Reminiscing My First Studio Portrait Shoot

Sandeep Ellawala September 10, 2022

HMUA: Insiya Mansoor of Salon In-C

Date: 26-Mar-2021

Location: Studio Shashin, Colombo, Sri Lanka

For a number of years my interest in photography had been inclined towards street photography. During a book-exhibition in the late 2019 I stumbled on to a book that teaches creative aspect of studio portrait photography. The inspiration hit me, and then I started exploring. For about two years I consumed as much material as possible on this subject. I spent hours studying different photographers, watched their videos on YouTube, and mentally prepared myself for this next adventure in my photography journey.

This shoot was my first introduction to Yenara. I hired her for the shoot through a modeling agency. This is also the first time I collaborated with Insi. She and I connected through Instagram and we were already discussing about a collaboration when this shoot came up. It was also the first time I was working in this studio. The experience was so great, I ended up returning to this studio with Yenara for two more shoots, and continue to be friends with Insi to this day.

Lighting Experiment - Split Lighting

Sandeep Ellawala February 22, 2022

Talent: N/A (Self-portrait)

HMUA: N/A

Date: 15-May-2021

Location: Home Studio

As part of a challenge issued by the Creative Group of the Photographic Society of Sri Lanka (PSSL), I created five self portraits using a single light source at my home. I thought of sharing some information regarding each of the images that I submitted as a five-part series in my blog for anyone interested in improving their studio portrait lighting skills.

The Technique

For my first lighting setup, I thought of using Split Lighting for my self portrait. This lighting setup is ideal for bringing out a sense of mystery. It is also traditionally associated with masculinity and strength. In a studio setup I would use Split Lighting usually on a male subject.

This works well especially if the subject has a serious and somber expression on the face. I also like to use a tight frame with this lighting technique for a close up portrait.

With a subject facing the lens of the camera, a single light source is placed at a 90 degree angle to the side of subject to achieve this lighting effect. If executed correctly, the light will fall on to half of the face that is closer to the light source, and render the other side of the face dark, almost in complete shadow. The following diagram will be helpful in understanding this.

The light source that I used for this shoot was a Godox AD600B with a 2x3 Softbox. I also used a grid in front of it to reduce the light falloff to the background because I wanted the background to be as dark as possible.

Since I used a strobe to light the subject I could use the base ISO (160) of my camera. Aperture was kept at f/5.6 since I did not really need bokeh for this shot, and keeping focus was of more importance. Shutter speed was 1/250th of a second at the maximum sync speed.

The Result

I wore a black t-shirt for this shoot. Since I wanted to do this shoot in monochrome, I think it also added to the mood of the shot. I held an old Yashica SLR camera that I had borrowed from a friend as a prop for the shoot to add more interest to the story.

So, the moment of truth… Below is the image I ended up creating with this lighting technique, as captured in camera, with minimum skin retouching.

Outdoor Portrait Shoot with Enaakshi Adhikari

Sandeep Ellawala September 13, 2021

Talent: Enaakshi Adhikari

HMUA: N/A

Date: 13-Apr-2021

Location: Mount Lavinia Beach

I met Enaakishi during a promotional campaign I did on my Instagram Page, offering free portrait shoots for a few selected individuals with good camera presence and a story to tell. I usually do my portrait shoots in a studio environment. That is where I am mostly comfortable. Since she insisted on doing an outdoor shoot, I too felt intrigued to take the challenge.

On the slippery rocks of the Mount Lavinia Beach

I had very little to worry about posing Enaakshi since she already had a bunch of posing ideas for this shoot, which made the shoot faster and way more fun.

As the shoot progressed we tried different poses and movements to create a series of interesting photographs. We explored how the contrasting colors of her dress could play into the creative process.

One of the most interesting challenges of an outdoor photoshoot is controlling light. In a studio environment I could easily use Strobe lights and small flash lights to create the exact light that I need to tell the story. Since I did not want to carry a lot of equipment and then worry through out the shoot about wind toppling over my expensive lighting equipment, I decided to take advantage of the natural light of the Sun.

After a brief discussion we agreed to do the shoot during the Golden Hour of the morning. In the morning the Sun rises from the land side since we were on the West Coast, so we could easily position the beautiful Indian Ocean to the background of most of the shots.

On the slippery rocks of the Mount Lavinia Beach, letting the wind carry the shawl

As beautiful as the Indian Ocean is, we were shooting at the famous Mount Lavinia Beach; so there was no way that I would call it a day without capturing Enaakshi in one of her alluring poses while showing the iconic Mount Lavinia Hotel in the background.

On the Mount Lavinia Beach, in front of the iconic Mount Lavinia Hotel

If there is one message that I would want to leave behind with this post, it is that sometimes stepping out of your own comfort zones could help you think fresh about your photography while having fun with the craft that we all love so much. Think about the light that you will have to play with. Plan and run through the shoot in your mind multiple times. Arrive on time, and make sure to leave only your footprints behind.