had almost 7 blistering days of heat, and I opted for a 8am start, so it wouldn't be too hot, and the option of backlighting on her long hair would offer some shots. My mind was buzzing with ideas. On the Friday, I awoke to drizzle on the bedroom window and a grey, overcast sky!!! - Oh well, at least I wouldn't have many issues with bright, contrasty shadows...
We all arrived in the space of 5mins and the outfit she wore was perfect to match the surroundings at the end of Hubbard's Hills. The onus was now on me to manage the shoot. Thankfully, with her studies in Film & Media, direction on my part was easily received and confidently acted upon. Effective, two-way communication is vital during a shoot, as is feedback and encouragement. I used flash, setting the variable power setting to balance the daylight. I sought to reduce the background by -1/2 a stop in camera, whilst setting the flash to +1/3, thereby allowing my subject to 'pop' or stand out slightly from the background. ISO 200 was set, with the 24-70mm 2.8L EF lens set at 70mm for a pleasing perspective.
It was a joy to work with my subject, a lovely 2hrs with her and her partner. I was delighted with the images shown on the screen; they required very little post production work, other than a tweak with the magenta balance (in RAW), an expected consequence of the large green overhang influence. Sharpening was set at 45% and 0.8pix rad.
The following morning, I had converted the images to jpeg and saved them on a memory stick as promised for her. I also had 2 images (see attached) printed at 12"x8" and these were handed over as a 'Thank You'.
I feel that the Portrait mojo has returned again!
Huge 'Thanks' to A for your time, agreement and wonderful personality, as well as the use of these images.
A favourite aspect of my photography is Portrait work. I think it comes down to a 'person' confidence and ease in speaking with people, as well as having 'technical' confidence in the camera settings, lighting and equipment in use. During the Lockdown period, there has been little opportunity in improving my Portrait work: however, the recent easing of restrictions has allowed a return to this genre.
During the last few weeks, I had met a young lady who I thought would make a wonderful subject for enhancing my portfolio. In talking with her, she has done remarkably well in her own Film & Media studies at College and has her own genre enjoyment and prolific skill in taking photographs of music gigs and groups. It was a great coincidence which broke down some potential barriers between photographer and subject, in that she was at ease and relaxed at an early stage. I had broached the request for her to pose for a Portrait sitting and she agreed. Following on from this, we met shortly after, with her boyfriend over a social coffee, where again we relaxed and talked of location, timings, - I left the discussion of costume entirely to her, just saying it should be something she is entirely comfortable in. Once she was happy with my aspiration of the shoot, we set the date and time.
Prior to Friday 23rd July, we had almost 7 blistering days of heat, and I opted for a 8am start, so it wouldn't be too hot, and the option of backlighting on her long hair would offer some shots. My mind was buzzing with ideas. On the Friday, I awoke to drizzle on the bedroom window and a grey, overcast sky!!! - Oh well, at least I wouldn't have many issues with bright, contrasty shadows...
We all arrived in the space of 5mins and the outfit she wore was perfect to match the surroundings at the end of Hubbard's Hills. The onus was now on me to manage the shoot. Thankfully, with her studies in Film & Media, direction on my part was easily received and confidently acted upon. Effective, two-way communication is vital during a shoot, as is feedback and encouragement. I used flash, setting the variable power setting to balance the daylight. I sought to reduce the background by -1/2 a stop in camera, whilst setting the flash to +1/3, thereby allowing my subject to 'pop' or stand out slightly from the background. ISO 200 was set, with the 24-70mm 2.8L EF lens set at 70mm for a pleasing perspective.
It was a joy to work with my subject, a lovely 2hrs with her and her partner. I was delighted with the images shown on the screen; they required very little post production work, other than a tweak with the magenta balance (in RAW), an expected consequence of the large green overhang influence. Sharpening was set at 45% and 0.8pix rad.
The following morning, I had converted the images to jpeg and saved them on a memory stick as promised for her. I also had 2 images (see attached) printed at 12"x8" and these were handed over as a 'Thank You'.
I feel that the Portrait mojo has returned again!
Huge 'Thanks' to A for your time, agreement and wonderful personality, as well as the use of these images.
Portrait
Photo By: Paul Malley
Portrait
Photo By: Paul Malley
Louth Photographic Society
Good Morning All Last week at the club we held our monthly PDI competition judged by Martyn Wrigg, the standard of entries was very high and well done to Tony Gaskins for a first in the Architectural Detail and Derek Smith for his first place in the Open. All the results are on our website under competitions. This week, Wednesday 18th March we will be holding a Committee meeting, just committee members for this one. The following week Chris Birchmore is the speaker for the night. Harry is now accepting entries for the PDI local competition, with the categories of "Local Nature" and "Open". We judge this competition in house so if you would like to judge one of the subjects please let me know. Regards Graham
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A PDI (Projected Digital Image) competition was held last night with the categories of "Architectural Detail", and "Open". Martyn Wrigg was our judge for the evening, and he competently judged the submitted images, although he diid surprise with some of his choices of placing, but that's a judges perogative. Martyn complemented members on the quality of the images presented, which had made some of his decisions difficult. First placed was "It's a Fixer Upper" in the Architectural Detail section, and "Dervish Musician" in the Open section. Congratulations to Robin Begley, who as one of our newest members submitted some impressive images, achieving a 3rd place in "Architectural Details", and 2nd in the "Open" category. All the results are now posted to our website Competition page.
Good Morning All Last week at the club member Steve Chapman gave us an insight into his life and especially his time at Ilam Park in Derbyshire photographing for the National Trust. Steve showed us many photographs he had taken of the people involved with the trust and the Peak District. The second half was dedicated to Steve's own work, some superb aircraft photography as well as many other subjects. There is a report on the evening on our blog page. This week, Wednesday 11th March we are holding a PDI competition, with the categories of "Architectural Detail " and "Open" to be judged by Martyn Wrigg of Barton. The following week is a committee meeting for the committee members only on that evening. For newer members we have two committee meetings a year. Regards Graham
Last night Steve Chapman presented a selection of images from his archives. Steve had previously been a volunteer photographer for the National Trust, and he showed many photos from the Ilam Park Estate, Dovedale, it was interesting to see some of the "behind the scenes" photos. The Jacobite reenactment battle scenes were amazing, the uniforms showed great attention to detail, and there were some real characters among the reenactors. After the break Steve showed some of his general photography, he has a great photographic eye, as some of his photos showed with different colours, shapes, and leading lines. Steve has taken many photos of agricultural machinery, and risked life and limb to create some close up aircraft photos. For atmosphere, just look at these horseriders at the top of the hill on a cool early morning. For heartstopping imagery look at these children on the side of a building, the children are photos on the side of the building, however, Steve wasted no time in capturing this stunning image. Many thanks to Steve for a fascinating evening.
Good Morning All Last week at the club I gave you a PDI (Projected Digital Image) presentation showing photographs I had taken on my travels last year, following up with some past and present photographs of Binbrook. I hope you all enjoyed the evening and maybe saw parts of England you hadn't seen before. This week, Wednesday 4th March, our member Steve Chapman will be showing us photographs he has taken. This is Steve's first time showing the club his work so will be a very good night. Harry is now accepting your PDI's for the next competition, with the categories of "Architectural Detail" and "Open". The closing date is Friday 6th March. Regards Graham
The N&EMPF Exhibition will be on display in Cleethorpes from 3rd March.
It was "President's Night" with Graham Harrison showing some of his images from short breaks, and holidays around the UK. Graham rented a holiday cottage in Newbiggin, Northumberland, and showed many of his photos from that area, including a visit to Lindisfarne, where the castle on the rocky outcrop made for an impressive photo. In Suffolk, Graham visited Pakefield, and photographed the colourful beach huts at the top of the shingle beach, he also showed several photos from the Lake District. One of my favourite photos from last night was St. Mary's Lighthouse, Whitley Bay, with the groins in juxtaposition. Thank you Graham for a very interesting evening.
Good Morning All Last week at the club Harry and Chris gave us an insight into how our exhibition preparation is going, we have a lot of historical photos to go on show and there may be room for some more up to date ones but Harry and Chris will see how much room we have left when they start putting it all together at the museum. I also took the time to find out what you wanted in the new program, filling in the competition subjects and outings. This week, Wednesday 25th February, it is the Presidents night, so that's my night and I will be showing you what I got up to in 2025. The rainbow at Brough castle gives you idea of one area I visited. Harry is now accepting entries for the next PDI competition, with the categories of "Architectural Detail" and "Open". The new program is nearly done and to give you a chance to get ready for the first two competitions in May and June the subjects are May, PDI comp - Landscapes with water and Open and June, Print competition, Trees and Open. Regards Graham
Good Morning All Last week at the club we held our Print Of The Year (POTY) competition, it's one of our highlights of the year and judged by Grahame Dunkin, it proved to be an excellent night with some very good prints on show. The results are on our website under competitions but the highlights were Dave Turner being placed first in the Pictorial, landscape and best Mono print in show; Robin Begley, First in the Record section, Keith Rossington first place in Portrait, Harry Kerman first in the photo/journalism (including Street) and myself taking first place in the Nature as well as overall Print of the Year. My photograph of a Hairy Shield bug was taken at Chambers wood on a camera club outing. This week, Wednesday 19th February, we are sorting out Prints for our 70th anniversary exhibition at Louth Museum. Please bring along any local prints you may have and maybe a few further afield for selection. Please also bring along any prints you may have that you think will be ok for the LPA Foster challenge and LPA Battles. They need to be mounted on a 500mm x 400mm mount and a maximum print size of A3. Don't forget to take a photograph of water if you are doing this years project, no real excuses at the moment. Regards Graham
