During long winter months it pays to keep the mind busy. One day when housebound by heavy falling snow I decided to set up a temporary home studio to relieve boredom. I have a portable kit I toss in the trunk for photo shoots, that allows me to travel easily and setup quickly.
Grabbing a couple of LED light panels on stands and a tripod from the kit, my swivel recliner chair was all I needed. Except a model. In the absence of any other options, I became the model. I am not the most photogenic subject. As models go, I would be my last choice. But sometimes needs must.
That added a couple of wrinkles. Most obvious, how to take photos when I’m the one in the chair? I am usually behind the camera working it. Here, we were both in fixed positions across the room from each other. I resolved this with a remote shutter app on my phone. A 2-second timer let me trigger the camera and drop the phone before the shot. I could also frame the shot via my phone screen. Not an ideal solution, but it sufficed for my afternoon photo shoot fun session.
I setup the lighting in a classic butterfly arrangement, aiming for a ‘film noir’ vibe. The shadows are a little harsh, intentionally. In a regular shoot I would have softened them with reflectors, gobos and other tricks and tools of the trade. As I was playing, I didn’t. And I like the effect it added. After the shoot I dropped the images to black and white in post-processing to complete the shoot, and softened the contrast to taste. Here are the results.
There are worse ways to spend a snow day than practising techniques. It pays dividends when working with real people, real models, real events. A working photographer has to stay on top of their game. On that note, this working photographer is now taking bookings for private and corporate photo sessions for the 2024 season. Portraits, corporate headshots, modelling. If it requires a camera the answer is “Yes, we can do that”. If you would like photos of yourself in my chair, or anywhere else, get in touch. Let’s make it happen.
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