jonwestaway
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jackprichett
January 28, 2023
I'm an old guy like Don. The picture takes me back to B/W portraits and the work I used to (hope to) do. Keep on with your great captures.
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Behind The Lens
Location
I hadn't ever done any studio portrait photography beforehand. So when my photography club held a class on portrait photography I jumped at the opportunity to participate. The photo was taken at Cominos House where our club meets in Cairns.Time
Being a studio shoot it didn't really matter as to the time of day, but it was night time.Lighting
The model, Don Cowie, is one of our photographic club members who drew the short straw to be out in front of the camera. Each photographer got to have their time with Don who seemed pretty relaxed and in control the whole time. As this was my first ever studio shoot I was as nervous as can be. But the moment I got my chance the nerves disappeared and I was able to have Don pose in all manner of positions. This was one of the first pics I took and he wasn't quite ready, which I really liked as it didn't really appear like he was trying to pose. He seemed more natural in his pose if that makes sense.Equipment
This was shot using my Canon 5D Mark III with a Canon L Series 24-70mm f4 lens. Canon Speedlight 600EX-RT with additional continuous soft lighting to Don's left and right sides.Inspiration
I'm still relatively new to photography and I'm always looking for new challenges. So when our club organised the studio portrait night, I was one of the first members to sign up. The experience was invaluable and has taught me a lot about lighting and the affect it can have on the subject being photographed.Editing
There wasn't much post editing work done here. I used a Google Nix B&W Preset and then in Lightroom I played with the contrast, vignetting and black sliders to darken the background to isolate the model.In my camera bag
I'm more a nature photographer, so I usually try to have with me my trusty Canon 5D MkIII camera along with the Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS II lens, Canon 100mm macro lens and a Canon 24-70mm f4L lens.Feedback
Because I'm very much the novice in this type of photography I'm not confident to give technical advice. However for anyone wanting to get into photography of any kind, find a club in your local area or join an online photographic club and get involved.