portrait

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Lighting a Portrait on a Mountain

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This is the other photograph that I took of Dai O’Toole in Pembrokeshire a couple of weeks back ; much simpler than the close up headshot I did ... and a lot less editing ( LINK )

With regards to the kit used …

Sony A7RIV with 70 - 200mm G lens

Lit with the Westcott FJ200 and the Westcott 45 Degree Deep Dish Reflector which ordinarily would produce a hard light , but by aiming it just past Dai the soft outer portion is what lights him up.

This outer area carries less power but was more than enough for this shot from the 200ws FJ200 , and done so as to match the soft light caused by the cloudy sky.

My mate Anthony aiming the light past Dai (camera right)

There were still some hard shadows caused by the light hitting the straps on Dai's rucksack and walking cane but these were very easily taken out using the new Remove Tool in Photoshop.

BIG thanks to my mate Anthony Crothers for holding and positioning the light

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THIS is why I do what I do ❤️

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A few weeks back I took the portrait of the wonderful Di Edwards; wife of the late David Edwards ( World War 2 Veteran) and a family that, thanks to my 39-45 Portraits Project I have become very close to.

Well, yesterday ( 31st July 2023 ) I popped over to Abergavenny, Wales to see Di and her son Chris and to take the printed portraits over to them and I simply could noty have wished for a better reaction.

As the title of this post says … THIS is why I do what I do❤️

Here’s the portraits that I took; both of which were using natural light coming in through a large sliding patio door that leads out onto Di’s garden …

Di and her son Chris

When leaving, as always we had a hug but I’ll forever cherish that she said “I’m blessed to have you as a friend”

Ditto that Di ❤️

Di and her late husband, David Edwards … the best of human-kind right there !

WW2 Veteran David Edwards photographed in April 2019

R.I.P. Sam J Walker

R.I.P. Sam J WAlker

Shocked and Saddened to just this minute learn that Sam made the ultimate decision to escape the extreme sadness in his personal life.

We met a couple of times, both when I was photographing him and had the occasional conversation on messenger; a gentle, warm, kind, friendly guy with a wicked sense of humour.

He will be missed by many!

Damn ... this is so incredibly sad for his family and friends.

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I’m doing a Portrait Workshop in Stoke

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It’s VERY rare I do ‘in person’ Portrait Workshops, but I’ll be doing one for my friends at the The Guild Of Photographers over the 3rd and 4th February PLUS doing a talk on behalf of Sony UK at the PhotoHubs Event in Stoke.

Thoroughly enjoyed the last event of theirs I presented at and can’t wait for this next one 🙂

For more information and to grab a ticket, click on the button below or just use this link:

photoguild.co.uk/event/photohubs-stoke/

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The 'Friends' Portrait Project

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Yesterday … a great day with friends which also saw the start of our ‘Friends Portrait Project’ which, over the next couple of months is a project that will intentionally mean we get to know each other way more than we currently do.

Back Row (L to R): Ian Munro , Gerwyn ‘Gez’ Williams , Anthony Crothers

Front Row (L to R): Brian Dukes , Dave Clayton & Yours Truly

This is to be a very personal project that’s going be quite a ride with the conclusion seeing us each revealing a portrait , composite , design … whatever, that visually describes and explains who the person is, what they mean to you, and how you ‘see’ them.

What really makes that person tick? Why are they like they are? What is important to them? What is there in their past and present that makes them the person they are? Their values. Their motivations. Likes, Loves, Dislikes. Life events.

There are no rules. There’s no competition. This is a project with the sole purpose of not just knowing, but understanding each other, and an exercise that will make close friends, even closer.

Each and every part of the process is being filmed, with the final part bringing us together and revealing to each other, the pictures we’ve created.

The first part today … Who will Photograph Who?

And so it begins …

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HOW I made these PORTRAITS: Complete Workflow including PHOTOGRAPHY, LIGHTROOM and PHOTOSHOP

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In this video I cover EVERYTHING that I did to create these Portraits including: KIT , SET UP and RETOUCHING in Photoshop and Lightroom …

Here’s a list of all the kit I used to take the portraits, which you’ll also find on my GEAR Page …

  • Westcott FJ80 II Speedlite

  • Westcott FJ-X3 Remote Trigger

  • Westcott Rapid Box Switch Beauty Dish

  • Westcott 32” 2-in-1 Reflector

  • Westcott X-Drop Poro Background Support

  • Glyn Dewis Vintage Grey Canvas (for X-Drop Pro)

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I did a Workshop in Oxford at PhotoHubs

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A couple of weeks back I was in Oxford at PhotoHubs on behalf of the Guild of Photographers who asked if I would do a workshop for some of their members.

I've not done 'in person' workshops for a few years now but this was so much fun with such a great group of folks.

I went through how I take portraits in the style of my veterans project but also other equally simple set ups that can create some great results. It was so good to see everyone active , chatting and enjoying the time we spent together. THE most important part of the time together though was showing how important 'talking / conversation' is in making your subject more comfortable and relaxed in front of the camera.

At the end I couldn't resist grabbing a quick portrait myself using just one light and one reflector ... I mean when one of the attendees has such a great look, how could I not??? 😃

Thanks so much to everyone who came along and especially the folks at The Guild for inviting me in and for looking after me so incredibly well ❤️

KIT / SETTINGS:
Sony A7RIV (1/250 , ISO 100 , f/8.0)
Sony 85mm GM
Westcott FJ400 Strobe
Westcott Rapid Box Switch Beauty Dish
Westcott Silver Reflector
Westcott X-Drop Pro with my new material Glyn Dewis Vintage Grey Background

You can see all of this kit over on my GEAR page ( LINK )

Cheers
Glyn

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👁👁 EYES: BRIGHTEN , ADD CATCH LIGHTS + MAKE THEM POP: One Technique that does it ALL!

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I love how we can use techniques in Photoshop to do more than one thing. In this video I show how a GREAT technique that I call the Never Ending Lighting Rig for adding in more lights to your picture can also be used to enhance eyes in portraits by brightening them, adding in fake catch lights and making them POP!

© Glyn Dewis 2024