Camera and Inspiration #22 | PPN | How to take better environmental portraits - with Damien Lovegrove

Damien Lovegrove shares valuable tips on how to improve your portrait shooting skills and what to watch out for on the technical and emotional side of a portrait shoot.

 

This episode is sponsored by:

Skylum Luminar 3 - Simple and fast photo editing software

http://bit.ly/PPN-Luminar3

 

and

 

Marco Larousse Photography Workshops

http://bit.ly/StreetPhotographyWorkshops

• Damien Lovegrove has been a pro photographer for many years and has covered different genres of photography. During his career, he has won many awards but he eventually decided not to participate in competitions anymore and let the clients be the judges of his images. He is a world-renowned portrait photographer and a teacher who shares his passion for light, places, and people in workshops around the world. He is also a great guy and it is always inspiring to listen to him talk about photography.

 

• Damien shares how he started his career as a cameraman at the BBC and learned how to light people and how actors were guided into narratives in front of the camera. Eventually, he quit his job at the BBC and became a commercial photographer and later a wedding photographer. Today he teaches his passion for lighting and capturing portraits in workshops around Europe and the rest of the world.

 

• Damien picked the German photographer Vincent Peters (born 1969 in Bremen, Germany) as the PPN inspirational photographer of the month. Vincent is best known for his strong and beautifully lit fashion photography. He has worked for the top fashion labels and magazines like Dior, Louis Vuitton, Hugo Boss, Nike, Vogue, and Harper’s Bazaar. Damien finds especially Vincent’s strong and moody B&W photos stunning. Check out a selection of Vincent’s photos in GOOGLE’S Image Search (click link) or go directly to his website at: http://www.vincentpetersphotography.com (site seems to be down!)

 

In the main part of the show, Damien and Marco discuss different aspects on how to approach a model photo shoot.

 

• Prepare and practice so that you are confident with the technical aspect of your shoot. This will comfort the model and put less stress on you.

 

• Create a narrative to pose your model in a natural way.

 

• Shooting outside the studio can actually be easier as things are more natural and less static. Find good locations with layers and controlled light like overpasses to place your model at and work with the available light.

 

• Bring only one flash if you want to add more light and don’t use E-TTL in situations where the flash is placed off the camera. A manual flash setting will yield much greater control and consistency.

 

• Set up your camera for a good ambient exposure mood and then add the flash manually to bring more light onto the subject.

 

• Only use the bare light without light formers to imitate the strong light of the natural sun. A big softbox will make faces appear wider than a well placed small light source.

 

• Use continuous light in darker situations where you don’t need to overpower the sun. This gives you a lot of control, especially when using an EVF.

 

• Enjoy your photo shoot. Make photography fun and remove the stress from it.

Here are the links to Damien’s work and social media accounts:

 

Website: https://www.lovegrovephotography.com/

Adventures: https://lovegroveadventures.com/

Blog: https://www.prophotonut.com/

 

Portraits book: https://lovegroveportraits.com/

Discount for PPN listeners: Use the code "ppn" to get 40% discount on Portraits, the new eBook by Damien Lovegrove. Code expires 30th April 2019!

 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/damienlovegrove/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/passionphotographyexperience/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/damienlovegrove

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lovegrovephotography/

Inspirational Photo Book Pick of the Month:

 

“PORTRAITS” - by Damien Lovegrove.

 

Link: https://lovegroveportraits.com/

 

Use the discount code: “ppn” to get 40% off (valid until April 30th, 2019)

 

Description of the Ebook from Damien’s website:

 

“Everything I know about portrait photography is in this book. I hope it helps you to achieve a lifetime of enjoyment from your photography.”

In this no-holds-barred e-book, I deconstruct my complete portrait making process. From the planning stages and capture, through to delivery and archive – it’s all here. I reveal my secrets of creative success and the proven techniques I employ to capture fabulous portraits anywhere, at any time. - Damien

The book contains: 356 richly illustrated pages. 384 high res photographs with all the exposure and lighting details used to create them. Over 50,000 words of creative vision that took two years to write. Everything you need to know about taking portraits is now in one place. An expert layout that delivers the best reader experience to you. Two resolutions available (high or standard definition) to suit your broadband speed and device capacity. You get to choose one or both after making your purchase.

Links to Marco Larousse:

Web: www.MarcoLarousse.com

Twitter: @HamburgCam

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marco.larousse/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarcoLarousse1

 

Links to PPN:

Web: www.PhotoPodcasts.com or PPN.fm

Twitter: @Photopodcasts

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photopodcasts/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWaUn2M1BBoecISFEOJGRCg

Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/ppn-apple-podcasts

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Check out the Skylum LUMINAR 3 software:

Link: http://bit.ly/PPN-Luminar3 (use the discount code “PHOTOPODCASTS” at checkout for extra savings)

 

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About this show:

On the monthly “Camera and Inspiration” podcast show of the PPN - Photo Podcast Network, Marco and usually a guest discuss the essence of photography and how to photograph with more intent. Determining the “why” before the “how” in photography is essential to understanding your subject better and create stronger images. In each episode, they introduce you to an inspirational photographer of the month and also share an inspirational photo book of the month.