Tag: portrait

Scary Halloween Basement Shoot

When Kerry said she was available for a shoot, even though it was only August, we knew it should be a Halloween shoot. Not sure why but most of the models, make up artists and quite a lot of photographers love this theme!

Despite the scary look, this was such a fun shoot. Also the first time I’ve had to clear up blood drops and splatters from the studio walls and floor, thank goodness all fake!!

[youtube]https://youtu.be/ScVEJfBzOJ4[/youtube]

As you’ll see in the video, the blood used was tried out first. The one used for the closest skin contact, especially on the bandages close to Kerry’s eye, was homemade. I used a mix of runny honey, a little cornflour and some red food colour gel. As it was edible and Kerry likes honey!

 

Creating props and outfits for shoots

Creativity is an essential part of Gavin’s photography. From deciding on the best angles and make up styling to venues and props we take a pride in creating and sourcing things to individualise our shoots and workshops.

I am always thrilled when someone takes the time to email or tell us how they appreciated the preparation and styling from a workshop, as this is something that happens way before the day and can make the difference between a good shoot and an amazing one.

Here’s just a few items we made our own for the ever popular Aviation Apocalypse workshop!

An old protective mask, before and after. Then in use attached to Kerry’s handmade post apocalypse costume.

Gavin printed this grenade on a 3D printer, it was a rather bright lime green so I gave it a paint treatment. It was added to Roger’s post apocalypse costume that we handmade.

On a recent commissioned rerun of this workshop by Olympus, we made 2 new outfits on a quick turn around. Here’s the clothes for Brian the ‘Feral Hunter’ before and then a test shoot giving them a trial run before the big day after an apocalyptic treatment.

Here’s a new look for Kerry, hoping to make it warmer as we were shooting outdoors in October, but it was actually really hot weather that day. This was made from our old sofa!!

It’s not just the models that get to try the outfits on for size!

The devil’s in the detail.

Make Up, Quick vs Quality

We started working with make up artists several years ago for our portrait shoots. It really opened our eyes to how much make up can change the look of your shots.

Some themes and styled shoots can benefit dramatically from the services of a good make up artist. In this video Gavin takes shots firstly with a quick make up coverage and then repeats the shoot after a more stylised make up look has been applied.

Our model, Beth Smith and make up artist, Sophie Daly help to show the difference achieved. Gavin gives hints and tips on how to get the most from working with a great make up artist.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/kVFcQ5mGgdY[/youtube]

Here’s some of the basic coverage make up shots.

A few of the shots after the more dramatic make up was applied.

 

Home Studio to Mini Music Venue

It’s always fun when we get IF-E in the studio and this video was no exception. Gavin likes to push the boundaries and overcome the limitations of working in the same small space and this was another cracking example.

Some great lighting and obviously the smoke machine provide the right vibe for IF-E to bang out some lyrics and attitude (he’s great at that!).

The set up started with just one light progressing through to adding further lights for a variety of looks. The addition of smoke gives a different mood to the shots, as the smoke moves and dissipates the look changes.

Check out the video to see the entire shoot.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/yTnaLcGhZhg[/youtube]

 

Here’s a Behind The Scenes of the final set up.

Here’s a few of my favourites from the set.

 

 

 

 

Bed Sheets As Backgrounds

When I first started shooting portraits, I made do with some very basic gear. My studio was my garage, my second light was a reflector and my backgrounds were sheets of fabric.

Fortunately I’ve added one or two more lights to my gear over the years and I have my own, permanent small home studio. My backgrounds have evolved a bit too but one of the most challenging parts of being in a studio is the limited choice of backgrounds. So in the video below I revisited my early days by buying three cheap bed sheets for use as backgrounds.

I love dark and moody studio shots, so my three bed sheets (technically they’re duvet covers) were a basic black, stripy black and damask patterned black. Each gave a very different result, as you’ll see in the video below.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pv_LX319uU[/youtube]

So what did I discover? First off, king sized duvet’s are amazing value (I limited myself to £20 max per sheet) and because they open up, adding some timber inside helps them hang well. However the creases were a real pain and took an age to steam out.

If all you want is a basic black background, a bed sheet is cheap and works perfectly. If you want a pattern, look for sheets that are advertised as crease resistant or ironing free but be aware that those terms aren’t really accurate from a photographic point of view.

As a bonus each duvet set comes with two pillow cases. So what should I do with those? Ideas below please.

Vintage Explorer – Plan It, Shoot It, Edit

This is the first of a new series where I take you behind the scenes on one of my shoots. You get to come along for the ride as I plan the shoot, do the shoot and edit the photos.

The theme for the first “Plan It, Shoot It, Edit” is Vintage Explorer.

Plan It
It all starts with an idea, then there’s the preparation and planning. A location has to be found, props need making and finally there’s a test shoot to do. Of course not everything goes to plan, as you’ll see.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri5f29WqWqs[/youtube]

Shoot It
Now for the fun bit… the shoot itself. The weather was cold, so I decided to get some banker shots in my studio before heading out on location. Sometimes you just get lucky and on the way home I stop off to shoot against a spectacular sunset.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dNqKYBZNus[/youtube]

Edit
Here’s where the photos come alive. Adding colour and contrast is all that most of the shots needed but if you want to shoot wide shots and light the model with a softbox, there’s bound to be a bit of Photoshop needed.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2onA5CUF2uk[/youtube]

Behind The Scenes… Coming Soon.

I often get asked how I come up with my ideas or what my creative process is. With that in mind the next video for Adorama TV will be a different format to usual. Encompassing the creative process behind one of my  photo shoots.

There’s a lot of planning and organising behind the scenes, all the stuff I don’t show usually. In the next 3 videos you will be part of the journey from initial concept through organising and shooting right to the end processing results and final conclusions.

You’ll see how we work as a team, that things don’t always go as planned. The importance of a plan B (and C) and much more. I hope you’ll join me, warts and all, to get a glimpse from the other side of the camera.

https://www.facebook.com/gavtrain/videos/2173023796040948/

Olympian Photo Shoot

It’s not often you get the chance to photograph an Olympic athlete, but recently I was very fortunate to be asked to take some PR shot of the brilliant freestyle skier James ‘Woodsy’ Woods for Olympus UK.

There was a small window of opportunity, between winter Olympic competing in the slopestyle skiing and world cup practice, when he was in the UK.

It’s not often the weather plays in to your hands but I can honestly say we couldn’t have planned it any better. We were shooting on the amazing rooftop at the ME London Hotel. There had been snow elsewhere in the UK but London was boringly snow free, just cold. But then a few flakes started.

The most intense of weather phenomenon’s hit and suddenly we couldn’t see the London skyline at all for snow. We sheltered ourselves and the gear in the very cool cable car the hotel has and when the worst of the storm passed we continued shooting with the fresh covering of snow adding the perfect level of authenticity to the photo’s of a winter Olympian!

My 2018 talks at The Photography Show

There’s just one week to go until The Photography Show 2018 opens its doors at the N.E.C. in Birmingham, UK. Running from the 17th – 20th March, it’s the UK’s biggest and busiest photography show around 30,000 amateur and professional photographers attending and I’ll be there for all four days.

TPS2016

It’s a great mix of booths from photographic businesses big and small but this isn’t just another trade show, there’s also loads of things to see and do. There’s a constant stream of free demos and talks on various live stages and that’s on top of all the smaller demos on many of the booths dotted around the show.

I’ll be there giving various talks and demos on portrait lighting and photography, so if you’re coming along it would be great to meet you.

Saturday

10.30 am PiXAPRO E91 Out of sight light (Demo)
1:00 pm TPS Live Stage Beyond beauty lighting (Demo)
2.30 pm PiXAPRO E91 One light or two (Demo)

Sunday

10.30 am PiXAPRO E91 Out of sight light (Demo)
12.15 pm Olympus D91 Creative portraits from simple lighting (Talk)
1.30 pm PiXAPRO E91 One light or two (Demo)
3.30 pm PiXAPRO E91 Out of sight light (Demo)

 Monday

11.30 am PiXAPRO E91 Out of sight light (Demo)
2.00 pm TPS Live Stage Creative portraits in tight spaces (Demo)
3.30 pm PiXAPRO E91 One light or two (Demo)

 Tuesday

10.30 am PiXAPRO E91 Out of sight light (Demo)
3.30 pm PiXAPRO E91 One light or two (Demo)

All my demos are free and available on a first come first served basis.

Show tickets are free for professional photographers and the trade (if booked in advance) and £13.95 for enthusiasts (£18.00 on the door)

Limited Color Palette Portraits

Colour can really make an image pop and catch the eye and that’s something I wanted to experiment with in my small home studio. Using some colour themed props can help give the photo’s a high fashion feel and also gives your model something to use in poses. Make up can play an important part in creating the atmosphere, especially for close shots.

In this video we look at how punchy using one strong colour can be. Don’t think that you’ll need awhole rainbow of backdrops either!

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilnJCCmprLs[/youtube]