24 7 September 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Top portrait tips
Rory’sadviceforaspiringportraitists
1
‘Ifyouwantsomeonetositforyou– someonewho’s
importantorprominent– senda goodold-fashioned
letter.Peopledon’tdothatanymore;theysendemails
whichareeasytodelete. If you send a letter, people are
goingtoopenit.’
2
‘Haveanimpetus,a project,somethinginterestingto
do,ratherthanonlythejobswhichwillpaythebills
straightaway.Focusonwhatyouwanttodoandit willopen
doors.Concentratingonactors,onthemilitary,it gotme
contracts,a jobwithPepsi,commissionsforthepolice,the
armyanddifferentcompaniesbecauseit shows what you
cando,andwhatyou’recapableof.’
3
‘Whentimeis limited,doyourresearchfirst– that’s
essential.Readbooks,interviews,watchvideoclips and
seehowothershavephotographedthesubject.’
4
‘Ifyouthinkyoumightbeoverwhelmedordistractedby
somebody’sstatus,writea listthatyouhavewith you,
remindingyouof allthethingsyouneedtodo.’
5
‘Keepasmuchdetailin yourfinishedportraitsaspossible.
If youover-airbrushsomethingandmakeit looktoounreal,
in 50years’time,peoplearenotgoingto botherwithit.’
6
‘Anyonecansendsomethingin forconsiderationtothe
NationalPortraitGallery.If youhaveaninteresting
picture, don’t be frightened, just send it in.’
there’ssomethingabouteach
piecethattiesthemtogether.
Theonlyphotographerheis
inspiredbyis NadavKander(see
SpeakingwithKanderinAP 15
June),someonewitha similarly
classicalapproach.Concentratingondetail
IaskRorytotalkmethroughhis
ownstyle.Heenthusiasticallyleaps
upfromthechairandcirclesthe
roomgoingthroughtheprocess
behindeachimage.I learnthatall
oftheportraitsareshotwitha
simplelightingset-up(ProFotois
hisgo-tobrand,withtheB10and
theB2beingparticularlyfavoured).
Mostofhisworkis shotoneithera
PhaseOneorHasselbladcamera,
thoughhealsousestheCanon
EOS-1DXMarkIIandanEOS5D
MarkIIIas‘workhorse’cameras,too.
I alsofindoutthatmostofhis
portraitsseemtobeshotwithvery
littletimeavailable,andwithsimple
yetdefinitedirection.You’llnotice
mostofhisportraitsareonthe
serious– orperhapsmoreaccurately,
expressionless– side.Roryaimsfor
neutralitytohelptheviewermake
uptheirownmindaboutthesitter,
whilehealsorefrainsfrommaking
visualstatementsaboutpolitical
sitters,whichhaveincludedTony
Blair, David Cameron and JohnTONYBLAIR‘I domyresearchwithPrimeMinisters[Roryhas
photographedthreetodate].WithTonyBlairit wasallabout
capturingthepersonalityaswellasedifyingwhoheis.Thered
tonesofthebackdropis fortheLabourParty.Again,I was
inspiredbyHansHolbeinportraits,whouseda redpriest’s cloak
in the backdrop of his Sir Thomas More painting.’
IANMcSHANE‘I alwayscapturea safety
shotona simplewhitebackgroundfirst,in
caseI getanythingwrong– thisis oneof
those.HereI wasgoingforthatclassic
Lovejoysortofpost,withhimlooking
suaveandsophisticated.I loveallthese
foldsandlines,likeanalligator – that’s
what I wanted to capture.’Major(onlyBlairmakesit intothe
exhibitionforhisScottishroots).
Theotherthingyou’llnoticeabout
hisportraitsis theirfinedetail.You
getthesensethateachoneis a true
reflectionofwhatthesitterreally
lookslike,withlines,wrinklesand
verylittleinthewayofairbrushing
or processing. Again, Rory’s history-