[ellude]

April 6, 2009 at 3:28 pm

A lovely shot indeed, and surprisingly good for such film with such a highly-rated ISO.

[ellude]

April 6, 2009 at 3:25 pm

Cookster – with a portfolio, I guess my thinking was to provide a number of pictures in various settings and places in order to give a more accurate impression of the person. More pictures (within reason, of course) = more information = more accurate impression.

Didn’t really expect anyone to comment on them all – I put numbers on them so people could say ‘this one doesn’t work’ or ‘this one needs…’ etc. Personally I don’t see any single image posted as being particularly outstanding, but hope that together they might convey a sense of what the subject is like – which is what he wanted. As for you hiring him, I think that’s unlikely unless you happen to be a film or TV director!

I also wondered how the running pics would look in an actor’s portfolio. Ended up with about 20 running shots that worked reasonably well but thought perhaps one was enough to include above.

Here were some of the other possibilites….

1

2

3

4

[ellude]

April 1, 2009 at 2:21 pm

Michella – some good points there, don’t know if he had glasses but that would certainly have been a good idea to get some different looks. And I can’t believe how I missed seeing that Boss label! Can only imagine that he must have been wearing a new jacket and had forgetten to cut it off!

I suppose being able to look natural in pictures is part and parcel of being an actor, and he was certainly at ease and very easy to work with. Early on he mentioned being interested in taking part in athletics. I suggested doing some jogging pictures, and although he hesitated a bit at first about putting these in a portfolio I thought it helped to add variety.

Perhaps you are right about doing some pics in black and white. I was thinking the casting people would want shots that give a good impression of how the person actually looks, hence stayed with colour, natural light shots (I did use a reflector in some, but kept the flashgun in the bag).

Simon – Think you might be right about doing at least one black and white shot, and I’ll try converting one. Afraid I’m not sure what ‘colour spotlight’ pics are!

Regarding the number of pictures, I think actors are asked to email a small portfolio of pics in for casting sessions. We thought around 10 would be a reasonable number and should give a fairly accurate impression of how the person looks.

[ellude]

March 30, 2009 at 4:16 pm

Deebo – the first pic was taken just after Poland had scored their first goal. The NI fans were looking a bit crest-fallen at that stage and the Polish fan started waving the scarf. For most of the rest of the game it wouldn’t have seen as the NI fans were leaping up and down, waving their hands around etc. There were quite a lot of Polish fans there, probably around 2,000, but nearly all were in another two sections of another stand reserved for them.

In spite of the trouble outside the ground, there was a fantastic atmosphere inside (ie, friendly) while the game was in progress. I guess most people expected Poland to be the stronger side so there was great delight when NI picked up the points.

I was using a 300mm lens for the game.

Paul – thanks for your comment :)

[ellude]

March 30, 2009 at 3:58 pm

Some great shots there Paul – just too bad about the score line (for Ulster)!

[ellude]

March 30, 2009 at 11:20 am

Northern Ireland’s David Healy makes a run down the wing…

Northern Ireland’s Warren Feeney, who scored the opening goal after 10 minutes of play…

NI’s David Healy and Poland’s Michal Zewlakow.

Northern Ireland captain Damien Johnston and Poland’s Jakub Wawrzyniak.

Northern Ireland’s Warren Feeney keeps his eyes on the ball during the game against Poland…

Polish fans light up a flare to celebrate their goal….

[ellude]

December 26, 2008 at 12:14 am

Can’t see the pic……

[ellude]

December 26, 2008 at 12:11 am

Great portrait – I like this one a lot.

So many people pictures are little more than mug shots. The thing that appeals to me about this one is that it communicates and defines the character and personality of the subject, and I suspect this was your aim rather than trying to produce a technically perfect mere likeness. You’ve managed to avoid a self-conscious or ‘posed’ look and, when I look at the eyes and set of his mouth, I feel I can take a good guess at the type of man behind the face. Maybe including some other clues rather than a blank wall behind might help, but of course not always possible.

To me these things are far more important than any technical considerations. Yes, it’s nice to get good lighting and sharpness etc (all looking good in this shot). Expressing something about who your subject is, instead of merely describing their appearance, is more difficult. But it’s what makes this one stand out.

[ellude]

December 4, 2008 at 2:13 pm

Lovely shots Si, especially like the warm tones of the wood in the first one. Although I couldn’t help noticing where you said yesterday that you should always keep the person’s nose inside the far cheek (in the post with the first pic of her). I guess rules are made to be broken, lol :)

[ellude]

December 4, 2008 at 2:04 pm

Well you certainly got an excellent pic of him. Remember reading somewhere once that he is directly related to Rabbie Burns, the Scottish poet, but no idea if that’s true or not….

[ellude]

December 4, 2008 at 2:01 pm

Thanks for the comments. Don’t worry Soda, more sports coming up this weekend (so hoping for good weather) :)

[ellude]

December 3, 2008 at 6:37 pm

Lovely atmospheric shot – the pianist aint bad either ;)

Well done!

[ellude]

December 3, 2008 at 6:31 pm

A close-up pic…

[ellude]

December 3, 2008 at 6:11 pm

Thanks Ciaran – it’s the first time I’ve been doing pics with a model for ages and enjoyed getting out again. Carrie is great. Enthusastic and doesn’t complain bitterly if she has to wait around for a few minutes – even in the freezing cold!

I kinda liked the muted colours in these shots. We rushed around and did some others with Carrie wearing different clothes, and some with lingerie, where the sun was more direct and more contrasty giving a different look. I’ll post some later.

You might be right about half-closed eyes in the pic above – not sure if it’s a blink or just a sexy look ;)

Here is a couple more similar ones….

Liked the way her breath shows up on the frosty air in the next pic. This is the full (uncropped) frame so not much I can do about the chopped elbow…

[ellude]

December 3, 2008 at 1:04 am

He was moving along at a brisk pace so it had to be a quick pic, but in some ways I like it better for that reason.

Kind of amazing that he’s almost 70 years old, yet still staging concerts in big venues like Wembley ( http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/11/11/bmcliff111.xml ) and has sold something like 250 million records.

Fifty years ago….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdJCtqegd8A