Emotion and interaction
Two words sum up my style when it comes to people photography – emotion and interaction.
I want to capture images which show the emotion which people are feeling at a particular time – happiness, delight, nerves, tension, pleasure, relief, and of course love.
I also aim to capture images which show the interplay between different people – holding hands, laughing, crying, hugging, holding, looking into each others eyes.
My methods
I use a full range of lenses for my Canon 5D camera bodies – mainly zoom lenses to enable me to quickly move from close ups to wide angle group shots. I am not the kind of photographer who will constantly be telling you to stand here, do this, do that, pose like this etc. While I will provide some direction, I really want you to be as natural as possible and perhaps to even forget that you’re having your photo taken. I can use a full range of studio lights for formal shots if required, but my favourite method is to work without any flash at all.
Why I like natural light
When taking pictures of people my aim is to capture the interaction between different individuals and capture moments and expressions which show real emotion. I feel that at times the use of flash in these photos somehow detracts from the emotion in pictures. This is perhaps because I see the use of flash as intrusive and feel that it gives the impression of an outsider looking in when compared with pictures utilising natural light.
Natural light images without any flash make you feel as though you are right there in the middle of things and generally have a much more natural look which I love. I will use flash if necessary, but if possible will shoot mostly without flash.
Shooting in low light without flash
Often when undertaking a family photoshoot or when photographing a wedding I find myself trying to capture images in relatively low light conditions. For example during a wedding ceremony, during the speeches at the wedding breakfast, or perhaps outdoors photographing a family playing in the early evening. The challenge in these conditions if you are not using a flash is to draw in enough light to capture images which do not have too much movement and are sufficiently sharp.
This style of photos requires a steady hand, a good quality camera and fast lenses which grab enough light to enable shutter speeds to be kept fast enough to keep images sharp. I use 2 Canon EOS 5D camera bodies which produce quality images with relatively low noise levels even at ISO 1600. I am lucky enough to have top quality fast lenses which enable me to take pictures in fairly low light conditions.
Most of the time I will be using a Canon 24-70 f2.8 zoom or a Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS zoom, both of which can be handheld at speeds of 1/30 second or even slower if necessary. I have an even faster 50mm f1.4 prime lens at my disposal also, but generally prefer the flexibility of a zoom. The image stabilisation on the 70-200mm zoom is a tremendous help in reducing camera shake when using slow shutter speeds around 1/30 or 1/40 second.
With shutter speeds around 1/30 second, it doesn’t take much movement in the subject to result in some blurring or softness in the image. In many cases this is barely noticeable, and is in my view outweighed by the additional emotional connection which you get from a shot without flash. However, in some cases I do have to accept that there is just not enough light to capture images without too much movement. This is why I also have a second camera body set up with flash so that I can take some pictures with a burst of flash and a faster shutter speed (1/200 second) to freeze the motion. This is my back-up to ensure that I get pictures which are sufficiently sharp in all conditions.
My equipment
I use a pair of Canon EOS 5D camera bodies with full frame 12.8 megapixel CMOS sensors coupled with a wide range of professional L series lenses.
For indoor portrait work I would generally use 24-70mm f2.8 and 28-105mm f4.0 lenses and occasionally call on a 20-35mm f3.5-4.5 wide angle zoom.
For events and outdoor work these lenses will be supplemented by 70-200mm f2.8 IS and 100-400mm f4.0-5.6 IS lenses.
For low light images without flash I use the 24-70mm f2.8 and 70-200mm f2.8 IS lenses and can also call on a 50mm f1.4mm lens when the light is really dim.
For studio work, I employ up to 4 Bowens monobloc lights depending on the lighting situation.
Two words sum up my style when it comes to people photography – emotion and interaction.
I want to capture images which show the emotion which people are feeling at a particular time – happiness, delight, nerves, tension, pleasure, relief, and of course love.
I also aim to capture images which show the interplay between different people – holding hands, laughing, crying, hugging, holding, looking into each others eyes.
My methods
I use a full range of lenses for my Canon 5D camera bodies – mainly zoom lenses to enable me to quickly move from close ups to wide angle group shots. I am not the kind of photographer who will constantly be telling you to stand here, do this, do that, pose like this etc. While I will provide some direction, I really want you to be as natural as possible and perhaps to even forget that you’re having your photo taken. I can use a full range of studio lights for formal shots if required, but my favourite method is to work without any flash at all.
Why I like natural light
When taking pictures of people my aim is to capture the interaction between different individuals and capture moments and expressions which show real emotion. I feel that at times the use of flash in these photos somehow detracts from the emotion in pictures. This is perhaps because I see the use of flash as intrusive and feel that it gives the impression of an outsider looking in when compared with pictures utilising natural light.
Natural light images without any flash make you feel as though you are right there in the middle of things and generally have a much more natural look which I love. I will use flash if necessary, but if possible will shoot mostly without flash.
Shooting in low light without flash
Often when undertaking a family photoshoot or when photographing a wedding I find myself trying to capture images in relatively low light conditions. For example during a wedding ceremony, during the speeches at the wedding breakfast, or perhaps outdoors photographing a family playing in the early evening. The challenge in these conditions if you are not using a flash is to draw in enough light to capture images which do not have too much movement and are sufficiently sharp.
This style of photos requires a steady hand, a good quality camera and fast lenses which grab enough light to enable shutter speeds to be kept fast enough to keep images sharp. I use 2 Canon EOS 5D camera bodies which produce quality images with relatively low noise levels even at ISO 1600. I am lucky enough to have top quality fast lenses which enable me to take pictures in fairly low light conditions.
Most of the time I will be using a Canon 24-70 f2.8 zoom or a Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS zoom, both of which can be handheld at speeds of 1/30 second or even slower if necessary. I have an even faster 50mm f1.4 prime lens at my disposal also, but generally prefer the flexibility of a zoom. The image stabilisation on the 70-200mm zoom is a tremendous help in reducing camera shake when using slow shutter speeds around 1/30 or 1/40 second.
With shutter speeds around 1/30 second, it doesn’t take much movement in the subject to result in some blurring or softness in the image. In many cases this is barely noticeable, and is in my view outweighed by the additional emotional connection which you get from a shot without flash. However, in some cases I do have to accept that there is just not enough light to capture images without too much movement. This is why I also have a second camera body set up with flash so that I can take some pictures with a burst of flash and a faster shutter speed (1/200 second) to freeze the motion. This is my back-up to ensure that I get pictures which are sufficiently sharp in all conditions.
My equipment
I use a pair of Canon EOS 5D camera bodies with full frame 12.8 megapixel CMOS sensors coupled with a wide range of professional L series lenses.
For indoor portrait work I would generally use 24-70mm f2.8 and 28-105mm f4.0 lenses and occasionally call on a 20-35mm f3.5-4.5 wide angle zoom.
For events and outdoor work these lenses will be supplemented by 70-200mm f2.8 IS and 100-400mm f4.0-5.6 IS lenses.
For low light images without flash I use the 24-70mm f2.8 and 70-200mm f2.8 IS lenses and can also call on a 50mm f1.4mm lens when the light is really dim.
For studio work, I employ up to 4 Bowens monobloc lights depending on the lighting situation.