Throughout my time on the course I've been told by several members of staff, that to make it and be the best, I've got to step-up, put in the time and effort and push myself further than just what the rest of my cohort are doing.
The biggest problem I've found in photographing people is they are friends or people who are generally not used to being in front of the camera. People would smile for their pose in a candid or snapshot fashion or wouldn't pose at all. Helpful in learning about light and technical side of things but often left me feeling unsatisfied with images due to the subject being photographed.
I also know the importance of making contacts within the industry and, being a student often gives you a pass and a chance at things I would otherwise have to pay for.
Due to these reasons I took it upon myself to contact Tyne Tees Models. A north-east based modelling agency to ask if it was at all possible to photograph their models in return for the images (Time for files) along with a link to my website to act as a portfolio. They accepted and said I could have access to new faces and models that needed testing.
I knew I wanted to photograph men this was due do several reasons; The first is that I find men easier to photograph, though they are often less comfortable in front of the camera, I find men need less work in regards to posing and styling to look 'cool' within an image. I also have a preconception that when photographing females models there tends to be an emphasis on beauty. I wanted simple and relaxed images that portrayed metropolitan guys with an air of confidence about them but that where also more commercial in style and less 'instagram'.
I was nervous going into the shoot, I have never worked directly with models in the past and was thrown even more out of my comfort zone by being told the models all preferred to be shot in Newcastle. I struggle with anxiety, particularly with places I don't know, people I don't know and travelling, so simply getting there produced problems for me. I asked if I could bring an 'assistant' to help hold reflectors and equipment, which was true but also it meant a friend that would ease my anxieties.
Luckily, we had recently been on a trip to Newcastle and while there I noticed several places that would make for an interesting place to photograph. I found the places on Google Maps and used the street view function to screenshot the places for easy reference on my phone and confirmed time and place to meet Josh.
I made sure to arrive early and I walked the planned route in reverse to make sure there were no issues like closed roads or building work. Unfortunately the shoot was taking place on a Sunday which is market day at the Quay side. This meant more people than usual in the area.
I took a few test shots in the location I was in, The Baltic, of my assistant so I could get a feel of how the images where going to look. I started with my 24-70 f/2.8 lens which would allow my different focal length and a wide aperture to through the background out of focus.
Josh arrived and shooting began.
To begin with we a posed with issues from hard light outlined here.
This is amongst the first images I took of Josh. Instantly I was happy with how comfortable and natural Josh looks in the image. He has very sculpted features which catches the light well and he's styled close enough to my brief.
One thing I noted was although the background was nice and out of focus, particularly thanks to the distance from Josh, I wanted to really isolate Josh from everything and make the background as creamy as possible when I wanted to, know i wouldnt always have this level of distance from the background.
Knowing the capabilities of the 35mm f1.4 lens I own, I soon switched. Knowing it may not be as ideal for close up shots, but also that I would be more inclined to take mid/full-length shots of Josh later in the day.
ISO 100 f/2.8 1/250sec 70mm
ISO 100 f/1.4 1/400sec 35mm
I positioned Josh in against this wall in the open shade to have soft directional light hit his face. The light is soft enough to reduce flaws in his skin but the directional light is enough to still add interesting shadows highlighting his features. The wide angle of the 35mm meant I get to get fairly close to Josh to get this shot but allowed me to get in the background of the baltic being directly lit by the sun.
ISO 100 f/1.4 1/400sec 35mm
Here, I've used a prism against the lens to refract the light hitting the lens this creates what looks like a light leak or double exposure. What we're seeing is what was at a 60 degree angle from the cameras point of view. The wide aperture helping to blur were the refraction meets the actual image.
Also, on Josh's face, you can see that there is a very subtle warmer tone the the left of his face. I had asked my assistant to angle a reflector towards Josh. Though he was stood in open shade it was enough to very subtly add that hint of directional warm light.
With this image, I used a reflector to cast some warm like onto Josh's face creating a loop lighting effect.
This is enhanced his jawline and given his cheek bones definition. You can also the golden light being cast onto the slightly reflective surface of the billboard which serves to separate the dark side of this head from a dark background.
In this image of Josh, it's golden hour and the sun it setting just slightly to camera left. You can see he being side lit.
I had to be careful as when shooting into the sun, even indirectly, can produce lens flares, which my lens hood helped to shade the front element. However after seeing this shot, I decided to remove my lens hood and shoot from a lower angle.
This would make Josh seem taller due to perspective, and it would also allow the sun to hit the front element of the lens directly.
ISO 100 f/1.4 1/1000 35mm
ISO 100 f/1.4 1/640 35mm
The result is a flare which I think, due to it's central placement adds intrigue to the image. Josh is a little washed out because of the flare but I think that adds to the ambiance of the photograph.
Unfortunately due to the different angle we now see background distractions like a road sign that Josh's body was covering when shot at eye level. However I don't think this detracts from the overall image making it one of my favourites of the day.
The lighting conditions did prove difficult at times.
For example the above image, being back lit, meant my camera's built-in meter would at times read the background. I tend to shoot with spot metering and, as I was utilising focus recomposition a lot in this shoot, I found myself forgetting I had already metered for Josh's face and quickly flicking the dials on the camera to change expose for the new incorrect exposure when my focus point would move during recomposition.
Resulting in images like this.
Before even taking this picture I knew the under lighting wasn't going to work. However, Josh himself expressed interest and I was intrigued to see if the colour would help alleviate the unflattering and creepy feel under-lighting gives.
It didn't. We're used to seeing parallel or top-down due to always seeing things lit from above thanks to the sun.
It gives off a macabre look that can definitely work in certain situations when that is the intention, however luminous teal underlighting creates a sort of juxtaposition that simply doesn't create a flarrting image.
Throughout this shoot I found myself actively looking for places with interesting light more so than I usually would. I wasn't just looking for well lit places with soft lighting I was looking at how like reflected off the environment and how the colours of the scene could add to the image.
Here, the sun had just set so daylight had a very blue tone to it. I saw that under a bridge that had very warm orange lighting which I thought would contrast well. Particularly with Josh himself as he has ginger hair and is wear a lot of blue.
The colour of light and styling seems to mesh perfectly so I positioned Josh under the light but far enough away it would only cast a rim lighting which you can see wraps around his back hitting the top of his head and his arm to the left. The light hitting his face come from the opening of the tunnel under the bridge.
I sat off centre to Josh and asked him to look straight down the lens causing a directional light creating a very near rembrandt triangle which I was pleased that I noticed on the day itself as opposed to being a lucky mistake, making this one of my favourite images of the shoot.
In this picture, we were simply walking by and I noticed the setting sun streaming through.
I stood Josh just against the wall of the bridge support where light was hitting and it creating a beautiful rim like making him pop from the background.
Though it seemed dark in person, I was able to see enough light and how it was hitting Josh's face asking him to face the camera creating a directional light which emphasises his bone structure due to directional light give form, depth and shape resulting in my favourite image of the shoot.
Selected images
