Mike Taylor Photo Arts
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Gallery 1
  • Gallery 2

Comments welcomed and encouraged

portrait photography lighting

11/27/2019

 
Picture
Portrait photography lighting, in its essence could be deemed successful if the person was shot completely in silhouette. Case in point, the portrait above of local painter, Paul Nabuurs was shot against a large window. No light illuminated him, but two flashes picked out features of his paintings.  The window light backlit him, and helped to define his shape
People who know Paul, recognize him for his head shape and more specifically for his beard. (he has since moved into a much larger studio space)
​
Picture
Lighting techniques for illuminating a person, are so varied that entire books have been penned regarding them. Suffice it to say that you could try a different technique every week for your entire career and get a different result every time.

I for one am enamoured with the use of LED lights and motion as a way to bring about the feeling of spirit, energy, life. This image of Bruce in my tiny studio incorporates just that technique. We tried different types and speeds of motion with a second light (small flash) to pick out his neck tattoo each time. You will notice that even though his facial features are somewhat blurred, his tatt is relatively sharp. This is the action of the low-output flash with a tight cone mounted on it.

I use this technique quite often in my experimental work as I find it helps me express myself and my approach to recording people as they truly are. Living beings, not statues.

​
Picture
Further to that, being able to express that fact that my subjects are usually living (I hope), I sometimes feel the need to have them move during the exposure. Here, Samara humours me by rapidly flipping her head right to left and back again. A single flash hits the b/g while another flash with a purple gel shoots through an umbrella. Even more, I am holding an LED bulb over camera that is tinted with a mustard coloured gel. The resulting colour mix is beautiful, as you can see. The long exposure of 1/5th second gives me a bit of blur, while the flash freezes some of the image.

Experimenting with lighting is my way of metaphorically adding a new spice to the stew. Giving up and shooting like everybody else, is simply not an option. I encourage you to try it as well. 

Send me a note and I'll share my list of resources for gels and lights.

Comments are closed.

    Mike Taylor

    Photo-Artist working a personal vision.

    Archives

    April 2022
    March 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    July 2019
    January 2019
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    July 2016
    March 2016
    June 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    September 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013

    Meet me on Facebook

    Follow me to Instagram

    Categories

    All
    Book
    Book Publishing
    Branding
    Challenges
    Contest
    Equipment
    Experimenting
    Free Print
    Gallery Show
    Instruction
    Lighting
    Nikon Lens
    Personal Projects
    Peterborough
    Portraits
    Public Display
    Self Promotion
    Shooting A Job
    Social Media
    Spark Photo Festival
    Videos

    Great Book
    Picture
    For those of us interested in better marketing techniques, get this book.

    RSS Feed

    Book a Shoot
    Mike Taylor Photo Arts
    205Wilson Street
    Peterborough ON
    K9J 1S7 Canada

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Gallery 1
  • Gallery 2