Posts about portraiture

  • Bern band Choo Choo in 2010

    Long-time visitors to the site may vaguely remember that I used to collaborate photographically with Bern pop band Choo Choo.

  • The Selfie Stick

    One of my favourites from the comparatively new Flickr group Photos of Photographers with a Selfie Stick, by Tobias Eisenschmidt.

  • AvatarDay 6

    Barbara Hess announces the sixth of the annual AvatarDay events: a day in which she and a few helpers provide a day of free portrait photography for everyone to update their online profile photos.

  • Now that the weather is turning fine again, it’s time for a new photo course. I’m collaborating with the Photo International Club Zurich to run an all-day course on my usual topic – portraiture and lighting on location – on Sunday, 11th May in Zürich city.

  • Wow. Two years. It’s taken me two whole years to get around to writing about the photos I took for Choo Choo in 2010-2011, which they used to accompany their superb self-produced video for the single We Go. The two photo shoots to produce these photos were a little unusual but I really enjoyed them,…

  • The idea behind the workshop I ran in Zurich a few weeks ago was to get away from lugging around loads of lighting gear and heavy camera equipment. I hadn’t done an extensive portrait session with my Fujifilm X100 and I arranged this workshop so that I and other users of smaller cameras could give…

  • Using your shoulder as a camera rest

    A tip I passed on to a participant at a photo workshop last weekend was one I learned from Joe McNally: not on how to light your subject or how to interact with them, but how to manage your heavy camera. By holding the camera in one hand and the flash in another, with the…

  • What makes a picture is often the main subject. But a little attention to detail can also work wonders and turn a nice picture into a really nice picture. Walking in the park with friends last autumn, towards the end of a couple of hours shooting portraits, the lighter patches between the trees caught my…

  • Leila Licks, MFO park photo workshop

    It’s been a while since my last photo workshop and so it’s definitely time for another! I’ve spent a lot of time over the past year getting used to a simpler workflow and getting used to my Fuji X100 and since doing so, I’ve constantly been reminded how easier and how much more fun it…

  • Top of the world

    Reknowned photographer Joe McNally ascends to the very top of the tallest man-made structure in the world… to say he’s been and to take some portraits while he’s there. Why just take a photo of the view when you can tell a story of the people that work there?

  • AvatarDay 2012

    AvatarDay 2012

    The date is out for AvatarDay 2012 in Bern, when you can get a free portrait taken by Barbara Hess.

  • First experiences with my new ultra-compact and ultra-light Ezybox Speed-Light softbox.

  • Yesterday’s free portrait and lighting workshop at the Rolex Learning Centre in Lausanne was an unmitigated success, with just the right amount of photographers taking part to allow everyone to make new friends, work well together, and come up with some great shots.

  • Nadav Kander talks about his portraiture

    Photographer Nadav Kander talks about his portraiture in this 13 minute film.

  • The second of two photographic portraiture and lighting days this summer will take place at the Rolex Learning Centre on the grounds of the EPFL in Lausanne on Sunday 19th August.

  • Our workshop day this past Sunday was a great success, after the rain passed away from the MFO Park in Oerlikon some ten minutes before we started! Blazing sunshine soon warmed the area and gave us plenty of light to work with, so the day was spent mainly working with a mixture of natural sunlight…

  • Thanks to all of those who toook part in a Doodle survey, the dates have now been set for the first of the on-location lighting and portraiture days here in Switzerland.

  • After a break of almost two years, and a handful of small lighting courses both on location and in the studio, I’ve decided to organize another free day of photography and learning in the style of the Swiss Strobist days.

  • Following on from – and inspired by – the feedback I received from my aunt about what she felt to be ten of my best online portraits, my Mum sent me her list recently in comparison. I find the differences interesting and am only glad that so many of my images seem to be so…

  • Ten of the best

    My aunt picked out ten portraits from my Flickr stream which she feels are the best of those I’ve shared. Here they are, for you to comment, concur or disagree.

  • Tips on lighting, herding and photographing groups of people when time is limited.