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May Newsletter
What does a photographer do when they have Covid?
For the first two days, relax and read and watch YouTube videos about photography techniques, because it's just like a bad cold.
For the next few days, they whinge and complain, sleep, complain and sleep again, because suddenly the virus has caught up with them.
Once they feel almost human again, they remember that they actually own a camera and, if they can't go anywhere, it might be worth taking some photos indoors.
Water refraction images are fun, but soon begin to lose their charm.
Floating heads turning blue can hold the interest for a bit longer, a whole afternoon, in my case.
Lying on the floor shooting baby birds through the window. However, doing it with two Labradors licking your ears, is not ideal.
Watching YouTube videos is a useful exercise, as it allows one to brush up on any aspects of photography where you would like to improve your knowledge. In my case, I learned an awful lot about studio lighting and the reasons for using different lighting setups. For instance, the lighting for portraits is different from the lighting for headshots, although, in essence both are head and shoulder images. In portraits one is looking for the drama by using shadows, while, with headshots the idea is to give as clear an image as possible by using the lighting to enhance the good points of the subject.
This image would be considered a headshot, possibly to be used on social media as a profile picture. Taken straight on and giving a clear view of the face.
This is a portrait, taken for a totally different reason, (a CD cover). It is a much more dramatic shot with the lighting and backdrop, also the use of props, i.e. a hat and sunglasses.
Both of the above shots were taken before I contracted Covid and were taken at different times. Each shot is designed to show a different side to the subject and the lighting, or lack of lighting was chosen to show that off. One shows the nice friendly guy who enjoys a party or barbeque and the other portrays the moody singer. When taking a photo of a person, either a portrait or headshot, you must be sure of WHY the image is being created and find the best lighting to portray the subject as they want to look.