Photography

Client Work: 3 Families 1 Day Part 3 – Danny, Megan, Laura

This is the third shoot that took part on that day.  Best part about this shoot is that it was for a good friend of mine who I had not seen for years Dan.  So I was in the studio making photographs and catching up with an old (not in literal terms mate :) ) friend/meeting his family… nothing I would've rather of been doing.

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I grew up with Dan and went through high school and college with him, hell he was the guy who got me into Martial Arts training. We must have thrown a good number of kicks and punches each others way over those years, but no kicking and punching this time.

After college when we all went our separate ways we drifted apart, it happens to many people... Life happens/moves on, gets in the way a little… makes us busy.  Anyway it was dam good to see him and to finally meet Megan and Laura.  Dan’s son Elliot was not present at this shoot but we will schedule another shoot with them all together (Dan ring me about that).

We chatted and caught up which gave Megan time to get use to a busy studio with lights and gear around.  Both myself and Dan said neither of us had changed much… funny that.

One thing that was a nice surprise was Dan’s interest in the photo taking process, lights camera and all that... Ended up handing him the camera which you will see coming up

Shot mostly on the white seamless, nice, clean and simple and looked 10x better than grey or black paper unlit when shooting family images full length.  Grey works for fashion.. Not so much for family on full length.  Anyway during the shoot its important to get your clients or children involved, just happens that sometimes the client becomes the child… sorry Dan.

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One of the many wig props the studio has to hand.  Suites you Dan.

We started with a few images of Laura, Megan and Dan together.  Sometimes you can let them just be and interact, sometimes you pose.. other times you ask Megan if Dad is ticklish.

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Turns out he was. :)

We then grabbed a few frame with Megan and Laura in before Megan was comfortable enough to have some of just her.

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Now I don’t normally include images of people picking noses but it so reminds me of Dan.

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At this point Megan was starting to relax in to the shoot.

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I love both of these images of Megan; in fact they are both in my portfolio galleries.

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You can’t beat simple black and white and a moment between mother and daughter, Of course followed by an upside down moment with Dad.

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Usually during a shoot we take a break and get everyone off the set.  But I always stay aware of the available light in the studio be it window, fluorescent or a mix of the two.  This means I set the camera to the available light and shoot some frames in between sets.  These are black and white due to the mixed and not so great light, but remember its not always about light.. the moments matter as well and are just as if not more important.

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Whilst I was making the above images Dan was shooting with My X100 and catching me at work.

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Well done Dan, the last one is my favourite.

We also took a break during a lighting set up change over, and Dan wanted to take some images of me with Megan so I dialled in exposure and handed him the 5D and 85mm lens.  Nicely done Dan.. Maybe I should of let him shoot all of them.

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Yeah don't ask.

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I also shot some images with a simple one light set up using a white wall to give another option for prints. Used the 7’ Parabolic umbrella with diffusion cover, great big soft light source.

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We ended the shoot with talking about photography and some of the gear,  Dan asked me to make a dramatic portraits of him, something moody for facebook. Ok no problem.

I rigged up a speedlite with a Grid spot and boomed it over head.  Explained to Dan if you move your out of the light and shot this frame.. well after a few others where he cracked up smiling or laughing.

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Dan also wanted a dramatic side lit half face shot,   sure thing.  This was lit by the 28” Westcott Apollo allowing more light on to the background to prevent all his dark hair going black against a dark background.  Moody, Serious and dramatic images. Which could not be further from Dan as a person.. He’s not at all moody.

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Dan,

Thank you for booking me to photograph your and your family. And thank you to Laura and of course the little star Megan.

Lets not leave it so long to catch up again Dan, had a blast.  We are long over due a few pints and a curry my friend.

Also thanks to my local studio Ians Studio for the studio space.

Thank you for reading.
Rick

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Client Work (3 Family Shoots 1 Day part 2) – Harry & George Hughes

Part 2 of this blog series is shoot number 2 of 3 than took place on that busy day.

This shoot was with Harry & George Hughes; they arrived with Grandma as mum and Dad were working.

I kept on the white seamless for this shoot.  Reason is its cleaner.. Allot cleaner.  If you shoot on grey or black paper backgrounds with no boards / plexi it does not look as neat as a white seamless set does.

A great shot of them both together.  Brothers and at this point friends.

We then moved on to some images of just Harry.

As you will see through this set of photographs of Harry the expressions became more fun and silly.  This was in a bid to get little brother George back in to the shoot.

Yeah Harry found a hat.  Kids love these hats.. but sometimes I wish I would remember to hide them for longer.  But it was the hat that got George back in to the shoot.. he loves that hat.

Little George checking out Harry’s Spiderman impression.

Harry was enjoying moving around at this point which can always make for some interesting images.

This was Harry talking about his super heroes with George listing in.

I managed to get Grandmar Judith in front of the camera for one shot.  That toy truck belongs to one of my god sons did not think I was going to get it back off George.

The next set of images are of George not wanting Harry near his cushion… not even close.​

Get off its mine!

Next I got Harry talking about his favourite super heroes again.. do this and he’s away and can talk for ages.. you may also make him get up find another hat and start kicking the you know what out of imaginary bad guys.  Come on we have all done that before.

Just enough time at the end to have a face pulling.. face off.

Thank you Harry, George, Judith and Mum & Dad for another fun shoot.  And again thank to Ian’s Studio for the studio space.

For the photographers:  Keep it simple, simple light and simple set.. make it about the kids and about the family.  Oh watch out for hats :)

Shot with a Canon 5D2 and either a 50mm or 85mm prime lens.  I need to (infact just have) add a zoom lens to the kit for studio work, primes can be a bit limiting if you need to shift position quickly.

ISO 250
1/125th sec
F11 – giving some wiggle room with Depth of Field.

All images lit with 2 lights on the background and one 60” umbrella as the main light, reason is simplicity, it’s a huge modifier giving a soft light with good coverage for multiple people on a set.  I used it in reflective configuration as you can get more light from it that way, shoot through takes more power.

Thank you for reading.
Rick

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Client Work (3 Family Shoots 1 Day part 1) - Pippa, Dave & Sky

Back in Feb this year I had 3 family shoots in studio in one day.  This is the first of those shoots with Pippa, Dave & Sky who is one of the cutest little girls you will ever meet.

When working in a studio with lights, stands & backgrounds it can be a bit daunting for the children involved so I usually start slow and simple and make a point of arriving in studio 1-2 hours before start to prep the space and make it as safe as possible.  I also use this time to get my head in the mode of shooting.

Have to say Pippa, Dave & especially Sky were great and we all had allot of fun on the day.

We stuck to the white seamless set up for most of the shoot because it works, its simple and it’s clean.  3 Lights, white paper background and a few pieces of white board are all that’s needed.  Ok on to some images from the shoot.

I love this image above of Sky and her Dad, she is trying to figure out the white boards and the set.  Always have your exposure roughed in ready for when the client steps on set, that way you can catch moments like this and have good or very close exposure.

Whole family on set now and Sky looks at her shoes… Cracks me up.  The reflection is made possible by using the white board, I wont shoot full length white seamless with out it.. so much so I bought it for the local studio I use.

As the shoot progresses everyone (including myself becomes more comfortable) and we start to get some great images and moments.  Moments.. that’s the most important thing… not the gear.

The next few frames were not shot on the white seamless set, make sure you have some breaks now and again to change it up and keep it interesting for the child but be aware of your ambient light (windows light in this case) so you can dial in exposure and capture some candid shots.

Back on the seamless set for a few shots of Sky and her Toys.​

Sky the budding photographer, taking after her Mum Pippa.

Girls got to look her best whilst photographing.​

Yeah this is what happens when you knock you mode dial to bulb mode, Sky looks as impressed as I was.​

Sometimes your subjects/client just fall in to something and it works.​

Sometime I hand the camera to the child (with my help.. 5D2, grip and lens is heavy) and let them shoot some frames.  The next 3 images are courtesy of Sky,​

Then Sky found the hats.  Let me explain.. the owner of the studio I use is a stage / theatre actor and has a few props and hats around which means it’s not uncommon for the kids to find them.

At first the hat was a drum, makes sense I can see that.​

Then is was time to try it on.. this is where it went a bit wrong….

This always gets me laughing when I see it. 

Thank you Pippa, Dave & Sky for making it a fun and easy shoot.  Also thank you to Ians Studio for providing the studio space.

Thank you for reading.
Rick

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Looking for answers?...

I went in to Manchester this weekend to shoot some street again with the X100, still getting to know that camera.  I was not really getting much and felt terrible all day but I did come away with some images.

This image below is by far my favourite Image from the day.  The two gents in it are my good friends Kev Pack and Mark Boadey.  I like the symmetry and contrast and the fact they are looking up and she.. Well the statue is looking down.

It was shot ISO 3200 so its grainy but in a good way.  Actually quite like the grain the X100 produces so removed any noise reduction applied in lightroom before export.

I am still not feeling great so will blog the rest of the days images some other time.

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Thanks
Rick