Ivan Weiss portrait photography discussion

  

Ivan Weiss portrait photography discussion

24 Apr 2020 10:56AM   Views : 1033 Unique : 583

Hi there,

On ePhotozine the other day there was a free QA session offered by the popular portrait photographer Ivan Weiss.
His work has a very rich polished feel and I really wanted to understand how he did this, luckily he was a brilliant presenter and left me feeling really empowered to try out the techniques i felt i got from his session.
You can see my first selfie attempt below, now on my portfolio. My main takeaway from his session was the positioning of the key light.

Also what i got from his presentation was how he concentrates, and i mean really concentrates on the details of his style, its derived from the Rembrandt style of lighting,
This is typically done by Ivan with constant (not flash) lights so that he can see the effects as he composes the shots. He shoots tethered to a 27" screen so both he and the client can see the effects directly.
I tried this on my Canon 6D with the new Canon EOS utility i just downloaded and it was actually quite good once i got used to driving it and understanding that it shoots images straight to the PC and not the memory card - there was a moment of panic when i though i'd lost the images. You can also set the EOS etility to shoot to card and PC.

Ivan described how he add the main light to shape the subject, then subsequent ones to highlight areas that may be lost in shadows. This allows him to create the majority of the shot in camera. he admits he it not a photoshop wizard, apart from toning and textures.
He also describes how even cheap backdrops can be effectively used to create a great shot. Another revelation to me what what he could do in 'small' studio space - his is approx 4M x 5M and a lovely 4M high. My shot was in a small back room area 2Mx2Mx2M including the desk with the PC and tethered Camera on a small £5 desk tripod.

He also discussed the business side of his operation and how his instagram account plays a key role in bringing his offerings to his potential market. This market is geographically close to him in London and has a group of related people all following similar instagram areas. Most sales are digital downloads and he also charges a fixed fee for the session to take the photos. - This presently leaves him very affected by the current lockdown.

I think you might agree that if you focus well on specific styles you can achieve more that trying to just do a little bit of everything quickly.

If you can, do follow the link to the QA session and on to his presentation - its really helpful i believe. And of course if you do try his techniques than upload them to ePhotozine as i'm sure many would be interested.

Thanks for reading, pls share any thought you have.
Stuart

Tags: Portrait Portrait photographer Instagram Selfie ivan weiss