modern lifestyle portrait photography for families, children, individuals, and pets
I have just spent the most wonderfully inspirational weekend attending photographer John Denton‘s lighting masterclass in Hampshire. On Saturday our theme was location portraiture and location lighting, moving from natural light and natural backdrops to the more atmospheric multi-light setups. Progression is (or should be) vital to any progressive modern photography business and it’s usually…
Fine art nude photography is an exacting discipline and one where expert training and direction really matters. Irrespective of where we sit on the photographic learning curve, we should always strive to move forward. I believe this should be the case for all of us, whether or not we are new to the profession or…
This is real fine art. Even if it’s not my domain (I’m a landscape, nature and street ( enthusiast ) photographer ), I can appreciate the beauty, the expressivity and the good taste.
A magnificent series.
Don
Thank you for the kind comment Don, figure studies certainly take you out of your comfort zone and force you to think in different ways!
Stunningly beautiful photography Lindsay, the ghost-like figures really set-off the imagination. Brilliant and very educational write-up, I shall look at these again and again. Thank you.
Very beautiful photography. Those last few I can’t quite work out if they are studio shots or on a beach. Would love to know.
Hi Paul, they’re in the studio – there were a couple of ‘flour throwers’ just out of frame. As you can imagine, we had a lot of fun timing the shots with the throws! The problem with being on a beach would be health and safety – throwing sand could be harmful and the weather on the day of the shoot was below freezing outdoors.
Copyright for Photographers | Why do we Retain Copyright? There is no doubt that the topic of copyright for photographers is and will continue to be a subject which causes us to grind our teeth on a weekly if not daily basis. Quite simply the public at large either have little knowledge of how it…
Your write-up is mind blowing. So many Laws that the ordinary layman does not understand or has even given thought to. I am certainly not a professional photographer, but having read your details, the road is very complicated for anyone contemplating a career in photography. Apart from my brief summary, Lindsay, I certainly enjoyed reading through your very complex details. Thank you.
Hi Mag, yes, it’s vitally important that anybody who is offering their photographs to any third party (be they professional or amateur) has at least a basic understanding of Copyright and image usage. The terms of use should always be set in writing whenever photographs are handed over, to anyone, including friends!
There’s no doubt that entering photography competitions can be a fantastic way of gauging your progress and can really help you to progress. Of course the term “photography competition” can cover anything from winning the wooden spoon at your local camera club right up to world-class competitions run by the established professional photographic institutions and…
Great photos and illustrative images, Lindsay. As always, your posts for photographers are educational, thoughtful, and informative.
Cheers,
Stephen
Brilliant write-up Lindsay, your explainations of the ‘pros and cons’ is a great help to novices like me, some of them I have never even thought about, now I am looking more carefully at photographs . .. making comments and of course picking out faults that I myself have made. Thank you.
Fellowship of The Societies Just a couple of weeks ago I was writing a slightly emotional blog post detailing a significant achievement and something of a milestone – a Fellowship in portraiture with the BIPP (British Institute of Professional Photography). There are four institutions which can award the recognised photographic distinctions of Licentiate, Associate, and…
This really is a WOW write-up. Congratulations Lindsay fantastic result. Now a double Fellowship… I have watched your progress over the past few years, and marvelled at your dedication to photography, and have been overjoyed at your progress. Great News.
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Beautiful images Lindsay. x
Hi Lindsay – wonderful pictures – Please can you share with us which lenses and cameras you were using for the individual pictures , thanks
Hi Mark, the vast majority of the outdoor images were taken with the OMD and 35-100 f2.8 lens, this is a real portrait workhorse just as my Canon 70-200 f2.8 used to be – but thankfully the OMD kit is so much lighter! The outdoor studio light images were captured with the Fuji X100. The image of Jennie inside the boat house, sitting on the side of the boat, was also taken with the X100 since it affords a perfect wide field of view without distortion. The Hollywood hard light headshot was captured with the OMD and 35-100.
Hi Lindsay.
Wow! Absolutely stunning photos. Everything, the lighting, model, photography, post, all the production values are off the charts. Thanks for posting what camera was used for which sessions, I had those questions, too!
Terrific work; must have been a lot of fun.
Thanks for posting this blog entry, I learn a lot from looking at your work…
Stephen
So pleased you enjoyed the images Stephen, it certainly was enjoyable. I’m sitting here free from the aches I would normally have endured for a week back in the days of hoisting around my big DSLRs and lenses!
Lindsay, these are gorgeous as ever. Please can you say a few words about your post production routine? This is often the hardest step for me yet you seem to maintain a natural look which is what I want. I met John at the Convention a couple of years back and I am so envious you got to spend a weekend with him!
Hi Nat, I keep my workflow as simple as possible sticking to just one or two colour processes per set and one or two monochrome processes. I download everything into Lightroom then cull any images I don’t intend to show, mostly these would-be test shots, duplicates, or blinks. Starting with a well exposed RAW file there isn’t much to do, I apply a simple Curve which sorts out contrast and density (make sure you’re not blowing any highlights or blocking any important shadow areas). I shoot with a fixed white balance setting for continuity, this also makes batch adjustments much easier afterwards should you need to tweak however I will say that the white balance on the OMD and the X-100 is usually spot on and I have not needed to make any adjustments. The last few images in this set are slightly warmer than the rest, deliberately so, since I decided to use a Cloudy white balance setting as opposed to my usual Daylight preference which is not as punchy. I rarely need to go into Photoshop these days unless there are specific distractions which need to be removed from the shot. If any skin smoothing is needed, or eye wightening, the adjustment brushes in Lightroom are very useful.
… and after that last article I already thought she’d never look into the camera
Indeed – you’ve picked up on a very good point Wolfgang – many nude photographers feel that eye contact should be avoided. Smiling is also mostly to be avoided.
Dear Lindsay,
These are the amazing portraits. I am impressed with the image quality that comes out of the OMD-5. Is this the Panasonic lens 35-100 f2.8 or is it Olympus’s? I am glad you did a review of the XE-1 and the OMD-5 because both are in the same class I have the same debate: image quality vs. performance.
Since the image quality as exhibit in this post convince me that I’ll have to with the OMD-5 for the following reasons: weather seal, flip screen(for street photography and gives me another tool for creativity. I don’t care what the other stuck up pros say: ‘oh those are for the amateurs. Us pros don’t need flip screen), AF speed, lens line up.
Do you know if it has an HDR mode? Since it doesn’t have as good as a DNR as Fuji X series.
What lens would you recommend for landscape and street photography?
Thanks a bunch & lovely work.
Hai-Ho Tran
Fremont, California
Dear Hai-Ho, thank you for your comment and the kind words. Given that the OMD generally exceeds the quality of most modern APS-C cameras, the excellent output will be no surprise. As far as a comparison between the OMD and the XE1 goes, there are both actual and subjective differences in how the images render and I personally do not like the output from the X Trans sensor. However as you rightly say the features and performance of the OMD does put it in a different class and this is very much why it appeals more and more to professionals. And it is also wonderful as a personal use camera as well, given its small size. One of its greatest strengths is of course the wonderful array of Micro 4/3 lenses. I don’t really to landscape work and lens choices are very personal indeed – what might suit me may not be right that the next person. There are quite a few articles here on the Blog where I use different lenses, but generally speaking for Street and walkabout photography I tend to reach for the 14-42 pancake zoom or the PL25.
Brilliant photography Lindsay. You were obviously enjoying every minute of it. The model looks stunning, showing every detail to perfection. Thank you Lindsay.
Thank you Mag. It should be said that working with a professional model is very different to a normal client. A trained model will work quickly through the concepts and will understand the finer details of posing, expression, styling etc. One of the biggest challenges of photographing normal members of the public is helping them to relax and interpret what you would like them to do. Amazingly, some people come alive and really sparkle in front of the lens, whilst others are understandably more shy and reserved. This is what makes location portraiture so challenging and so interesting.