Portrait Workshop

Posted by Richard Amor-Allan

Saturday May 2nd 2015 saw several members of the Willfield Camera Club heading over to the Media Centre at Staffordshire University to take part in a workshop on portrait lighting, which was led by one of our members. The session took at look at a whole range of flash lighting set-ups, starting with traditional three-point lighting and going through butterfly, clam-shell (French and Italian), low key, high key, and everything inbetween!

With assistance from Stoke-based model Kayte Nicholson, our photographers were able to get some great hands-on experience of using flash heads and LED constant lights in a range of set-ups, with the emphasis on creativity. Members helped out on the modelling front as well, and found themselves in front of the camera as well as behind it! The enthusiasm of the Willfielders made the four hour session fly by, with everyone pitching in and showing a willingness to learn together, help each other out, and share ideas and tips.

Members also learned about the importance of choosing the right focal distance, about the angles and positions to shoot from, as well as learning more about using the lights. Plenty of experimentation took place, with a varied range of ideas and techniques being tested out, and a great selection of images being created!

Special thanks to the Media Centre at Staffordshire University for hosting the workshop, and to Dave Bayliss for bringing along refreshments!