My Portrait photography journey!
The very first chapter!
2 years of exploration, 2 years of trial and error, trying to reach that point where I feel comfortable with what I do and fully enjoy the process. Before I make that next step, the one that will take me to more creative work, here is a brief summary of what I went through, what I was looking for and a short behind the scenes of one of my latest portrait sessions.
It’s a process that sometimes takes years. We all want fast results fast but that’s not how things work. Portraits and headshots at home or in the studio are not my specialty. I did them from time to time before, but always felt much more comfortable doing full body shots or environmental portraits.
For the following images of Clara P. I used a single flash with a collapsible 65cm beautydish and the AD300pro.
Clara ( @clara.is.back ) in Toulouse
Fujifilm GFX100s and GF 250 mm f/4 R LM OIS WR
1/160sec f/4 ISO 50
Clara ( @clara.is.back ) in Toulouse
Fujifilm GFX100s and GF 250 mm f/4 R LM OIS WR
1/160sec f/4 ISO 50
Clara ( @clara.is.back ) in Toulouse
Fujifilm GFX100s and GF 250 mm f/4 R LM OIS WR
1/125sec f/4 ISO 50
And then 2 years ago COVID showed up… and it was the perfect time for me to develop and step up my portrait game.
I tried 2 different approaches: continuous lights and flashes from one to 3 lights!
I soon discovered that using continuous lights wasn’t always the best fit for me. Although I love seeing the effect of my lights on my subject right away, I needed more often than I thought that punch that only strobes could give me.
Depending on the style, the effects I wanted to create, the model and outfits chosen, there was no perfect choice. Unless you have the time to switch from Tube led lights, to COB to flashes, you will pretty much be stuck with a set of looks, once you have chosen the type of lights you will use.
When I want a dark and moody look, and If I don’t need too much power, or when I want to play with colors, RGB tube led lights are great. You can quickly get satisfying results compared to flashes and gels. I used 2 NANlite PavoTube 30c led lights for the following portrait of Jennifer Morelle, and you can find the complete gallery and behind the scenes video of this session here:
If I want to let my model improvise, move and express emotions, I will often choose continuous lights to better direct my model live if needed, and to avoid my flashes to pop every 2 seconds.
Maeva K. during an improvised portrait session last year. The white table top is used to bounce some of the light back to fill in those shadows. My main light placed above our heads is the NANlite Forza500 with a 120 parabolic softbox and a grid.