A couple of years ago I was commissioned to do a photo-shoot for a well known fashion chain. It had a two day budget of £800 per day. When I initially met with the market manager to discuss the brief and saw what it was they were looking to achieve I told them that instead of hiring a large studio for two days along with all the lighting and ancillary equipment I could do the shoot in one of their own stores (they are all huge!) and use my own portable lighting and because I work quicker than most we could get everything done in one day. This would save them £800. They looked at me like I was mad! I honestly think they didn’t believe I could produce the type of shots they wanted at half the price and in half the time. And so they decided to stick to the original plan and budget.
I know a lot of photographers think I was silly saying what I did as I was doing myself out of half my fee. But the way I see it is that in the long term people remember you not just because you are good at your job but they also appreciate simple honesty and integrity. When the average life of a new photography business is said to be only 2-3 years I think my basic concept and principles are one of the reasons I’m still going strong after 30 years. I’m pleased to say that the above company have hired my services several times since that shoot!
Anyway today I thought I’d tell you about a recent shoot I did for Simply Bridesmaids where we ended up with virtually the same amount of shots for a fraction of the budget and in a fraction of the time. We had picked an afternoon when we knew the shop would be fairly quiet. However, as it turned out the shop was bustling all afternoon! So that meant I had to resort to commandeering one of the changing rooms and doing all the photography in there!
The secret to achieving studio looking shots within virtually any environment is how you work the lighting. I was using Canon speedlites with shoot-through brolleys and used a simple four light set up. Two for the background, one for the foreground and the main light for the subject, which in this case was the dresses. The background lights were predominantly what we call high-key, but you can attach coloured gels to them to change and give different effects. The foreground light I deliberately over powered by around two stops in photography speak in order to keep the foreground close to a high white for the majority of the photographs which could then easily be blended with whatever effects I chose for the background.
That may sound a little complicated but it isn’t really. The most complex part was in lighting the dresses. If this was a regular photo-shoot or a wedding I would set the lights for the subject or model so that we get good skin tones and that the lighting sculpts her face in the most striking and flattering fashion. However, for this shoot the subject was the prom and party dresses and naturally they want the photos to show off the colours, textures and details of the gowns. Because of this it meant the lighting had to be changed and adjusted for each set of images. For some of the dresses, to achieve accurate results, I had to switch off completely the main light and utilise window light instead. It’s quite unorthodox using three studio lights on the background and foreground whereas at the same time employing simple window light as your primary source but that’s one benefit of experience, you often times know what will work even if it’s a bit unconventional.
The results were everything I wanted them to be. They are every bit as good and as striking as if they’d been done in an expensive studio and at a much higher budget. Dee, the owner of Simply Bridesmaids, was absolutely thrilled with them! Which of course is the most important thing!
Modelling the dresses is the gorgeous Natalie whose wedding I photographed back in 2010 and who now models part-time for me together with her husband Billy. If you follow my facebook page you will recognize her as she’s modelled in a couple of other recent photo-shoots for me, too.
If you like photography and would be interested in learning some of the lighting techniques used on this shoot why not consider booking one of my one-on-one photography training days. You can find details on the ‘Training’ tab on my website or click this link: Photography Training Edinburgh. I run several options for beginners, intermediates and anyone looking to break into professional photography. If you are a low-end or part-time wedding photographer in Edinburgh looking to move up a level I also offer training together with portfolio building. Feel free to give me a call and discuss your requirements.
If you would like to keep up with my latest work and images it is best to check my facebook page. Philip Hawkins Photography on facebook. I’m afraid I do not always have time to put together blog posts on a regular basis so it’s much easier simply uploading recent photos to my facebook page.
Please remember you can click on any of the photo spreads to open up the gallery viewer and see them at a larger and better size.
