An honest subject

I’m a firm believer that people change considerably when they make a big effort to look good in a picture. The most attractive people I know are the ones who relax, stay themselves and just take it as it comes. If you want to see total honesty in a photo, then you’ll get it from just about any kid under the age of 10. Mention photography of children to people and they conjure up babies on rugs, or primary school photos showing reluctant, awkward smiles. Make children pose and they’ll hate it. Let them be themselves and you’re on to something.

I was recently commissioned to shoot some casual shots of a young girl, the ultimate aim being for the family to have a few photographs for framing. I wanted to try and capture the person in a location, but beyond that I wanted to keep an open mind. The plan was to go out and about, have a good time, and record some stuff without placement or direction. This can be a little risky, because as we all know kid’s moods change in an instant, but nothing ventured nothing gained. The location was to be around Aldeborough on the Suffolk coast, maybe the beach, maybe a park too. The day was freezing cold and we aimed for the beach first. While there were bouts of sunshine, for the most part the day was overcast and this worked well as shadows didn’t come into play. Plus I was shooting black & white for a lot of the time, so a high level of ambient light wasn’t required. 

The first shot here was during a little stone throwing competition, but it gives the feel of a child lost in thought on a windswept day. I’ve cropped the height down to provide a slighty more panoramic feel (to me it feels a little like the end of a movie) and I’m really happy with the result. The picture could be viewed as generic by somebody who doesn’t know the subject, but from the parent’s perspective it’s also unmistakably their daughter, so it works. The technical elements are very simple, no point being elaborate because the feel of the day was very editorial and off the cuff. It’s shot at 400asa on a 24mm lens, slightly underexposed to bring out the clouds, with the lighting on the body tweaked later because the file is RAW. Some people might light this with flash to add a little drama, but unless I can use a studio softbox I don’t like flash, so it was natural light all the way. I could have asked somebody to stand next to me and hold a reflector panel, punching some light into the foreground, but that would have taken away the spontaneity of the picture and disturbed the moment. Next stop, a nearby castle…

Anything with ruins or places to hide are winners with kids. They don’t give a damn about the history, but at the same time they love the environment. The second shot was simply a matter of chatting and walking and when we came to a gap in the wall, she looked right at me. That worked up to a point, but then when something distracted her and she looked away – bingo – it makes the picture because the lack of eye contact lends a much more natural feel. Again, really straightforward set-up : 800asa, 50mm lens, but this time with the aperture opened up to pull some light into the shadows. It’s been cropped square because the walls to the left and right were just wasted frame space.

The last location was a park, where the thinking was to use a setting totally different to the beach or the castle. I also wanted one of the framed prints to include some detail, vary the content a little and move away from just a person. I deliberately used only one lens on this, the 300mm, shot at f2.8. This focal length gives a feel which is very middle ground heavy, that’s to say it throws the back and foreground out of focus and results in the complete opposite of the beach picture, which is almost as much about the clouds as the little girl. After a few detail shots typical of the surroundings, intended to compliment the portrait, I just used the evening backlight to shoot another casual pic. There’s a feeling about the last one, it says “I’m tired” after a long day having fun, so a natural end to the set. Keeping this one colour was important too because then the slightly golden feel of the evening works with the tree detail. Putting them together and cropping quite tightly also makes the print interesting and varied. So, not brain surgery by any means. Just an approach free from photographic trickery, no complicated set-up and a pleasure to shoot. Small slices of somebody’s childhood caught forever…

Keeping it simple

For me, simple is good when shooting people, the only thing that’s important in a portrait is the subject. I look at shots in certain newspapers and books and while they’re very clever and amazingly intricate in their lighting, it all seems a little too much somehow. If you want to see great shots of people flick through Vanity Fair magazine. On one hand you’ve got heavily styled, iconic shots of film stars and personalities, and on the other you’ve got quiet, delicately lit portraits of lesser known people which are gorgeous in their simplicity. Another great place to see people pictures at their best (in my opinion) is any GAP store. Look around at the walls at those effortless shots of men and women just gazing into the lens in a relaxed, less-is-more way… just what portraits should be.

A recent feature on my portraiture style in 'The Player' magazine

Whenever I’m asked to shoot people I try and keep it straightforward and light-hearted. Put your subject at ease and you’ll get more from the pictures, it’s as important to the shoot as any lighting trick or skill. Like a lot of photographers I tend to favour a large softbox as my main source of light, and with this key light positioned high right or left, together with a reflector on the opposing side of the subject, you’re assured of a soft, kind light for the portrait. Try and position the softbox as close as possible to the subject (closer means softer with diffused light) but not so close they look/feel uncomfortable or intimidated. A second light is useful (but not always essential) as positioned correctly this can perk up a background, highlight hair and generally add depth to the image.

One session which springs to mind for it’s simplicity was a private job where 4 people were all to be included in a picture for an inter-family present. The eventual print was to be about A2 in size and have pride of place on a wall. I much prefer to shoot people individually as group pics can often look awkward and too posed, so in this case I suggested a kind of montage of 16 shots, 4 of each relevant person. The idea was to shoot a series of casual portraits of Claire, Siobhan, Oli and Dan, then select the 4 they liked best of themselves.

The final print. Varied, relaxed and with humour

The job was on-location in a private house, so I had space to adapt into a mini studio for a few hours. I shot against a black background which I already had packed and I have to say it proved great fun. After the first few frames each of the subjects relaxed and I’ve since been told that people that know them well can see their respective personalities in the shots chosen. A nice touch post-shoot was to pick out the girls in a slight sepia. It provides a degree of separation from the boys and works well with the other 8 mono shots. All in all a simple, effective and very pleasing result using one key light top right and a subtle degree of reflected light back into the opposing side of the each subject.

Continuing that basic feel, albeit now in a commercial sense, I’ve included a couple of examples of how I feel this non-fussy approach really works. The portrait below is Le Mans winner and BTCC star Darren Turner. I’ve worked with Darren for years on numerous things for SEAT UK and he’s always relaxed and easy to photograph. This shot is a good example of why things need to be simple. The point of the picture is that it, together with others in the set, is released to the media as an official portrait displaying team sponsors and the latest driver racesuits.

They are published time and time again over several months so need to be clear and precise. The lighting set-up was very similar to the family montage in that the source of light was a softbox positioned high camera right. The only difference here is that there’s another light behind Darren, positioned about thigh height, shooting a very soft throw upwards. This slightly illuminates the dark grey paper background and lends a little depth, bringing the person forward in a subtle way. One other good tip to nice people pics is try not to make somebody do something they’re not happy with. Whether it’s a particular body position or angle of the head, it’s really important the subject is happy with what you’re doing, otherwise you’re basically battling with your main asset. I never ask people to smile if they don’t want to, I’d rather have a relaxed look coming straight into the lens, it’s much more pleasing and doesn’t distort the face. Another simple but vital aspect to getting a relaxed look.

Author David Hewson

Finally I’ve included a last couple of shots of leading thriller writer David Hewson. I had travelled down to his lovely home in Kent to shoot a selection of material for his own PR. The portraits were for book jackets, on-line use and publicity inclusion by his publisher Pan Macmillan. David’s a charming and serious guy and the kind of chap who wants stuff done asap so he can get on with his day. So, this being clear, I rigged up two lights in his study for a series of relaxed shots. With those done we moved to doing a final few portraits using simple window light in his lounge. These proved the nicest from the morning’s work and I’ve seen them published in newspapers and reviews in many places since. He simply sat down in a chair, leaned forward, and I asked him to look into the ambient light, with the result of a man lost in thought. The unlit side of the picture fades nicely into shadow and is very effective for something that took only a couple of minutes to complete.

David's official site, displaying some of the portraits