It’s #anythingcanhappenday and today’s post features a portrait of Pam Simpson; follow her on Instagram at @polaris dreamer. This image was shot during Pam and my eighth shoot together of the 13 years we’ve worked together, so far.
Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“I take photographs with love, so I try to make them art objects. But I make them for myself first and foremost, that is important”– Jacques-Henri Lartigue
They may not be the most prominent part of any portrait but having the right background and prop and for a shoot will not only enhance the finished photograph, they can also improve your image with your clients.
Tip: When shopping for backgrounds try to find one that complements the subject’s look and style without competing with what they may be wearing. In this case, a solid colored dress was the perfect compliment to the patterned backdrop. Even better having a simple-to-use background lets you easily change them allowing you to produce different styles and giving the model a choice of looks. The simplest background to use is a collapsible backdrop such as those available from Savage Universal like the one being used in the featured photograph.
Here’s another tip: You need to light that background appropriately to produce the mood you want to create. For example, for a portrait of a child seated on a Victorian bench, complete with a background and props. The background can play a significant role in the image, almost as much as the subject itself. However, by dimming the light on the background, the focus shifts to the subject, ensuring they are not merely a secondary element in the composition.
It’s In the Background
Updating Props and Backgrounds on a regular basis gives your subjects variety in how their portraits look and will keep them coming back in the future but using the same props and backgrounds year after year, gives the opposite message and sends customers/models to your competition.
Successful photographers understand that after backgrounds and props have been used for a couple of seasons, they’ve paid for themselves and it’s time to purchase something new. Keep in mind that anything can be a prop. Even an old lamp bought at a thrift store can add just the right touch to your next portrait session. You’ll get more creativity for your dollar by investing in versatile, durable props and backgrounds that enhance all aspects of a portrait.
How I made this portrait: Here Pam Simpson gets all Great Gatsby for me against a (no longer available) Savage Universal Retro Blue Collapsible Backdrop. You may be able to pick up a used one on eBay. Kate Backdrops also has a wide selection of collapsible backgrounds but I have yet to try any of them. If you’ve used them, drop me an email and tell me all about it.
For this shoot with Pam, an Elinchrom D-Lite RX with a 26-inch square Elinchrom soft box was the main light and located at camera right, as shown in the above right setup shot. A 36-inch silver umbrella was mounted on another Elinchrom D-Lite RX and used as fill and was placed in the far (camera left) corner of my 11×15-foot in-home studio. I photographed Pam using a Canon EOS 60D and EF-S15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM at 65mm with an exposure of 1/125 sec at f/11 and ISO 200.
What Have We Learned Today: Don’t just toss the old backgrounds and props away! Put them on Craig’s List and sell them. Some are, however,worth saving. Now that the Retro Blue Collapsible Backdrop is discontinued I’ll hang onto it and drag it out from time to time. You may not get top dollar for your Craig’s List backdrop sales but it will help get you started on finding your next batch of new backgrounds or props.
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My book Joe Farace’s Glamour Photography is full of tips, tools and techniques for glamour and boudoir photography and includes information on all of the cameras and lenses used as well as the complete exposure data for each image. New copies are available from Amazon for $45.08. with used copies selling for around twenty-eight bucks, as I write this. The Kindle version is $19.99 for those preferring a digital format.