Gavin vs Mark Portrait Challenge
A few weeks back I was honored to have Mark Wallace, my friend and fellow Adorama TV host, stop off at my studio for a couple of days. Mark has been travelling the world for the past 18 months or so and this was the first time in a long time that he’s been shooting in a studio.
Now you probably already know I love a photo challenge, so when Mark suggested a studio challenge I jumped at the chance.
The rules were simple. We’d both use the same studio, same single flash and photograph the same model. We set a 20 minute time limit to include planning and filming and would see each other’s shoot until the end.
Mark went first and you can see his video below.
I love what Mark did with the simple lighting and subtle editing. I was also blown away by the quality for the Leica especially as Mark had been telling me it’s probably not a camera that you’d choose for studio portraits
Once Mark was through, I got my turn.
It was great to try out an idea I had been thinking about for a while and as you can see, my image is totally different to Marks in almost every way. I went with a contrasty light, aggressive pose and bags of drama.
The “home advantage” really can’t be underplayed. Remember I was using my gear, a model I’ve worked with before and I had the props hanging around in my studio. Even so I think it says a lot about how the photographer adds to the image when two of us can come away with such different emotions from the same subject using the same light.
Most of all it was a huge amount of fun and that’s what photography should always be about!
A Great “one light” post! I liked the idea of setting the time limit to show exactly what you can achieve quite simply too! Both of you used quite similar camera settings, at f8 what was the benefit of setting ISO at 200 rather than 100 perhaps?
The Olympus I’m using has a native ISO of 200, it can shoot at ISO 100 but there’s no image quality benefit. By shooting at a higher ISO I could also reduce the power of the flash. Lower flash power results in a shorter flash duration and that’s the thing freezing the powder, so I get a sharper shot.
You both did a good job, I am new to photography and I have learned a lot from the both of you. Hoping 2016 will be a good year to kick start with getting some good equipment.
Awesome shots both of you. How I love seeing both of you share your tips in your videos. Keep the good suff coming!
PS. What backdrop are you using? I’ve seen this one in several of your videos… I really like the shading.
It’s my D.I.Y. background. Lots of info of how I built it here https://www.gavtrain.com/?p=3824
Thanks! I guess I’ll have you come to Canada to build me such an awesome background then… Cheers!
Thanks. I’ve been admiring that wall for weeks now.
Excellent and inspirational as ever. Well done and thank you to Gavin, Mark and of course Brian!
All the best for 2016 guys!
Most important is the good idea 🙂
Loved this video, very inspirational, informative as Gavin’s videos always are. I’m just about to start giving portraiture a try and find Gavin to be great at explaining techniques.
Hello Dear Gavin,
Im Kevin from Swiss.Im a great fan of yours and learn photography from the videos you post.I recently seen your bubble photography and photo shoot in woods which was amazing.
I own a D7000 wth an sb 700 and Youngnuo flash ,Yn 622N Tx,YN 622N i ttl remote wizards,seconic L308 meter which i purchased recently
Unfortunately Im unable to get my flash meter reading to F8 for bubble photography and after setting the A to 8,S 1/160 and Iso 100.How can i achieve this with Nikon Sb 700? (Same for woods f2.8 )
Kindly advise,Your tips on this matter is highly appreciated.
Kind Regards
Kevin.
Hi Kevin
I’m surprised you can’t hit f/8 with those flashes. A few things to try would be… Make sure the flash is on M mode and full power, Move the flash closer to the subject, increase the ISO or change/remove the light modifier.
Hi Gavin Great video again I love to watch your work. I am new ish to studio work and flash techniques. I read you comments about the 200 ISO and the lower flash power frizzing the powder better. Can you explain what would happen to the powder if you shot using high speed sync… I can’t work out if it would freeze the powder more or less… Sorry if I sound a bit thick.
It’s a good question. High Speed Sync rapidly pulses the flash to build up the image on the cameras sensor and it might cause issues but I doubt you’d notice any difference here. HSS is a tool for shooting in bright conditions and isn’t often needed in the studio. The shutter speed is only used to control ambient light and 1/200th sec is usually enough to overpower room lights. It’s the short flash duration that’s freezing the movement here not the shutter speed.
BTW I don’t think any 3rd party triggers support HSS for Olympus, so it’s not something I can use 🙁
equipment wise, thats not the RL 600 flashpoint? the trigger looks different.. May i ask what strobe you used?
ok, so watched a few more of you videos, and figured out its a streaklight 360 🙂
Just got an honour in an Australia Photo competition for my interpretation of the above photo. Thank you for you awesome training