2020-05-01_N-Photo_the_Nikon_magazine

(Nancy Kaufman) #1

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send an email headed ‘Apprentice’ to
[email protected] and make
sure that you include the following
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contact phone number, the camera
and kit you use, and the subject that
you’re interested in shooting.

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PRO KIT


LIGHTS


Mark says... I use Bowens lights. I have
four XMS750 and four Esprit Gemini
GM500 flash heads. The main setup for
today’s shoot included an XMS750 as the
key light, with an Interfit beauty dish and
diffuser; the GM500 with a Godox softbox
as a fill light, and two XMS750s with
Interfit Strip Softboxes and Grids.
The tall key light stand has a screw that
enables me to adjust the angle of the head
easily. There are no windows in the studio,
but there is a skylight, which I’ve covered
up. I like to have control over my lighting.
I tell people to find their settings and then
turn off all the lights and take a shot; the
resultant frame should be pitch black.

PRO


PORTFOLIO


MARK


O’LEARY


THE HARLEQUIN
I previously photographed Hannorah on a
black background and used the same skull
brushes from Super Shot #2 to create the
smoke effect. The brick background was
another photograph; I used Photoshop’s
Screen blend mode to place it over the
black background.

WHILE THEY’RE ASLEEP
The mummy was a piece of graffiti that I
photographed in Camden Market. I cut it
out in Photoshop and manipulated the arm
so it looked like it was walking up the stairs.
I took the rest of the image at a National
Trust building and used Channel Mixer
to alter the colours slightly.

PIROUETTE
I photographed the ballerina in front of a
Lastolite Hilite background. However,
because she was quite tall, I decided
to cut her out and place her on a white
background. I then created a checkered
pattern in Photoshop, which was
manipulated with the Perspective tool.
The scarf was drawn using a Wacom tablet.

STUDIO PORTRAITS


http://www.digitalcameraworld.com 15


the paper,” he said when looking through
Nathan’s shots.
The pair decided to use a spotlight to
create a more focused, circular gradient,
which Mark achieved using a Bowens
XMS750 with a honeycomb grid. Nathan
carefully composed the image so that the
spotlight framed the model’s head. Mark
asked Hannorah to drop her chin slightly
and stare directly into the camera. “You
want to convey your vision to the model,
but a good model will have their own ideas
as well.” Nathan continued shooting and
during an impromptu moment when
Hannorah played with her hair, captured
Super Shot #4.


MARK’S VERDICT
Nathan’s a great portrait
photographer. Today was
about imparting bits of
knowledge and giving him
a different perspective. I hope I’ve also
proved that if you have a passion, there’s
no reason why you can’ t follow it.


M a rk a n d N ath a n us e d a sp otligh t to c re ate a n
attractive gradient on the grey backdrop.

NATHAN’S VERDICT
Shooting with a pro model and
makeup artist was great. Mark
explains everything very
clearly and is a fountain of
knowledge when it comes to lighting. I can’t
wait to get into the photo studio again!
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