Done with a single light source and only 5% lift to the shadows, basically Straight out of camera. SOOC
A portrait of my friend Carl. The image is titled "My Mona Lisa" and is from a serious titled, "Unvarnished."
Carl has lived a life of hardship and addiction.
Carl stands resilient, a man weathered by hardship yet not broken. His gaze reaches beyond the frame, reflecting a life of survival and dignity. In quiet poise, he holds the silent weight of experience.
The image is taken with a single light source placed very close to the subject, simply placed there for quick fall off as I am trying to achieve an "old masters" look to the portrait.
I still use my old Canon cameras with no real preference for one over the other: 5ds, 5d classic and the 70d being my weapons of choice. Lens choice is usually a canon 85mm F/1.2, however,I find myself using the canon 24-105mm, more often.
I spoke to Carl months before this portrait shooting session took place, just so he would be comfortable with all of this. For me,being able to pull the subject into your mindset is far more important than any technical skill I may or may not possess.
Only a few weeks ago, Carl approached me and asked if I would produce a very large framed print of this work. "No problem," I replied.
I left that conversation a happy man, knowing that Carl loved the image enough to want it on his wall,
7 Comments
Very nice light
Thank you.
You can see his thoughtfulness and life of hardship in his eyes here. Beautifully soft, but dramatic light. Very well done. The pose even makes him feel closed off slightly, which adds to the dramatic lighting and his expression. Really like this shot Paul.
Many thanks for your kind words, they are much appreciated.
Carl, the subject in the photograph, only ever gets stared at for all the wrong reasons. He is a relatively young man and father who through social circumstances, peer pressure and life, has, unfortunately, embraced life’s temptations to their absolute fullest.
Every hardship, every sip and every white line, I hope, echoes loudly in this capture.
One cannot help or change how or where they come into this world. His circumstance and gregarious appetite for the dark side leave their indelible marks upon him.
As I’ve said, I spoke to Carl many months before our photo session. Manly, to make him feel comfortable with the very real fact, he was going to be front of the lens.
I talked to him about my admiration for Caravaggio and his use of light and dark.
I even brought a few photography portraiture books plus a couple of books depicting the way the old masters commanded shadow.
On the day of the shoot I had meticulously set out my lighting, gear and most importantly my mind-set to attune with all we had previously spoken about.
The session started with 10-15 minutes of fairly run of the mill portraiture shots, deliberately so. As I had to remove any tension and self-doubt from Carl’s mind.
Once I’d sensed Carl was fully relaxed, I moved him to the 120cm diffused and gridded octobox.
The polo neck jumper he is wearing in the shot, I bought specifically for this shoot. The canvas backdrop was hand painted by myself, too.
The octobox is just out of shot, and I mean just!
I had previously practiced my distance using a mannequin head on a light stand, set at Carl’s physical height.
I knew I’d achieve the super-fast drop off of light that I desired with this set-up.
For me, if I can stop the viewer in their tracks and really look at the capture, then further zoom in on Carl’s features, then slowly look at the separation and rapid drop off of light and how it plays in to looking further at Carl’s image, then, curiously, looking down, and perhaps zooming in on his hands. And upon really looking at these battered, bloodied, nicotine stained hands. One should get a real sense of his struggles and hardship.
It is an image that I am extremely proud of, as I planned to get it right in camera, and by Carl’s toothless grin, I done the boy proud.
Peter Lindberg, once said, “ He cannot but help falling in love with his subjects.”
I too feel the same way and carry everyone of them inside me.
Thank you again, for taking notice of my work.
I assisted with a Caravaggio-ish re-creation once. The meticulous attention to detail from the photographer was ever present. As it seems to have been with this photo here. Very well done and a very thought provoking read! Thank you!
excellent shot
Thank you Nigel; 99% of my work is done before the subject arrives at the shoot.