Chilly Isle of Wight Weather

“I’m free tomorrow, do you want to meet up?” said my message.

In the lethargic days between Christmas day and New Year. A stolen hour away from home. Avoiding the frenetic activity in the kitchen. Hunting for the right outfit. Tidying the cupboard. Taking out the rubbish.

Charlotte opted to meet for her portrait session, 90 minutes of excited giggling.

The weather wasn’t ideal. Chilly with a bitter wind, easterly breezes off the Isle of Wight coast. What was perfect was Charlotte’s styling, using my favourite colours – red with denim. A new friend to play with, someone who could smile through the wintery weather.

Charlotte is fun to get along with and is hands down the easiest person to photograph. Laughing easily and giggling at the weather, she’s an avid reader and loyal friend. Charlotte has a confident grace in front of the camera and I worked hard to make sure she had fun. Her model-like ability to gaze straight into the lens, smiling and self-assured is something to be admired. She is undoubtedly happy, loved and able to stand her ground. Charmingly confident and humble in her outlook on life.

I had no idea Charlotte was interested in working with me after seeing this portrait session in Puckpool Park, we found our small circle of friends was inspired by a fellow photographer (someone I admire for his classic photographs captured honestly).

Most portrait sessions start with the same conversation: I need to lose weight first, after I get my hair done, work is too busy maybe later, I’m not sure I’ll take a good picture.

We lie to ourselves all the time. The truth is that we are scared. Scared of what happens on a photoshoot, worried about what to wear, doubting our ability to smile to the camera and destroying ourselves by comparing ourselves to the women on this website.

Life isn’t perfect; there’ll never be a right time. So, don’t hold back.

Everyone is nervous before a photoshoot, even me. But with a little planning and coordination with the outfits, I can take care of every detail during the session.

Meeting Charlotte created a little magic, more so because she trusted me to play, explore and have fun. Charlotte is experienced with the camera and often lends a hand with her boyfriend who is also a photographer. So she was happy to smile, laugh, twirl and walk along the pathways.

Despite the winter’s cruel fingers chilling our bones. I’m driven to support my clients – guiding, supporting and massaging those first time nerves transforming them into giggles and smiles.

Whilst carrying the small, black camera in my hand, another voice will whisper encouraging comments, sharing a joke, even singing little ditties and asking about your life story. To create the enviously-glamourous-effortlessly-beautiful portraits of Charlotte I simply had to reflect back the modern women I saw through her mum’s eyes. Someone with integrity who has been raised to be true to herself.

I hope these photographs show Charlotte all that I see – a beautiful, confident and engaging person. One with a story that shines with fun, laughter and loyalty. You are strong. You work hard. You focus the things you love: catching up with your boyfriend, supporting your mother and reading books late into the night.

Believe your boyfriend when he tells you how proud he is of you – he’s right.

I hope these photographs explain why I love to photograph women. If you have any questions.

Here are some more photographs taken in Appley Park:

• Appley Photographer
• Summery weather in Appley Park

 

Amanda Herbert | Isle of Wight
Email: info@amandaherbert.com

I’ve decided to start my first post for 2019 as a raw and unfiltered discussion about my approach to photography. Transparency is good, right?

When I started out in photography there were two types of people, I saw them as those that hid their ‘dark magic’ and refused to share their camera settings or techniques that helped to create beautiful photographs.

Then there were the generous, giving people that actively helped people. I attended ‘Anything goes’ photo walk abouts; women only meet ups; numerous free workshops held by amature enthusiasts. It was the foundation of my learning.

What’s most surprising about the above is that I was the only British person in a Singaporean community. Later, I met other British women on sponteaneous meetups and organised model shoots. But initially, I reached out and connected with a range of experts, invited myself into their homes and attended studio sessions without really knowing anyone.

It was the kindness of strangers that helped me find my feet, which is why I reach out and invit others to ask me questions.

Tann’s photographs are a good example of how I use light, so I’ve included ‘straight out of the camera’ (SOOC) previews to aid our discussion.

Initially, we started the session standing, but I immediately noticed the light falling downwards, ending in a beautiful glow just above the floor. So, I asked Tann to sit down by the edge of the window sill.

I tried to edit the first picture in the screenshot, but eventually rejected it. The brightest part of the image is her collar bone and I wanted the attention to fall on her face. Which is why picture 2 and 3 have a pose with a hand over her heart; I wanted to break up the brightness of the décolletage.

If you look at the last two pictures, where Tann is now standing, notice the light illuminating the elbows which are too bright and distract from the face. We’ll talk more about these pictures later.

Below is a triptych which helps us talk about posing, the photos have not been edited at all. Tann was wonderful to work with and flowed effortless through her repertoire making my life infinitely easier.

Learning to pose non-models is a whole series of blogs, with Tann I recognised her professionalism and confidence so I tended to follow her series of poses. Once I found one that I liked asked her to “pause and explore that pose there.” In fact, a golden rule with hands is that they don’t actually touch your face or body in case they drag skin, so I tend to ask models to, “rest your hands against your neck.”

Look again at pose 1 and 2, the hands blocking the face creates a barrier to the viewer, whilst the final pose has a more delicate feel inviting the viewer to reflect and linger on the photograph.

Getting a feel for the whole series is important to understanding the organic nature of portrait sessions. I communicate endlessly with the model throughout the shoot and tend to reveal my thought processes as they unfold, Tann knew how to create movement and expression based on my feedback. It’s a little bit like directing a movie.

Row 1 – I was concerned about the too bright chest area, so you can see I ask Tann to use different hand gestures until we found our mojo. Then I added a bit of the curtain to lower the contrast on the scene.

Row 2 – Now the poses rarely vary as I’ve found the magic light and have asked Tann to work within the tight frame because the pocket of light is beautiful.  

Row 3 – To counteract the bright chest area I ask Tann to lean against the wall. Half way through you can see that I’ve asked Tann to move her hands closer to her body so I don’t keep cropping off her limbs.

Row 4 – whilst the light was good in row 3, I’ve moved Tann right next to the window sill to create a high contrast light. My camera settings haven’t changed, but the light drop off creates a darker shadow on Tann’s face which suits the mood of mystery I was exploring.

Row 5 – now I’ve found the right light and the right frame I get to work on expressions and Tann didn’t disappoint. She really was a delight to work with.

My final discussion talks about colour. I shot the whole session on monochrome jpeg (& RAW which could be translated into colour). Tann’s styling was impeccable and the hair contrasting with the wall is what makes these photographs special. Colour theory tells us that orange / green are two colours to combine harmoniously and you can feel the punch from Tann’s styling.

Working in monochrome takes a little getting used to and a big leap of faith that the photographs are going to turn out OK. However, it is a useful approach to ensuring the shadows reveal enough of the face whilst allowing other parts of the body to recede into a mysterious backdrop.

I switched between monochrome (green filter) for smooth transitions and soft expressions with monochrome (red filter) for high contrast, punchy expressions in camera. It saves a little on editing and helps with the story telling.

Emotional impact ensures a successful photograph, the two images below are SOOC and both tell a different story. A black and white image conveys more of a narrative and suits an ‘eyes closed’ pose, whilst Tann’s beautiful eyes looking out of the frame suits a coloured variation. Both are equally valid, it just depends what story you want to tell.

I hope these photographs have helped you understand my approach to photography. As always, fire away if you have any questions.

To help you move forward I’m sharing these helpful posts from previous years:

• Goals for 2017, Isle of Wight
• 2016 a review
• Best of 2015

 

Amanda Herbert | Isle of Wight
Email: info@amandaherbert.com

Final portrait photography for 2018, Ryde

Do you spend too much time faffing around? We all do when there is something we’re worried about. In the photos below, I spent a lot of time talking about styling, light and other niggly bits as a way of procrastinating.

[Read more…]

Overcoming Hurdles

Holding off self-doubt is exhausting and can leave you feel full of inertia. Allowing negativity and poisonous judgement seep into your consiouness triggers deep-seated fears.

We all have an inner voice sitting on our shoulder, distracting our attention away from what is good and happy and joyful. It’s so easy to listen, even though we know the whispers are personal fears voicing our insecurity, and it’s so hard to tune those harmful messages down.

I don’t think I’ve met a single person that doesn’t talk themselves down at some point or other. Most of the time, we’re able to tut and shake our head, dismissing our self-doubt as adrenaline fuelled excitement at the start of an important shoot.

Take the photographs below. I was all of a judder, beyond excited to work with Lulu (an internationally published model hired by the wonderful Studio 2 in Ryde for our model days). Arriving too early, I first had the lonely drive home mournful that I’d got the wrong day. 24 hours later, I was so focused and driven during the shoot, I left saying ‘goodbye’ to Lulu only to discover I’d miss-timed the session and finished a full fifteen minutes early. And I’m still looking for the lost lens cap and suspect it might be in the bottom of the model’s suitcase somehow.

During all my mistakes, I simply smiled and laughed at my silliness. Working with Lulu was so important to me that I mentally shrugged off my insecurities and reframed my thinking. Just because self-doubt seeks to erode my confidence doesn’t mean I have to listen. Trusting my instincts, sticking to my shoot plan and drawing inspiration from Lulu’s intelligence, creativity and sensibility I adored my time in the studio.

Self-doubt is a permanent part of my personality, but it doesn’t always have to BE my life. I choose to act on my dreams and goals, in fact I was determined to be the most experimental ever in the most important shoot of the autumn.

You are much more than your insecurities and you deserve to treat yourself with kindness. Get in touch if this resonates with you, I’d love to work with you.

Join my vision – Luxurious photography for everyone.

 Amanda Herbert | Isle of Wight
Email: info@amandaherbert.com

 

The secret to using the best studio on the Isle of Wight

Photography is always in the back of mind. It’s that quirky joy of my life that allows me to express love, creativity and joy all through the bleak winter months.

I’ve worked with female models and photographers wherever I’ve lived and one thing we all have in common is that guilty surprise at our own success, even though we’ve worked hard to achieve it.

I met a model / muse last weekend, one whom I’ve not seen for quite some time and I thought to myself, “if only she knew how much I admired and respect her.” I nearly turned back to express my admiration for her photography which is full of joy and laughter, just like her personality (but the parking meter was ticking and the evening was drawing in).

And it struck me again, sometimes we simply don’t feel we are worthy or worry that our own shame will linger, casting a shadow on our life.

It got me thinking. If I was brave, I’d send emails to everyone I’ve worked with to say, “You are amazing, stop talking yourself down.” I’d send dancing gifs of myself pointing to a billboard that read, “You are good enough.”

My truth is that I often listen to my niggling self-doubt that freezes my creativity and holds me back from acknowledging my creative strengths. I let my past dictate my future, ruining any chance I have of happiness and progress.

Your truth is hidden deep in your heart. Look passed the fear and the shame, follow your dreams and honour yourself. Let go of the past if it is holding you back; it doesn’t have to be your future.

Which is why Studio 2 in Ryde is also on my mind LINK.

It’s the single place that has allowed me to blossom, take risks and feel a tiny bit more confident when working with studio lighting. And I don’t think I’m alone. I’ve met lots of models, photographers and other creatives that benefit from Studio 2’s quiet support and encouragement.

So if you are ready to explore your own vision in portrait photography, want to learn studio lighting or need a helpful face to ease your fears, I can recommend Studio 2 and their house models.

Life is too short, every second you doubt yourself is a step away from happiness.  To help you move forward I’m sharing these helpful posts:

• 5-minute tips for beautiful Isle of Wight portraits
• Telling the Ryde photographer why you hate the pictures 
• The importance of posture

Learning to love yourself and make the changes you desire is hard. So I’m giving you permission to be true to yourself.

Get in touch with the one thing I can help you with.