Actor wants portraits for portfolio

Click here for model Deborah Fontain  is an actress who wanted soft lighting portraits for her portfolio. The location were the piers at Walsh Bay on the western side of The Rocks in Sydney. Shot in the morning I used the sunlight as seperation light on one side, and an umbrella with a speedlight SB910 to the other side to provide the soft light. I varied the ambient from zero EV down to 2 stops. In the shadow two SB910's in umbrellas were used.

 

Fitness shoot in Legends Gym

Margie Mistica wanted a shoot in Legends Gym at Kensington, and wanted images similar to those of Andreia Brazier. I decided to go for a darkened background with a main flash on one side and a snooted flash high on the other to give harsher light to emphasise her toned body.

Bellambie shoot with Jamie-Lee

A shoot with  Jaimie-Lee at Bellambie, just north of Wollongong.

Portraits and softness

Many model and photographers prefer softness in their images. This can either be achieved by having the image slightly out of focus, using a lens that is not crystal sharp, or in post processing such as photoshop. To my way of thinking, portraits should emphasise the eyes. The eyes should be tac-sharp and should also have a catch light.

Below are 2 photos of the same model using the same lighting setup. The only difference is the first  one is slightly soft and the second is crystal sharp. Which one do you prefer?

Last weekend was the second time I had shot in Phelps Street at Surry Hills. But it was the first time I had shot with Sylvia. In most of the photos I used an SB910 in an umbrealla on camera right, another on camera left, and an SB910 in a Gary Fong Snoot high and behind for hair light. Sylvia was very pleased with the shoot and the photos.

A shoot with Maddy in Newcastle. She knew what she wanted - three completely different themes in a two hour session. I wish my new lenses had arrived for this shoot.

Model: Renae

I travelled to Mudgee and spent most of the day shooting Renae. Outside was very windy and often wet, so I mainly used a single SB700 in a Gary Fong dome as the light diffuser. I setup a black velvet backdrop in the motel usit and used 2 SB910's in umbrellas and an SB700 in a small soft box.