Over the last few days, I've had the absolute pleasure of being out on the road with Wex for their summer roadshow, and what a brilliant experience its been. Thursday saw me arrive in Leeds, and Friday was the day it all came together at the Wex store, and I have to say, it was a fantastic from start to finish.
The team at the Leeds store, led by manager Levy, made me feel incredibly welcome, as did every member of staff, and what struck me most was the constant flow of people coming through - getting hands on with new kit, attending free seminars, and crucially, wanting to see how I work in practice. That's where the "no studio, no problem" practical demonstrations came in.
The concept is simple but powerful: I wanted to show people how I create portraits using minimal kit in tight, compact spaces. Rather than being locked away in a studio, I was demonstrating this right there on the shop floor, so people could watch the process unfold, step in front of the camera themselves, and see the results happen in real time.
The Setup
I kept my kit intentionally lean. I brought my X-drop pro background support and Vintage Gray backdrop, and for lighting, I was using the Westcott FJ250.
My camera was the Fuji X-T5 paired with the Westcott XT-1M remote trigger, and I was shooting in manual mode to set my scene, then letting the flash work in TTL - and honestly, it's a dream combination for portraiture like this.
The Moments That Mattered
One thing that really stood out was a fella who couldn't quite believe how quickly the whole thing came together. I showed him how I position the lighting to achieve the kind of Rembrandt lighting I'm after, and from start to finish, we were ready to shoot in about sixty seconds. He was genuinely shocked at how simple and efficient it could be.
People were really impressed too seeing my Fuji X-T5 tethered to my iPad Pro via Capture One Mobile. Nearly everyone who watched the workflow commented on how instantaneously the Raw files appeared on screen after I'd taken the shot. That instant feedback - being able to review a Raw file moments after capture, really drove home how modern tools can streamline the entire process.
I also had the privilege of getting Joe Cornish, a renowned landscape photographer here in the UK and one of the other speakers at the event, in front of the camera for a portrait. He's got such a distinctive face for portraiture … I couldn’t resist convincing him 😃
What the Community Showed Me
What genuinely touched me was how many people came along specifically to meet me. That means more than I can express. The local photography community turned out in force too, and there was this palpable sense of genuine excitement about photography and a real hunger to learn. Questions kept coming back to TTL and how to use flash effectively, and I was delighted to show people just how powerful and reliable that technique can be when you understand it.
In Closing
It’s so good seeing people's faces light up when they understood something new, watching them realise that you don't need a fancy studio to create beautiful portraits, and knowing that I'd been able to share something that genuinely mattered to them.
That, for me, is what it's all about.