Practical Photography - UK (2020-04)

PracticalPhotograPhy.com 59

1

Knowyour

subject

If youwanttogeta

reactionfromyoursubject,

takethetimetogettoknow

them.Makethemfeelat

ease.Dotheyhavea story

toshare?canyouseetheir

personalitythroughtheir

ex pression?If yousee

something,askthemto

repeatitandbeready.

2

thInK clothes

anD tones

look at what

they’re wearing. willitwork

with the background?are

youshootingforcolour

orblack& white?either

way,therewillbesome

differenceintonality.

Is therea propyoucan

use,anythingquirkyto

bringthepicturetolife?

3

looK closer

study the person’s

features. whatisit

you want to accentuateor

hide? light accordinglyif

you can. as ridiculousas

it sounds, can you bounce

some light back withthe

as sistance of a friend

wearing a white shirt?

useforegroundinterest

toshootthroughtosoften

the image.

4

consIDer your

focal length

Do you want to

blow the background out

of focus and have your

subject pop out of the

scene? If so, use a longer

lens. can you get really

close to them to add an

element of strangeness?

shoot wide. some of the

most engaging portraits

are shot on short telephoto

lenses like the 85mm.

above & left t his elegant 1940’s-inspired fashion portrait was

used to launch one of Malmaison’s new boutique hotels.

Pro Showcase Johnny Carr

buy-out fee. i knew a fashion designer in
leeds, who was a really beautiful girl.
She agreed to do it for £350!

What’s your starting point for each shoot?
research is key to any shoot. if it’s a
fashion shoot, i will share ideas with
stylists and make-up artists, and work
collaboratively to find the approach. if it’s
a commercial shoot, the key is to listen to

the client’s needs then offer an

interpretation and a creative solution.

What pearls of wisdom can you pass

on t o readers?

to be honest, i’m jealous of those who

have the freedom to have photography

as their hobby or obsession. my advice is

keep shooting – and where possible seek

advice from others with more experience.

want

toseemore?

checkout thefull-length

‘director’scut’of johnny

carr’sfascinatinginterview

andseeevenmoreof

his amazingimagesat

bit.ly/johnnycarr

interview

Johnny’s 4-step guide to better people pictures