Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-10-18)

subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 12 October 2019 33

35

Non-destructive

cloning

Whenit comestoediting,a littletidy-up

cangoa longway.However,keepthe

resultsasnaturalaspossibleasan

over-processedportraitlooksfake.The

SpotHealingbrushandClonetoolareboth

excellentassetsin Photoshopforremoving

spotsandblemishes.Whenhealingor

cloning,makea newemptylayerthenset

thetoolsto‘SampleAllLayers’tokeepthe

editsnon-destructive.JamesPaterson,

http://www.patersonphotos.com

36

Enhancingeyes

Oneofthebesttoolsforboosting

eyesin Photoshopis theAdjustmentBrush.

Foundin CameraRawandLightroom(orvia

theCameraRawfilterin Photoshop),this

toolletsyouapplyseveraltonalchangesat

once.Sowithaniris,wemightwanttoload

thetoolwithpositiveSaturation,Clarity,

ExposureandContrast,thenpaintprecisely

overtheiris(makingsurenottogo over

thepupil).JamesPaterson,

http://www.patersonphotos.com

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Headshotsat85mm

Generally,85mmprimesand

longerfocallengthsarebestforheadshots

astheycapturefacialfeaturesin a more

flatteringway.If you’rejuststartingout,

a 50mmf/1.8lensfromCanonorNikon

is a relativelycheaplenswhichdelivers

fantasticresults.ChrisBailey,

http://www.chrisbaileyphotography.co.uk

38

Takesupplies

Whenoutonlocationwitha

model,takesupplies.If it’sa hotdaypack

plentyofwater;if it’scold,a flaskoftea

andsomebiscuitswillprovetobepopular

withyourmodel.You’llneedtokeepenergy

levelsupsotheyperformwell.AP

39

Don’tneglectyour

post-processing

Usedwithskill,yourcamerawillrecord

thescenewithgreataccuracy.Whatit can

rarelydothoughis truthfullycapturethe

wholefeelingofthemoment.Theediting

processcanbea goodwaytobringthe

emotionback.TireeDawson,

http://www.tireedawson.co.uk

40

Findthedirection

ofthelight

Whenthesunis high,thelightwill

beharderandproducestrongshadows,but

whenthesunis low,thelightwillbesofter

andproducemoreevenresults.The

directionoflightmatters,andplacingyour

subjectin relationtothesunis crucial.

I findthispositionbyplacingmyhandout

in frontofmeandturningaroundin a full

circle.Thismaysoundsillyandlookodd

butobservehowthelightqualitychanges

onyourhandasyoumoveit.ChrisBailey,

http://www.chrisbaileyphotography.co.uk

28

Buildthelight

Whentwolightscomplement

oneanother,theresultscanbe

wonderful,butfindingthesweet

spotbetweenthemisn’talwayseasy.

WhetherusingflashorLEDs,a

commonmistakeis toturnallthelights

onandthenattempttoassessthe

overalllook.It mightlookgood,but

if it doesn’t,thenit canbetrickyto

determinewhichlightneedsadjusting.

It’softeneasiertobuildthelights,one

at a time.Thiswayyoucanstartby

positioningonelight– usuallyyourmain

or‘key’light– thenadda secondfrom

anotherdirection,andperhapsevena

third.It’sa methodicalapproachthat

takestheguessworkoutof multiple-

lightset-ups.JamesPaterson,

http://www.patersonphotos.com

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Thebackground
In portraiturethebackgroundis justasimportantas
thesubject.If you’rein thestudiothena plainbackgroundis
theeasiestsolution;howeverthecolouryouselectwillhave
a massiveimpact(e.g.black,white,red,blue,etc.)onthe
endresult.If you’reonlocationthenmakesurethatyour
backgroundsetsyoursubjectin thebestsurroundings.Look
fordistractingelementsthatwilldetract,andmakesurethat
thesubjectdoesn’thaveanythingsticking out of their head.
This will ruin the shot completely.AP

24

Environmentalportrait

In portraitureweoftenfeeltheneedtozoom

in andgetclosetooursubject.Whilstthisclosenesscan

beeffectivein somescenarios,in others– justbytaking

a fewstepsbackandcapturingsomeonein hisorher

familiarsurroundingsandenvironment– wecanreveal

somuchmoreaboutthem.Takeforexamplea person

atworksuchasthisengineerat a windfarm.The

backgroundandsubjectarelinkedtogethergiving

the image a more interesting concept.AP

26

Movingsubjects
Theysayneverworkwithchildrenoranimals...
howeveryou’remissingoutif youdon’tastheyarepure
bundlesof joy!Tryingtokeepthemstillin theframecanbe
a nightmaresoouradviceis toletthembefree.Setyour
focustothetrackingfeatureandcapturethemrunning
aroundandin thatmomentof joytogeta greataction
portrait.Sureit’shardtokeepupwiththembutif you’re
smartyoucanpredicttheirmovesandset the focus to
the space they are moving into.AP

27

Usenaturallight

Don’tgetboggeddownwith

thetechnicalitiesof usingcomplicated

lights– justutilisenaturallight;afterall,

moststudiolightsaretryingtoreplicate

daylightanyway.Usingthenatural

sunlightasit beginstosoftenanddrop

in theskycreatesamazingopportunities

for striking portraits.AP

© GETT Y IMAGES / MONT Y RAKUSEN

© CL AIRE GILLO

© JAMES PATERSON