Digital Photographer - UK (2020-01)

T

he benefit of being a portrait

photographer is that you’re never short

of subjects. That is, if you’re willing to

find them and make it happen. Some

may simply dismiss portraiture as the act

of capturing one’s appearance – look at the

camera, a quick snap and off you go. But I’d

argue that it’s much more than that. Everyone

you know has their own story to tell, whether

it’s an interesting hobby, a troubled past or

even an unusual and unexpected job title.

Prying the lid and revealing the story hidden

inside through one or a series of still images

is what really excites me about the medium.

This photo in particular was the result of

a chance conversation I had with a friend

of mine (Robynne) where she revealed that

she had recently started skydiving and was

working towards being able to dive solo,

which requires passing a specific program

and having a set amount of tandem jumps.

She showed me photos of her in full skydiving

kit. The sight of her soft and feminine

features inside the almost

astronaut-like suit, I thought, made

for an interesting shot. So I asked

her whether she’d be willing to

pose for a few photos one evening

just for fun, to which she kindly

agreed. As luck would have it, she

also said that we could get access

to one of the plane hangers at

the local airstrip where she jumps

from – the perfect backdrop.

On the day of the shoot we

really lucked out as one of the

planes was in the hanger for

scheduled maintenance (you can

see in the photo that the innards

of the plane’s wing section are still

exposed), meaning that we could shoot in

and around the plane itself. The hanger was

quite gloomy, the only available light created

by a select amount of moss-coated skylights

and a couple of flickering fluorescent tube

lights hanging from the ceiling. None were of

much use, but this didn’t matter

too much anyway as my plan was

to use off-camera flash to light

Robynne and help separate her

from the background.

I started by positioning

Robynne against the plane, with

one medium octabox positioned

to the camera’s left and slightly

above her. I wanted the light to

mimic that of the skylights so

that the result didn’t appear too

artificial. With a 35mm lens on

my Canon 5D Mk III, I took the

photo from a crouched position

so I could fit more of the plane

into the shot, and also to give it

and Robynne dominance over the audience.

Although this photo was taken a few years

ago now, I still find myself coming back to

it. I think it serves as a reminder for me that

often the most interesting shots are created

through simple storytelling.

pro bio

Tom Calton is a professional

photographer and

videographer based in the UK.

With 12 years of experience,

his clients are vast and varied,

including Fujifilm, Superdry

and the NHS. Tom teaches via

his online photography school,

cameracourses.co.uk.

blackpointmedia.co.uk

All images © Tom Calton

Seek opporTuniTieS

Tom Calton says that opportunities are all around, if you’re willing to find them

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T

hebenefitofbeingaportrait

photographeristhatyou’renevershort

ofsubjects.Thatis,ifyou’rewillingto

findthemandmakeithappen.Some

maysimplydismissportraitureastheact

ofcapturingone’sappearance–lookatthe

camera,aquicksnapandoffyougo.ButI’d

arguethatit’smuchmorethanthat.Everyone

youknowhastheirownstorytotell,whether

it’saninterestinghobby,atroubledpastor

evenanunusualandunexpectedjobtitle.

Pryingthelidandrevealingthestoryhidden

insidethroughoneoraseriesofstillimages

iswhatreallyexcitesmeaboutthemedium.

Thisphotoinparticularwastheresultof

achanceconversationIhadwithafriend

ofmine(Robynne)wheresherevealedthat

shehadrecentlystartedskydivingandwas

workingtowardsbeingabletodivesolo,

whichrequirespassingaspecificprogram

andhavingasetamountoftandemjumps.

Sheshowedmephotosofherinfullskydiving

kit.Thesightofhersoftandfeminine

featuresinsidethealmost

astronaut-likesuit,Ithought,made

foraninterestingshot.SoIasked

herwhethershe’dbewillingto

poseforafewphotosoneevening

justforfun,towhichshekindly

agreed.Asluckwouldhaveit,she

alsosaidthatwecouldgetaccess

tooneoftheplanehangersat

thelocalairstripwhereshejumps

from–theperfectbackdrop.

Onthedayoftheshootwe

reallyluckedoutasoneofthe

planeswasinthehangerfor

scheduledmaintenance(youcan

seeinthephotothattheinnards

oftheplane’swingsectionarestill

exposed),meaningthatwecouldshootin

andaroundtheplaneitself.Thehangerwas

quitegloomy,theonlyavailablelightcreated

byaselectamountofmoss-coatedskylights

andacoupleofflickeringfluorescenttube

lightshangingfromtheceiling.Nonewereof

muchuse,butthisdidn’tmatter

toomuchanywayasmyplanwas

touseoff-cameraflashtolight

Robynneandhelpseparateher

fromthebackground.

Istartedbypositioning

Robynneagainsttheplane,with

onemediumoctaboxpositioned

tothecamera’sleftandslightly

aboveher.Iwantedthelightto

mimicthatoftheskylightsso

thattheresultdidn’tappeartoo

artificial.Witha35mmlenson

myCanon5DMkIII,Itookthe

photofromacrouchedposition

soIcouldfitmoreoftheplane

intotheshot,andalsotogiveit

andRobynnedominanceovertheaudience.

Althoughthisphotowastakenafewyears

agonow,Istillfindmyselfcomingbackto

it.Ithinkitservesasareminderformethat

oftenthemostinterestingshotsarecreated

throughsimplestorytelling.

probio

TomCaltonisaprofessional

photographerand

videographerbasedintheUK.

With 12 yearsofexperience,

hisclientsarevastandvaried,

includingFujifilm,Superdry

andtheNHS.Tomteachesvia

hisonlinephotographyschool,

cameracourses.co.uk.

blackpointmedia.co.uk

Allimages©TomCalton

Seek opporTuniTieS

Tom Calton says that opportunities are all around, if you’re willing to find them

Pro column