This headshot of Oliver, editor of law journal Ebor Lex, done in a standard meeting room in a very short timescale. I thought it would be an interesting subject for a “stream of consciousness” post showing every shot that was taken during set-up and and trying to explain what was going through my head at the time. This is not supposed to be a perfect example of how it should be done, merely a record of how it was done.

It’s important to have some idea what you’re trying to achieve before you start so I decided I wanted something edgy, like this shot but with a more traditional background. That look was achieved by having a pair of softboxes very close to the subject, angled slightly toward the camera so I started off with the lights in that position.

No light meters no modelling lamps, what follows is exactly what I saw on the back of the camera at each stage…

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