The Backgrounds I use when Capturing Portraits

I’m often asked what backgrounds I use when taking portraits, and then when I say, I’m then asked which of the material choices I opt for.

WW2 Veteran Geoffrey Pulzer ( 29th Armoured Brigade , 11th Armoured Division )

Up until recently when Westcott released the Pro version of X-Drop Background Support System, there was just the choice of Canvas or Vinyl, and I ALWAYS opted for the Canvas.

Although not actually canvas, but rather a canvas effect, the material choice is way better as it doesn’t have any shine to the surface at all so you don’t suffer with hot spots when using lights.

So, Canvas was and is always the choice I go for.

Now though, with the introduction of the X-Drop Pro things have defintiely upgraded.

The X-Drop has always been a VERY portable system however if you opted for a background other than the washable material, the backgrounds themselves came in a long cardboard tube and that’s how they had to be transported.

Not now though with the X-Drop Pro as this also introuduces a new material background; the same VERY popular backgrounds but now in a machine washable material meaning you can fold it down making it very small, and like the X-Drop Pro Support Stand, VERY portable.

The new X-Drop Pro Backgrounds also come in a larger size so as well as the 5’ x 7’ , there’s also 8’ x 8’ … and you can use the X-Drop Pro Support Stand for both!

So, 5’ x 7’ is the one I use the most becuase it’s a great size forusing when not in a studio, and I use the new X-Drop Pro material version because it makes the whole background so incredibly portable.

Here’s Brnadon from Westcott showing the X-Drop Pro and how to easily fit the new foldable and washable X-Drop Pro Backgrounds …

Hope that helps,
Glyn

Note:
For folks in the UK, Carmarthen Cameras are the Offiical Westcott Stockist / Supplier, so if you give them a shout, ask for Krish … a great guy and a great friend!

Photographing the Iconic Prince of Wales Bridge with my iPhone

A few days ago I met up with my great friend Anthony Crothers at a Café in Bristol to spend some quality time together and also to try photographing the Prince of Wales Bridge that spans 3.2 miles from the South West of England, across the River Severn, to the South East of Wales …

Having seen some photographs of it in a photography book I own, I thought it would be both interesting and a challenge to see what I could capture using just my iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Conditions following a recent storm were perfect with great light and a sky full of clouds, although it was a little on the chilly side and once under the bridge, the wind blowing around caused some initial challenges keeping the phone perfectly still on the tripod.

I’d taken along my new Joby MagSafe Phone Holder which is so incredibly well made, however ended up not being suitable because of the wind causing a little bit of movement …

Instead I resorted to my trusty SmallRig Mobile Phone Cage that locked everything down and held it rock steady …

Lately I’ve been using the Lightroom Mobile App for creating Long Exposures, however that is restricted to a maximum of 5 second long exposures, so instead opted for another App I have on my phone called Even Longer.

This is an incredibly easy app to use with a clean interface and a menu system that is simple and very intuitive.

The set up couldn’t have been easier: dial in the exposure I wanted, choose the length of the long exposure and press the shutter button which then kicked into action after a 3 second delay to ensure no movement.

There’s so many composition opportunities at this location, but my favourite was when I was directly under the bridge to capture all the structure underneath and then the view as the bridge disappears across the River Severn …

To edit the image I intentionally limited myself to using my iPad and the Lightroom Mobile and Photoshop Apps which worked an absolute treat. In fact they made the editing process a joy!

I’m loving the mobile workflow where I can take photographs with my mobile phone and without having to involve memory cards, the images I take are automatically synced to my iPad so that in the comfort of the nearby café I can look through and start editing.

Final Image edited in Lightroom Mobile on my iPad

Once back home, the photographs I’ve taken, along with any images I’ve started editing (and all of the edits) automatically appear on my desktop computer so that I can then check them over on a Colour Calibrated Screen, and then confidently print them out knowing that what I see, is what I get. Such an incredibly portable and convenient workflow … that also gives peace of mind knowing that photographs you take are instantly backed up.

My video this week on my YouTube Channel, will be going Behind the Scenes from this photo shoot, as I show all of the steps involved from taking the photographs, editing in Lightroom Mobile on my iPad, and the final print …

Sony A7RV - I WAS WRONG !!! 😳 User Review + RECOMMENDED SETTINGS for BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY 🦅

I was WRONG!

Here's the correct review of the NEW Sony A7RV along with recommended settings for photographing Birds that made a BIG DIFFERENCE! Plus the camera finally has Focus Bracketing, a Flip / Tilt Screen AND Artifiical Intelligence!

But would I buy it? 🤔

I’m doing a Portrait Workshop in Stoke

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/

MIND BLOWN 😲 Mobile Phone Photography + LIGHTROOM MOBILE and PHOTOSHOP on the iPad

Taking photographs and editing on a mobile device is incredibly exciting and such a fantastic workflow.

In this video I show you the whole process from capture the long exposurephotographs with my iPhone, to then editing in Lightroom Mobile and Photoshop on the iPad and ending up with a FANTASTIC print.

iPhone Photography of the iconic Portland Bill Lighthouse

Despite temperatures going down to -8, I couldn’t resist heading down to Portland Bill Lighthouse again to catch the incoming tide and hopefully some better light at sunrise.

My GoPro Hero 10 wasn’t having any of it with the batteries immediately losing all power but thankfully my Insta 360 X3 was having no problems, so I did manage to get some Behind the Scenes footage (below)

Here though is my favourite shot from the morning; captured using my iPhone 14 Pro Max and the Lightroom Mobile App camera, and then edited in Lightroom Mobile and Photoshop on my iPad …

I’m absolutely LOVING the mobile workflow.

Being able to take a photograph with my iPhone and then moments later be sat in a nearby café editing the photographs I’ve just taken on my iPad because they’ve automatically synced across, just blows me away.

BUT to then edit in Lightroom and jump back and forth to Photoshop on my iPad too is just so much fun.

It doesn’t stop there though, because when I get home and sit in front of main computer, the images and all of the edits I’ve done are there waiting for me to tweak and finish off if needed.

Incredible!

To add to this, IF I was using my main camera I could have an equally easy and joyful editing experience by simply loading the images off the memory card onto my iPad Pro and into Lightroom Mobile whilst sat in the café … or wherever 😃

Seeing how this has progressed since Lightroom Mobile and Photoshop on the iPad were introduced, genuinely excites the heck out of me! Sure, Lightroom Mobile and especially Photoshop on the iPad don’t have the exact same functionality as the desktop version (yet) … but it’s coming and to be honest, the workarounds aren’t much to figure out anyway.

I’ll be putting a video together for my YouTube Channel showing this soon.

In the mean time though, here’s a 44 second YouTube Short I put together giving a look ‘Behind the Scenes’ of this Portland Bill Lighthouse Photo Shoot …

iPhone Long Exposure at Durdle Door, Dorset

Headed down to Durdle Door in Dorset the other week; just over an hour away so not a long drive, but wow … what a great place.

I met up with my friend Steve Healey with the intention of photographing the sunrise but lack of local knowledge put a stop to that. Little did we know that there’s a gate preventing access that doesn’t open until 9am BUT you can take a short coastalwalk from nearby Lulworth Cove to access the beach and the famous arch … didn’t know that until later in the day though.

Still, we drove off for a while to grab a coffee and came back an hour or so later and got down to take some photographs; Steve with his Fuji and me with my iPhone and SmallRig combo.

Here’s my favourite; a 5 second long expsoure that was taken using the Lightroom Mobile App camera and a quick edit in Lightroom CC and Photoshop …

5 TIPS to INSTANTLY IMPROVE your PORTRAITS

GREAT Portraits start with the person in front of the camera feeling relaxed.

BUT how do you help someone to be relaxed?

Here's 5 ways that I use ALL the time and work a treat!

VIDEO CONTENTS

• Introduction

• Connection

• Slow Down

• Eye Contact

• At and Past

• Show Them

• Listen

• The 5 Tips

• MMFI

The 'Friends' Portrait Project

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 …