MONTE ZUCKER REFLECTIONS ON A TRIP TO ENGLAND & IRELAND

"My desination was England and Ireland; my purpose to raise the standards and income of portrait and wedding photographers" Monte Zucker

Monte 1

The Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers invited me to come to England and Ireland to do a series of lectures and classes. The SWPP is fast becoming one of the world’s leading groups dedicated to advancing the professionalism of portrait and wedding photographers throughout Europe. As I was reviewing the images recently I thought that there was so much information in some of them I just had to share them with the rest of the society’s members.

Not only were the photographers receptive to my instruction, but they were also anxious to be my models. Two photographers in particular, Patricia Fernandez Li and one of her employees, Patrick, added immeasurably to the classes by providing magnificent costumes that they use daily in their business. Patricia’s studio, Castle Photography, is located in an historic district, almost adjacent to Windsor Castle. They have an incredible collection of period costumes for dressing up tourists and photographing them either in their studio or on location.

Monte 2

We had the benefit of Patricia and Patrick with their costumes both in England and Ireland. The areas surrounding where I was appearing abounded in locations in which to photograph them. At a nearby old church I posed them underneath a carriage pass-through, covering them from overhead. I kept them closer to one side of the openings, so that I could have a natural main light. Later in Photoshop I burned-in the edges of the picture and opened up the detail in their clothing by using Image/Adjust/Shadow Highlight. [TOP]

At the same location I posed the local Vicar in front of his church. The light was overcast with very little direction of light (as can be seen on the church, itself, in the background. A black and white rendition of the picture looked much better than the original colour. A 16-35mm Canon wide-angle lens allowed me to keep the vicar close to the camera and the most important part of the picture, while keeping his church a secondary interest – far in the background. [2]

Monte 3

Inside another church in Ireland, Patricia and Patrick posed as our bride and groom. Just within the entrance to the church Patricia kneeled at an altar in a small, side-room. Natural light coming through the window was all that I needed. With the ISO set up to 1000 I was able to handhold the camera. I toned down the window and sides of the picture (focusing attention on the central theme of the picture) by adding an adjustment later in Curves and painting out the centre to create the darkened edges. [3]

Monte 4

Within the main sanctuary I took advantage of the natural light coming in through a high window, placing the bride and groom strategically so that I could show both of them as well as some of the architecture of the church. I explained to all the photographers how important it is to observe the natural light and use it whenever and wherever possible to maintain the integrity of the church's interior. [4]

On another day Patricia and Patrick posed in the same costumes …this time on the front lawn of the hotel where the class was being held in Ireland. I took advantage of the early morning sunlight, using it as the main light. Again, a wide-angle lens allowed me to keep the couple up close to the camera and still show a lot of background detail. The fence happened to catch the light more than I wanted it to. To darken the fence behind them I changed the mode of the picture to Lab Mode, selected the Brightness channel, darkened the fence with the Burn Tool and then converted the photograph back to RGB. [5] Monte 5

One thing that I can almost always count on when teaching my classes is that photographers pretty much don’t know how to create portrait lighting outdoors. They go outside because there’s light everywhere. You don’t have to look for it. There is, however, one unfaultable technique that will work always. That is to look for cover overhead and a directional light coming in from one side. Nothing could be easier than going to a covered area where the light is blocked from one side.

Monte 6

A nearby cabin provided exactly what we needed underneath its small porch. I used the black side of a Westcott black/white background behind the photographer who posed for me and two silver reflectors – one below him to open up detail in his eyes and the second one to his left to open up some of the shadowed area on the left side of his face. [6]

The finished portrait shows that I tilted the top of my Canon 5D to his higher left shoulder, achieving a strong diagonal composition of his head and shoulders. I toned down his hand below the camera with an adjustment layer as noted above. I toned down the writing on the camera in the Brightness channel of the Lab Mode. [7]

Monte

A similar technique with just a slightly different twist is this family group picture that was created just outside the edge of a covered porch. I was under cover. The light was coming from behind them and to their left. A high camera position simplified the background to the area just behind them. My constant use of an expodisc continued to make a custom white balance quick and easy.

The portrait was made with all available light. One of the things that I constantly point out to photographers is the need to physically connect each of the family members. Look and see how the arms and hands help to bring the family feeling close together. [8]

Monte 8 There can never be enough instruction for studio portraiture on location. There seems to be a lot of fear about this subject by photographers who haven’t had the benefit of learning simple posing and lighting technique. Everyone learned a simple lesson when a very young teenager was brought into the classroom to pose as a bride. She entered the classroom in a strapless wedding gown, bare arms and all. I had to do something to dress her up for a portrait.

The problem was solved when I took a piece of fabric that almost matched the fabric of her gown and draped it around her shoulders and over her arms. I had done this quite often when a bride with a long train comes to me with bare shoulders and arms. The cape-like effect saved the day and pleased everyone. This portrait was created using two Westcott Spiderlights and a reflector. How easy is that? [9] monte 9

Similarly, for the background of this bridal portrait I had two people hold up the back of her wedding gown. The detail of her gown, slightly out of focus, served to create a beautiful setting for her and at the same time showed off some of the detail in the train.[10] Monte 10

A visit by the class to the studio of Maz Mashru was a highlight of our class. Within his very successful studio he has both a low-key and a high-key studio. I was particularly interested in demonstrating some of the techniques I had just picked up myself, for creating portraits in a high-key environment. I first got an exposure meter reading of his white background, using a flash on either side. Then, I used a single main light that was 2 f/stops less than the background exposure. When I exposed for the main light the background went completely white. I even used a fan to blow her hair for a more contemporary look. [11]

Monte 11

More close to home, we discussed doing family portraits in a home environment. The concept here was to show the home setting without it distracting from the main subjects. Undoubtedly, this meant using a wide-angle lens again and keeping the subjects as far from the background as possible. Exposure is based on the ambient light on the wall behind them. Then, it’s an easy procedure to match the flash to the exposure set for the background.

Monte 12

The job was simplified when I used my Quantum T5D flash connected to my camera with a Quantum TTL D-13w Flash Adapter that allows me to dial-in the amount of light that I want the flash to produce in conjunction with the ambient light. In a case like this I match the light on the subject to the light on the background. It’s as simple as that. A straight print is all that’s necessary. [12]

One of the most fun portrait sittings of my visit to Great Britain was this family group made in my bedroom. I noticed that the windows all around the room were allowing great light to flood onto the bed area of my room. So, I did a whole series of pictures with each of the girls lying individually on my bed and then the group of three. To wind up the sitting I brought their photographer/father into the picture and ended up with this fun shot of them all involved with each other. [13]

The pictures came out so cute I came around behind them and took a picture of how it was all happening. [14]

The SWPP 2008 Convention was an outstanding success,
we have 192 days to get ready for the 2009 convention - which starts on January 14, 2009

Photo Quote: I have often thought that if photography were difficult in the true sense of the term -- meaning that the creation of a simple photograph would entail as much time and effort as the production of a good watercolor or etching -- there would be a vast improvement in total output. The sheer ease with which we can produce a superficial image often leads to creative disaster. - Ansel Adams