Amateur Photographer - August 2022

On sale Tuesday 2 August 2022 £DAom1n1’at,tf0oerug0retP0thooeotnotfegrpryaorpuihrzeberesotsfpotthroteraiYbtepeahrotw2o0s2oin2tno !

PREMIUM EDITION Passionate about photography since 1884

APUasGsUioSnTat2e0a2b2out photography since 1884

Better
INSIDE

32-page

portraitspull-out
guide

l PRO TIPS Advice from Expert tips and
top portrait photographers inspiration for
capturing great
l PHONE PORTRAITS people pictures
Great shots using mobiles

l PHOTOSHOP Essential
portrait retouching skills

Portraits: a history KELSEYmedia £4.99 TESTED

The story of photographic Fujifilm X-H2S
portraiture through the ages
Powerful new flagship model
Thandiwe Muriu

The Kenyan photographer
taking the art world by storm

Readers’ projects

Three AP readers share their
inspirational portrait stories

www.enjoy.photo

7days

COVER PICTURES © PETER SEARLE / © COURTESY WERONIKA GESICKA ANDMost of the billions of photosgreat shots of people isn’t easy – you need social
JEDNOSTKA GALLERY / © PULL-OUT COVER SHOT © RORY LEWIStaken every day are of people,skills as well as technical and creative ones – but it’s
© GETTY IMAGESand most aren’t very good. Thisperhaps the most rewarding genre to shoot because
issue is dedicated to helping to if you do it well your subjects will love your work
ensure that yours are not among and may even hang it on the wall. Whether you
them. Portraiture means different enjoy street portraits taken in natural light or
things to different people – there’s a whole elaborate studio-based creations, you should find
discussion about that in our interview on page 36 something to inspire you. Kit-wise, we test
– but we’re using a wide sense of the word and have Fujifilm’s pro-spec, high-speed flagship camera, the
assembled a broad range of approaches. Getting X-H2S. Enjoy the issue. Nigel Atherton, Editor

Our cover shot If you’d like to see your words or pictures published in Amateur Photographer, here’s how:

Our cover portrait of film SOMETHING TO SAY? Write to us at ap.ed@kelsey.co.uk with your letters, opinion columns (max 500 words) or article suggestions.
and TV actress Thalissa PICTURES Send us a link to your website or gallery, or attach a set of low-res sample images (up to a total of 5MB) to ap.ed@kelsey.co.uk.
Teixeira was made for JOIN US ONLINE Post your pictures into our Flickr, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram communities.
Screen International by
Peter Searle. See page amateurphotographer.co.uk facebook.com/ flickr.com/groups/ @AP_Magazine @ap_magazine
16. Our Pull-out Cover amateur.photographer.magazine amateurphotographer
shot, taken by Rory Lewis,
is of Captain Anani-Isaac, This week in 1960
The Royal Lancers. Rory’s
tips are on page 12 TREASURES FROM THE HULTON ARCHIVE

In this issue Lunar
Exploration
3 7 days Suit

12 Portrait tips View of a prototype design
from the pros for a two-piece lunar
exploration suit (or
18 Inbox spacesuit), Farmingdale,
New York, 1960. The suit
22 When Harry met includes a tripod and a
built-in seat. Space suits
24 APOY R5 results had been designed since as
early as the 1930s, but it
30 Enter APOY R7 would be 1961 before a
human – Yuri Gagarin –
36 About face would actually wear a suit in
space (the SK series). The
42 Powerful US followed very shortly
portrait projects after in the same year, with
John Glenn wearing a Navy
48 The company Mark IV suit. Unsurprisingly,
of strangers neither of those suits bear
much resemblance to the
52 Photo stories prototype pictured here.

54 Cultural camo The Getty Images Hulton Archive is one of the world’s great cultural resources. Tracing its origins to the founding of the London Stereoscopic
Company in 1854, today it houses over 80 million images spanning the birth of photography to the digital age. Explore it at www.gettyimages.com.
58 Smartphone
portraits

62 Diana Kenyeres

68 Portrait master

72 Fujifilm X-H2S

78 What makes a
great lens for
video?

82 Accessories

85 Buying Guide:
Cameras

98 Final analysis

*NOTE: PRIZE APPLIES TO UK RESIDENTS ONLY Our favourite photos posted by readers
on our social media channels this week
www.amateurphotographer.co.uk
AP picture
of the week

Windows to the Soul
by Karl Cullington

Sony Alpha 7 III, Samyang 85mm f/1.4, 1/400sec
at f/1.4, ISO 250

Karl told us, ‘This was from my first ever portrait
photoshoot! I met with Rosie at a great location in
Bedfordshire called Rowney Warren Wood. While we
were walking around getting some great shots I noticed
how the light hit her eyes and instantly had the idea for
this shot. I shot this using manual focus and edited it
Adobe Lightroom. The model’s name is Rosie Bruce.’
Instagram: @xxii.photos
Model’s Instagram: @rosiebrucexx

#appicoftheweek

Win!

To congratulate the AP Pic of the Week winner, Fujifilm is giving
the winner a £25 voucher* to spend on any photo prints or gifts
at myFUJIFILM.co.uk, so that they can print their image any way
they like! Simply go to myFUJIFILM.co.uk, select what you want,
then enter your given voucher code at checkout. The voucher is
valid for 6 months and can be used in multiple transactions. No
monetary eligibility or exchange. Need help using your code?
Contact myfujifilm_uk@fujifilm.com

4

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk 5

We also liked...

159 by Hazaud Regis
Gnaly

Pentax K1000, 25mm lens, Ilford HP5
‘Using my K1000, I have been travelling
the London Underground looking for
different shots of hands. I took it because
this lady was sleeping and holding on to
her backpack. The contrast really was
what intrigued me.’
Instagram: @hazaudfilm 
Want to see your pictures here? Share them with our
Flickr, Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook communities using
the hashtag #appicoftheweek. Or email your best shot to
us at ap.ed@kelsey.co.uk. See page 3 for how to find us.

6 www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Hitching a Ride by Pushing to
Rachelle Robbertse the Limit by
George
Pentax SP500 with a Super-Multi- Hayward
Coated Takumar 55mm f/1.8 lens,
Fomapan 400 at box speed. Developed Sony Alpha 7S III, Sony
in Fomadon Excel for 7 mins and fixed FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3
with Ilford Rapid Fixer for 5 minutes G OSS, 1/8000sec at
f/6.3, ISO 4000
‘These days I am obsessed with the bike ‘I found this to be the
culture in Korea – it’s becoming very similar most challenging yet
to Vietnam, where I used to live, often with rewarding photo, as it isn’t
matching couples riding on cute mopeds. As my normal style of
I was walking to the bus stop, I spotted a photography. Using the
young couple on a pale mint bike doing a 600mm end of my lens,
coffee run heading my way. I quickly lifted my I managed to remove the
camera and tried to follow their path, while safety fence from the
getting them in focus. Just as I clicked the shot, and chose the
shutter, the man on my right walked into my widest aperture to put all
frame because our crosswalk light had the focus on the cars.’
changed. So I wasn’t sure that I’d captured Instagram:
the shot sans shoulder until I pulled the @thegeorgehayward
negatives from the development tank. I really
liked that the focus on them was good, while 7
also showing how fast they were moving in
contrast to the early evening traffic going in
the opposite direction.’
Website: sweetbye.com
Instagram: @_sweetbyandby_

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Laowa 10mm f/4 Cookie
lens for APS-C cameras

The Primoplan 75 f1.9 II lens VENUS Optics has announced the Laowa optic is said to be capable of creating
10mm f/4 Cookie lens – a pancake- ‘stunning 10-point sunstars when shooting
Meyer Optik Görlitz glass style ultra-wideangle that’s specifically towards a strong light source.’
now in RF and Z mounts designed for APS-C mirrorless cameras.
The lens comes in Canon RF, Nikon Z, Sony In addition, with a minimum focusing
MEYER Optik Görlitz has announced E, Fujifilm X and L mount versions and is distance of 10cm you can get extremely
that all six of its fully manual, prime available in a choice of either black (shown close to subjects and play around with
lenses are now available in Canon RF and below) or silver livery. creating wideangle macro shots.
Nikon Z mounts. The lens is extremely compact at just
The company had previously only 25mm long and weighs only 130g. It is said The 10mm lens is also equipped with a
released two lenses in RF and Z mount to be ‘the world’s widest rectilinear pancake 37mm filter thread to allow you to use
versions – the Trioplan 100 f2.8 II and offering a remarkable 109.3° angle of view.’  screw-in filters directly without the need to
Trioplan 35 f2.8 II. Now it has produced The optical structure consists of 12 use an additional filter holder.
Canon RF and Nikon Z mount versions of elements (four of which are ED elements) in
its Primoplan 58 f1.9 II, Primoplan 75 f1.9 eight groups. Maximum The Laowa 10mm f/4 Cookie lens is now
II, Lydith 30 f3.5 II and Trioplan 50 f2.8 II magnification is 0.15x. available to order at £339.
lenses. The Primoplan 75 f1.9 II and Venus Optics says,
Trioplan 100 f2.8 II lenses are €999 each, ‘the performance of
with the other four lenses €899 each. chromatic
The lenses have to be bought directly aberration, flaring
from www.meyer-optik-goerlitz.com. and ghosting effects
are optimised to
Vote now support your day
in the MPB and night
Kit Hall of snapshots.’
Fame The lens is
built with five
aperture
blades and the

Laowa’s new 10mm
f/4 Cookie lens

EOS R3 update enables 195fps shooting

MPB Kit Hall of Fame: CANON has announced firmware updates Software Development Kit (SDK). For the EOS
your chance to vote for its EOS R3, R5 and R6 cameras. The R6 it includes the ability to set mode dial
EOS R3 firmware update (v1.20) adds a new functions remotely via the SDK. Visit
VOTING for MPB’s Photo and Video Kit custom high-speed continuous shooting www.canon.co.uk/support.
Hall of Fame 2022, to celebrate the setting that increases maximum frame rates
best digital photo and video equipment, is from 30fps up to 195fps at full resolution Canon’s EOS R3 can now shoot at 195fps
open till 5 August. It’s the third annual Hall when shooting in JPEG, HEIF or raw. Up to 50
of Fame and there are 25 nominees across frames can be captured in a burst, with focus
five categories – Trendsetter, Road Tested, and exposure fixed.
Game Changer, Classic and Iconic. The EOS R3 firmware also adds in-camera
If you vote, you’re in with a chance of focus stacking of images taken with focus
winning a Fujifilm X100V camera. The kit bracketing, Full HD video shooting at 240p
with the most votes in each category will and allows for Cloud RAW Image Processing.
be inducted into The Photo and Video Kit Users will also be able to assign a 1.6x crop
Hall of Fame. MPB will announce the results or other crop ratios to a custom button.
on World Photography Day, 19 August. You The EOS R5’s firmware update (v1.60)
can vote at www.kithalloffame.com. includes adding Auto Power Off Temperature,
which, depending on the conditions, enables
8 longer video recording times to be achieved.
The firmware offers a number of updates to
all three cameras for operation with Canon’s

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© ANTONIO ARAGON RENUNCIO Books & exhibitions

The latest and best books and exhibitions
from the world of photography

© STEVE BARNARD

This image, ‘The Rising Tide Street Photography
Sons’, won Environmental Assignments

Photographer of the Year 2021 Until 29 September 2022. Fujifilm House of
Photography, Covent Garden. For opening
Nikon invites entries to times, see fujifilm-houseofphotography.com
Environmental POTY
During the lockdown of October 2020, 11 amateur
NIKON has announced that amateur that put the planet at risk. The contest is photographers joined together to start a street
and professional photographers are open until 31 August 2022 and is free to photography project. Initially, they collaborated online,
invited to enter the 2022 Environmental enter for photographers of all ages, from using Brian Lloyd Duckett’s book, 52 Assignments:
Photographer of the Year competition. all over the world. Street Photography for inspiration. The group’s
It’s the 15th year of the annual contest mission was to complete all the assignments over
and Nikon has partnered with  The overall winner of Environmental 12 months, with the ambitious aim to produce a
environmental and water management Photographer of the Year wins a £5,000 book and exhibition at the end.
charity CIWEM, and the free streaming cash prize, and there’s a Nikon Z-series
platform dedicated to the future of our camera and two Nikkor lenses for the At first having to adhere to lockdown restrictions,
planet, WaterBear, to find the Young Environmental Photographer of the group took pictures during their allotted exercise
Environmental Photographer of the Year. the Year. The four other categories are time, and eventually over 400 photographers from
The competition puts the spotlight on Visions of the Future, Recovering Nature, around the world joined in the challenge.
the most inspirational environmental Keeping 1.5 Alive and Adapting for
photography from around the world and Tomorrow, with participants competing When Covid restrictions eased, several photo walks
provides an international platform to for £1,000 cash prizes in each.  took place around the country and the project was
raise awareness of environmental issues completed in December 2021. Now, an exhibition at
Winners will be announced on 24  Fujifilm’s House of Photography, alongside a book,
November. To enter, visit www.epoty.org. showcases some of the best shots by the group.

Iconic portraits of the Queen on show Unfinished Stories by
Mick Yates
OFFICIAL portraits of HM The Queen, one of the Queen’s most widely © DOROTHY WILDING/ROYAL COLLECTION TRUST, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
taken by photographer Dorothy recognised pieces of jewellery, which was £35, self-published, 105 pages,
Wilding, are on show at Buckingham created for the coronation of George IV hardback, ISBN 978-9924-9368-0-0,
Palace as part of a series of displays to in 1821. mickyatesphotography.com
mark the Platinum Jubilee.
During the first Buckingham Palace Photographs, It’s hard to think of a country
‘Summer Opening’ since 2019, paintings, art which has been more
Wilding’s iconic images are on display in and items of comprehensively screwed over
the exhibition Platinum Jubilee: The the Queen’s than Cambodia. This wonderful
Queen’s Accession. dress and book by Mick Yates tells the story
Wilding’s photographs were used as jewellery are of Cambodia on a macro and micro level – he does a
the basis of the Queen’s image on GB also on display great job of summarising the country’s troubled
definitive and revenue postage stamps at Windsor history, and then shares many stories of ordinary
from 1953 until 1971. Wilding’s official Castle and the people who somehow survived the horrors of the
portrait of the Queen was also sent to Palace of Khmer Rouge era and its aftermath. Mick is the
every British embassy worldwide. Holyroodhouse organiser of Frome Photo Festival, and the images
The photographs feature alongside in Edinburgh. are a mix of powerful portraits and more meditative
items of jewellery worn for the portrait takes on the beguiling Cambodian landscape,
sittings, including the Diamond Diadem; For advance Dorothy Wilding portrait including some very atmospheric infrared work. Much
tickets, go to of HM Queen Elizabeth more than a typical travel photography book.
www.rct.uk. II, 15 April 1952
11
www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Technique PORTRAIT MASTERCLASS

Portrait tips
from the pros

How do top portrait specialists approach a shoot and what gear do they use?
We asked six acclaimed portrait photographers to share their secrets

Rory Lewis Rory’s

Rory won the Portrait of Britain top tips
award for four years in a row and is
a National Portrait Gallery BAME 1 Find
artist. He also runs courses and compelling
mentorship programmes. See subjects
www.rorylewis.studio and
@rorylewisofficial on Instagram. ‘You are nothing
without a compelling
David Morrisey Actor David Morrissey subject. Try creating
(above) and a portrait a theme or project.
‘Described by the British Film Institute as used in a promotional This could be a
one of the most versatile English actors of campaign for Cardiff member of the family
his generation, David Morrissey is noted for University who has a story to
the meticulous preparation and research he tell, or someone in
undertakes for his roles – you may have your community.’
recently seen him in the hit BBC drama
series, Sherwood,’ Rory explains. ‘I captured 2 Be inspired
David’s portrait for a new project entitled by fine art
Selah, drawing inspiration from the Old
Master painters such as Rembrandt, ‘My style is
Caravaggio, Titian and Ribera. I have influenced by
attempted to masterfully recreate the Renaissance
light, atmosphere and tones of classical portraiture and
portrait paintings. “chiaroscuro” – a
technique which uses
‘I like to call this position the hero shot, strong tonal
positioning the subject side on, looking contrasts between
across their shoulder. I am positioned light and dark to
slightly lower, thus making David look tall model three-
and prominent.’ dimensional forms.’

Studio lighting can seem daunting if you 3 Keep
have never tried it before, but as Rory lighting
explains, ‘It’s not nearly as scary as most simple
people think. To my mind, it’s all about
keepng things simple. Most of my portrait ‘As mentioned, most
sittings are like this one, using just one or of my portrait sittings
two lights. Here, I used two Profoto B10 utilise just one or two
heads, with two Small Octa Softboxes. lights. Try this simple
One was behind at 220 degrees right, and set-up yourself –
the other was in front of David, again to position one flash
the right at 140 degrees. I also used a head with a shoot-
Manfrotto 1x1 Skylight Rapid to the left to through umbrella at a
tone down the shadows.’ 45° angle to the
model, at about six
David was captured at 1/100sec, f/7.1, feet high. This
ISO 100. ‘I never deviate from either f/5.6 creates a strong,
or 7.1 in my portraits, using the medium hard, direct light from
format Hasselblad X1D II 50C camera,’ the side and above.
adds Rory. ‘These apertures deliver great I guarantee this will
depth and detail.’ create vivid results.’

12

Jade Keshia Gordon WMNS WEAR and slightly to the left of the model.
The effect of this was to create a strong,
Jade Keshia Gordon is a ‘This was taken on a shoot for a fashion hard purple shadow in a white circle on
London-based fashion and campaign for the spring/summer the background.
beauty photographer who has collection of clothes brand WMNS
shot for the likes of Nike and WEAR,’ recalls Jade. The theme of the Jade took this shot using an EF 8-15mm
Canon. Her work has appeared in campaign was ‘Euphoria’. f/4 L Fisheye on a Canon EOS R5, via the
magazines including Forbes and RF adapter, and used an exposure of
Elle. Visit jkgphotography.co.uk The model, Lay, was placed close to a 1/125sec at f/4 at ISO 320. Because she
white wall in the studio. The wall was lit was shooting so close to the model, this
by two, colour-adjustable RGB LED panel made the placement of the spotlight quite
lights placed at 45 degrees on either side tricky. ‘We needed it to be as close to the
of the model, whch were set to bright front of the model as possible but without
purple. A white spotlight was then getting my shadow in the shot too.’
projected onto the model from the front

Jade’s top tips

1 Experiment with spotlights 2 Try using a wideangle lens 3 Use colour creatively
The use of a spotlight has created a ‘Some people think you have to shoot ‘Colourful backgrounds can really make
visually striking image, enhanced by the use portraits with short telephoto lenses but a portrait “pop” but you need to take care
of coloured background lights which created wIdeangles are very common in fashion to ensure that they complement the
the coloured shadow. ‘Spotlights like this photography. They’re great for when you subject’s skin tone and clothing rather than
one are expensive but you can get a similar want to accentuate the shape and style of a clashing with them. Use coloured walls or
effect with a digital or slide projector,’ Jade garment. I shot this using the 24-70mm dedicated colour backdrops, or colour a
advises. ‘They won’t be as bright but you lens too, but it didn’t have the same vibe as white or grey wall using gels over your lights,
can shoot at a higher ISO to compensate.’ with the fisheye.’ or RGB LED lights with variable colours.’

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk 13

Technique PORTRAIT MASTERCLASS

Sam Nash Ballerina

Sam Nash is a London-based portrait photographer who ‘This shot of dancer Kate Byrne was achieved using the Rotolight
started out shooting events before progressing to commercial AEOS 2 in an indoor abandoned shaft studio which had multiple
photography – shooting ad campaigns for magazines, retail, floors and shooting locations within it. The model was framed
and lifestyle shoots. He now focuses solely on portrait and neatly within the bricks which I lit up with an orange filter chosen
fashion photography as he found his true passion lies there. from the 2,500 digital filters that were available.
http://samnashshots.com/
‘At times, the colours chosen are purely aesthetic to match the
Sam’s wardrobe, as well as the ambience of the shoot. I set up another
AEOS 2, set to 40% power, inside the new Rotolight P90 parabolic
top tips soft dome placed six feet from Kate to give a beautiful key light on
her. I used a Sony Alpha 1 camera with a 50mm F1.2 GM lens.’
1 Choosing
locations

‘With outdoor
shooting the choice
of location is vital,
but I rarely pre-plan
as I find my creativity
is heightened by
exploring locations
during a shoot. But do
have a clear concept
of the ambiance and
general atmosphere
that you want.’

2 Use LED Kesha
lighting
‘Kesha appeared in James Bond’s most
‘The source of light is recent outing, No Time to Die. This shot was
key in creating a achieved using just one Rotolight NEO 3. It
successful portrait was shot outdoors, in an alley.
image. It sets the
tone and mood. For ‘Using continuous LED lighting was
me, continuous LED essential, as this shot was taken in the
lights make the most evening. A perfectly lit shot controls the
sense with modern shadows in the portrait, making a shot like
cameras. My Rotolight this more visually interesting and dynamic.
NEO and AEOS lights The chosen location set the mood and the
are powerful and the model’s pose was strategic – it could have
16.7 million colours been more mundane had the model looked
allow me to light my directly into the camera. I used a Sony A1
subject in various camera with a 50mm F1.2 GM lens.’
unique ways.’
Black dress
3 Compose
carefully ‘This shot, of model Katia Valerievna, was
achieved using one Rotolight NEO 3,
‘Perfecting your positioned 45 degrees from the model,
composition is the during London Fashion Week.
single most important
skill in capturing the ‘The NEO 3 was set at about 36% output.
perfect portrait. Learn Time was of the essence, so I had to move
to master lines, depth, quickly between shots as there were many
shapes, framing, and people on location. By placing my model
point of view; all help on the steps, it gave a 3D sense of depth to
relay the message of my subject, and it allowed the contrasting
the photograph. It is colours between the model’s dress and the
also what makes your environment to really pop and achieve a
image pop. Remove dusky, romantic feel to the image.
as many elements in
a scene as you can ‘I used a Sony Alpha 1 camera with a
to avoid clutter in 50mm F1.2 GM lens.’
picture. This keeps
the shot simple so
nothing distracts
from your subject.’

14 www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Peter Searle

Peter Searle makes portraits of some of the most influential
people in British society: Prime Ministers, CEOs, opera stars
and generals. He is London-based but shoots all over the world,
and has work in the permanent collection of The National
Portrait Gallery. Although Peter uses flash sometimes, here are
his tips for working with available light. www.petersearle.com

Peter’s Ncuti Gatwa Runyararo Mapfumo

top tips ‘This lift at the BFI, London, was the perfect ‘Runyararo is the director of the hugely successful Netflix show,
location for this portrait shoot with actor Sex Education. For this portrait I placed her in the shade under
1 Use indirect Ncuti Gatwa because the red contrasted an overhang of concrete architecture. Soft light bounced off
light nicely with the daylight coming in through buildings behind my back.
a glass entrance lobby which was
‘Look for directional supplemented by a huge backlit panel of ‘I shot Runyaro with a Fuji GFX 50S camera and 45mm lens.
indirect daylight. strip lights. Fortuitously the setting is in Settings were 1/500sec at f/8, ISO 160.’
Avoid direct sunlight. keeping with his forthcoming role as the
The light should new Dr Who. Prya Kansara
preferably be at your
back and hitting the ‘I shot Ncuti with a Fujifilm GFX 50S ‘Prya’s TV credits includes
subject approximately camera and 63mm lens. Settings were Bridgerton and Polite Society.
horizontally, or at 1/100sec at f/2.8, ISO 160.’ I photographed her at BFI,
least not a high London. With the table at
angle, which creates just the right distance
shadows under the from the large windows in
eyes. A good example the BFI, she is exposed
of this kind of light is perfectly, but so are the
sunlight bouncing off warm illumination of
a white wall. The wall the bar lights.
becomes a giant soft
box behind your back.’ ‘I shot Prya with a Fujifilm
GFX 50S camera and 45mm
2 Choose the lens. The settings were
background 1/30sec (on a tripod) at
f/2.8, ISO 320.
‘Find a background
that has that kind of
light falling on it and
which most interests
you or suits the
subject. I personally
like geometrical
shapes and the
texture of concrete
but I also look out for
warm tungsten-lit
backgrounds to
contrast with cooler
daylight temperatures
or vice versa.’

3 Balancing
exposure

‘Balance the exposure
on the subject and on
the background by
moving the subject
towards the oncoming
light or away from it.
For example, imagine
a subject standing
just inside a garage
door; the further in
you go with your
subject, the brighter
the back of the
garage will be.’

15

Technique PORTRAITS

Robert Huggins

Robert is a roving street portrait photographer living in
north-east London. He focuses on impromptu street
portraits, particularly around the East End. Robert’s images
have been published widely and appear in several editions
of Portrait of Britain and Portrait of Humanity. See
Instagram @rafhuggins

Robert’s Couple in Hackney

top tips ‘I asked this couple to move in to the light
slightly, and thought this was an ideal
1 Subject first background. You can’t move around people
‘Don’t get hung too much or they get bored, but I
up on equipment or sometimes ask subjects to adjust their
getting a technically hands. I shot this on a Leica SL. There was
perfect shot. My minimal editing apart from a square crop,
photography is much which I like for this kind of portrait.’
more about the
subject, not the gear, Couple in cafe
but I like the idea of
having a high- ‘Most of my photos
precision tool, which are of interesting-
is why I use the Leica looking strangers or
SL2. The Summicron intriguing
35mm lens is perfect situations. The
for my work.’ background and
setting are crucial,
2 Work fast and I work all this
‘I adjust the out before asking
aperture, but the person for a
otherwise am happy shot. This couple
to shoot in automatic were embracing in a
modes. I need to cafe as I passed,
work fast and don’t which caught my
have time to adjust eye, so I asked them
lots of settings.’ to recreate this for
the shot. It turned
3 Editing Hackney market out the guy had just
‘I keep editing to declared his love for
the minimum – one ‘I explained to this burka-clad the first time! My
of the great things lady that I really liked her eyes. work is more about
about the SL2 is it I wanted to make sure that as a informal portraits of
seems to make Muslim woman, she was okay people rather than
framing easier. As with being photographed, and street candids, but
well as cropping, I she also phoned her husband I don’t want to have
might also push the to check (sometimes very to re-arrange the
colours and orthodox Muslim people are shot at a later date.
highlights and fine about being I like the
contrast etc in photographed, sometimes spontaneity of the
Lightroom.’ not). I asked her to move moment. I find
against this background, as it people are generous
4 Suck it up was a busy market with lots of with their time, but
‘You should get distractions. There is often only for about three
used to rejection if humour in my images, and I or four shots, and
strangers refuse to liked the rug she was holding then they lose
be shot – don’t take – an interesting juxtapositon. interest – so I have
it personally. It’s like The light was very bright that to work fast. I shot
asking people out day so I had to do more editing this on my Leica
when you are a than usual. Again, shot on the SL2 and a 35mm
teenager! I tell people SL2 with 35mm lens.’ Summicron lens.’
about my Instagram
page rather than www.amateurphotographer.co.uk
giving them my card,
as they can see what
my work’s about.’

16

Iwona Podlasińska

Based in Kielce, Poland, Iwona specialises in child portraits
and is an expert in colour grading. She’s in high demand,
despite only starting out in 2013, and travels around the world
teaching, as well as creating online tutorials. Her latest book,
Dreamy Childhood Portraits, was published last year. See
iwonapodlasinska.com and Instagram @ iwonapodlasinska

Adam, 2017

‘I asked my son Adam, who was just three then, to look at the
cakes through the glass, which he only did for three seconds –
enough for me to get the shots. The portrait was taken entirely
in the natural ambient light of the bakery, with light also
coming in from the case. At the time, I was shooting with the
Sony A7, using an 85mm f/1.4. Editing involved removing a
distracting price tag from the bottom left of the image and then
just doing the usual tweaks in Lightroom to boost contrast etc.’

Adam on the bed Iwona’s

‘Adam was seven when I took this portrait. top tips
I was preparing for a photo shoot and
wanted to test some new ideas. I brought 1 The light
an album for him to look at, and a desk comes first
lamp. I didn’t give him any instructions
other than to lie down (Adam is very ‘Look for attractive
relaxed in front of the camera if he is light first, and then
comfortable). The lamp was not enough to think about how to
light up Adam’s face, and the only window get your subject in
in the room was behind him on the right, that light.’
so I added a small LED video light in front
of him. I used a warm setting, around 2 Don’t force
3000K. The image was shot on a Sony A7 it with kids
III with a 50mm f/1.4 lens. The Lightroom
edits involved some exposure corrections ‘Never force children
and colour grading to emphasise the lovely to pose. Let them
colour harmony.’ play and be
themselves – you will
Jan, Kraków Market get better, more
natural-looking poses
This shows my older son Jan, who was four this way, and the kids
then, feeding pigeons on the square. Like won’t hate you and
most of my images of my kids, the shot your camera!’
wasn’t planned. As Jan fed the pigeons, it
started to rain, and it was quite technically 3 Don’t rely
challenging because I was shooting with a on editing
manual 85mm f/1.4 lens on a Sony A7.
Everything came through sharp, however. ‘Pay attention to the
The light was entirely natural and I edited background. Shallow
the image in Lightroom and Photoshop – depth of field can
I cropped the original image from the right help with background
and added a part of another image on the distractions but if
left to improve the composition (initially, necessary, look for
the frame would end right behind the another location –
pigeon’s wings on the left). Then I also Photoshop is still not
colour graded the image to get that great when it comes
orange-blue complementary harmony.’ to blurring-out
backgrounds in a
convincing way.’

17

YOUR LETTERS

Amateur Photographer Inbox specification, would be a
huge help.
Email ap.ed@kelsey.co.uk David Richards

Editorial A good idea in principle,
but it would make our
Group Editor Nigel Atherton already comprehensive
guides rather unwieldy.
Deputy Editor Geoff Harris Every time AP reviews a
new camera, we consider
Technical Editor Andy Westlake how it compares to its
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Features Editor Amy Davies mention alternatives.
These tests are freely
Technique Editor Hollie Latham Hucker available on our website
– we also do regular
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Special thanks to The moderators of the AP bought a Fujifilm X-T4 and
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Management Long before lockdown I was indulging act as backgrounds and hide my completing the
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18 www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

This latter method was YOUR LETTERS
the one used for the
aforementioned image 19
(pictured below), which
was shot with the Leica
Q2 Monochrom.
Tony Cole

A Fringer adapter white image published in Thanks for clearing this
AP as a ‘mono conversion’ up. As regular readers of
indeed any form of (AP 28 June, page 25). AP know, we dedicate a
customer support. So the However, there are still, significant amount of
only way to test products believe it or not, a number space to film photography,
from such companies is to of photographers, and AP including an annual special
buy them, which isn’t a readers too, who visualise issue entirely dedicated to
viable option. Should and produce their Film, as well as a Black &
Fringer get picked up by a photographic images White special covering
UK distributor (or set up directly in monochrome both film and digital
its own office) and make and thus require no mono. We also reviewed
samples available, we’d ‘conversion’ at all. Many the Leica Q2 Monochrom
be happy to take a look. of us are still using film and really liked it, but in
cameras and preferentially the absence of any caption
Focus kerfuffle often load with black & information provided with
white film stock, or use a this picture, we went with
I have a Nikon D850, digital camera equipped the balance of probability
mainly for birds and other with a mono-only sensor.  that this was a mono
wildlife photography, and conversion. We were
get along very well with it.  wrong. Sorry about that!
The Z 9 sounds amazing
but I’ve heard reports
from owners who’ve had
issues with the focus
lock-on jumping to
backgrounds. I’ve heard
and read great reports on
Sony and Olympus AF
tracking and eye
recognition, etc. I don’t
know much about Canon. 
Would you have a top
recommendation for a
camera with this feature,
or would it be feasible for
you to compare four
mirrorless cameras to
determine the best of the
bunch? It could make for
a very interesting piece.
Neil St John

Our 28 June issue’s cover Tony Cole’s image: definitely not a b&w conversion
feature looked at the
advanced AF systems YOUR FREE APOY ENTRY CODE
from different makers –
you can order back issues Enter the code below via Photocrowd to get
from shop.kelsey.co.uk. one free entry to Round 7 – People. Go to
Top wildlife specialist Ben
Hall is also writing a guide amateurphotographer.co.uk/apoy2022 to enter
to focusing on birds in our
30 August issue, which APOY43817857
will definitely help in this
challenging area.

In black and white

It is certainly excusable,
to describe a black &

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When Harry Met...

Chris Packham

Harry Borden looks back on a recent shoot with
popular TV presenter and author Chris Packham

M ost of my time Along with his love of the his two black poodles, Sid and
these days is spent natural world, I found that Nancy, who he loves.
on developing Chris has a highly developed
my own book knowledge of contemporary I was shooting with my
projects, which usually involve artworks and has been investing favourite current camera, the
photographing people who are in them since he was in his 20s. Fujifilm GFX 50S, mainly with
not in the public eye. However, Several interesting pieces are on 45mm f/2.8 and 63mm f/2.8
I still take on commissions to the walls of his house. He has lenses. I’d been asked to light
photograph well-known people also been successful in buying the shoot, but using flash
who interest me and who and selling vintage cars, so was outdoors would have killed the
would further augment my more wide-ranging in his natural light and resulted in
professional portfolio. One of interests than I had expected. images with deep shadows with
those shoots was with the TV no detail. So I opted to shoot
presenter, conservationist and For the shoot, we headed out with daylight and warm them
author, Chris Packham. to woodland near his home. We up in post-production.
are both of a similar age and
Chris has been presenting had some things in common, I shot some head-and-
nature and wildlife programmes and we got on well as we shoulders images that I knew
for the BBC, National walked around looking for the magazine would want as
Geographic and Animal Planet locations. Chris brought along options to use on the cover, but
since the mid-1980s, and most most showed him surrounded
recently appeared on the BBC’s ‘Chris was just as by the natural world where he’s
Springwatch. He has also become friendly and most at home. His dogs are
well-known for animal rights down-to-earth as almost like twins and very
campaigning, as well as an I hoped he would be’ photogenic, so I got images of
autobiographical documentary him holding, playing and
in which he talked about being In the final portraits walking with them. I also liked
autistic and his youthful Harry included one including them, as poodles are
passion for punk rock. of Chris’s artworks generally seen as city dogs and
showing concentric
The shoot took place at his circular shapes
home in the New Forest in early
May 2022. I’d been
commissioned to photograph
him for Botanics, a magazine
produced for members of the
Royal Botanic Garden,
Edinburgh. The editor wanted a
summery shoot with a nature
theme, as the article the
pictures would illustrate focused
on his views on saving and
restoring the natural world.

The house was in a quite
remote location and not easy to
find (even with the help of my
GPS) and I ended up being late
for the shoot. I hoped this
wouldn’t impact the amount of
time Chris was able to give me,
and in the event it didn’t. I had
been looking forward to
meeting him and he didn’t
dash my preconceived ideas
about his personality – from the
outset he was as friendly,
down-to-earth and good-
natured as I hoped he would be.

22 www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

look slightly incongruous in a
wild environment.

Head shots are easy to get and
I tend to prefer images I’ve
taken that are more complex
and show something of the
sitter’s environment. I
particularly like pictures of
well-known people where you
aren’t quite sure it’s them, so
I like the ones of him with his
dogs, taken from a distance.

The shoot was relaxed and
enjoyable, and Chris kindly
allowed me to continue until
I’d got what I needed for the
magazine, which probably took
two hours. He was so amenable
that when we got back to his
house I asked if I could do
something different. I wanted
to show another aspect of his
life and take some shots of him
with one of his artworks.

He asked what he should
wear, and from a wardrobe
filled with imaginative and
unusual clothes I picked out a
shirt decorated with different
exotic butterfly species. These
final shots were completely
different from the rest and not
at all what the magazine had
asked for, but I knew they still
might use them and, in any
case, could be syndicated and
sold separately.

Over the years I’ve found that
it’s generally best to get as
much time as possible to do a
portrait shoot. You might be the
subject’s friend, in the short
term, by keeping it quick, but if
you want to sustain a career, a
good shoot takes time.
Everyone forgets you took
ages and were a pain in the
backside if you end up with
really good pictures.
As told to David Clark

Chris’s dogs are Harry Borden
photogenic, so
Harry is one of the
Harry shot images UK’s finest portrait
of Chris holding, photographers. He
playing and has won prizes at
World Press Photo
walking with them awards (1997 and
1999) and in 2014
he was awarded an
Honorary Fellowship by the RPS. The
National Portrait Gallery collection
holds over 100 of his images. His book
of portraits of lone fathers, Single Dad,
was published in 2021.

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk 23

Amateur 2
Photographer
of the YearInassociationwithMPB

Here are the top ten images uploaded to Photocrowd
from Round Five, Best of British, with comments by
the AP team and our guest judge

Round Five
Best of British

In Great Britain, we like to pride ourselves on our 1
eccentricities. Traditions that sometimes go back centuries
may look frankly bizarre to those who weren’t brought up in
this country, but to us they seem perfectly normal. But
these aren’t the only things that make this small island
what it is. Our coastline provides not only beauty but also
an opportunity to enjoy our beaches and the notoriously
fickle days of summer – and sometimes even winter, too.
It’s worth acknowledging, however, that in recent years we
have been a divided country, too. Although some might
argue photographs of this don’t reflect us at our ‘best’,
nobody can deny it makes a great subject for photography.
We can go from rural idyll to urban architecture within only
a few miles, and it’s this sheer diversity that makes Britain
such an endlessly fascinating place to photograph – as the
top ten winners in this round of APOY so ably demonstrate.

1 Tommaso Carrara www.amateurphotographer.co.uk
UK 100pts

Fujifilm X100F, 1/160sec at f/5.6, ISO 3200

Followers of APOY will recognise Tommaso from Round
One of APOY, which he won with a striking low-light image.
Equally engaging is this dynamic shot showing the Kirby
Estate in Bermondsey, London. It’s one of those
photographs that gives back what you put in. Spend time
with it, and you’ll take in details such as the variation in
curtains and blinds, the multiple bicycles that suggest the
possibility of a large family living in a small space, the
plants that show the importance of greenery, however
diminutive it might be. But the key focus, of course, is the
flags that indicate – we suspect – support for the England
football team during a major tournament. All of this would
be nothing, of course, without the two girls running out of
frame to who knows where. An excellent capture.

24

2 Charlie Jobson
UK 90pts

Pentax K10D, 28-200mm at 28mm, 1/500sec at f/8, ISO 100

Guest judge Peter Dench
says:

‘Defining Britishness in a single
frame isn’t easy. You can capture
it in parts: a breed of bird, a
moody land or seascape, a style
of clothing or iconic mode of transport. All of
those have featured in this competition. This
photograph goes a long way to delivering a
complete essence of Britain. It’s a beautiful and
calm image. The camera doesn’t judge. The eye
meanders lazily around the composition. The
viewer is in control, helped by the elevated
viewpoint. There’s a lot to see, from the lone
sheep to the lolling couple. They are placed as
meticulously as you would on a model train set.
It’s a scene I want to be part of, and makes me
want to buy an ice cream, roll up my trousers and
dip my toes in the stream. It delivers the best of
British feeling. Even the name Hutton-le-Hole is
quintessentially of this nation.’

3

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk 3 Dominic Beaven UK 80pts

Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 24-70mm at 24mm, 1/8sec at f/5.6, ISO 400
This somewhat surreal scene – an effect that is heightened by the processing
– left the judges bamboozled. Were we looking at a set-up, a composite or a
documentary shot? In the end, it doesn’t matter too much, because what we
have here is a very striking image that’s intriguing and has an excellent sense of
place. The two men in the shot could almost be twins – or at least brothers –
such is the similarity in their appearance and stance. There is a sense of being
together and apart at the same time, which is something common to using the
London Underground. The contrast between the movement of the tube train and
the stillness of the men is what makes things really pop. A clever image.

25

45

4 Helen Trust 5 Sabrina Garofoli
UK 70pts Italy 60pts

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, 16-35mm at 16mm, 1/350sec at f/2.8, ISO 500 Canon EOS 5DS R, 24-105mm at 28mm,
1/13sec at f/11, ISO 100
Helen’s stunningly clinical shot of the London Underground
couldn’t be more of a contrast to Dominic Beaven’s When people think of the UK, they
third-placed image. It’s as if she was permitted into the often visualise eccentricity and
brand-new Elizabeth Line before anyone else. This multiculturalism. These two elements are brought together nicely in Sabrina’s
photograph is all about light, symmetry and balance. shot of afternoon tea on the street. The expression on the young girl’s face as
Everything has been perfectly contained within the frame, the street performer pours his non-existent tea into her cup is priceless, and the
with not a line out of place. The tunnel in the centre – setting, against the everyday bustle of the shops behind, heightens the sense
despite being obscured by the sign – draws the viewer in, of oddness. There’s a charming awkwardness, too, with the woman and girl
and makes them wonder where they might travel to if they appearing not quite sure how to act, while the elaborately dressed man goes
were to take this futuristic route. It’s an extremely pleasing about his act. A well-captured scene.
composition that appears simple at first glance, but if the
viewer takes the time to appreciate the effort that has gone
into it, they will be rewarded.

6 6 David Dunnico
UK 50pts
Olympus OM-D E-M10, 14-42mm at 23mm,
1/100sec at f/7.1, ISO 800

It only takes a moment’s viewing to
know this image is all about Brexit
– the subject that has caused such
division in the UK in recent years. One
could argue such a shot doesn’t typify
the ‘best’ of British, but it certainly
sums up what’s probably the most
important political issue for a
generation. The disdain between the
patriotically dressed man on the left
and his more ordinary counterpart on
the right is plain to see, and has been
well captured in just a split second,
while the contrast between the
‘Believe in Britain’ poster and the EU
flag behind couldn’t be more stark. A
picture for our times, that’s for sure.

26 www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

ROUND FIVE WINNER, YOUNG APOY Winning kit
from MPB
Ryan Kitchen UK 100pts
The gear our winners used
Nikon D3300, 18mm, 1/160sec at f/6.3, ISO 400
Home to the National Railway Museum, there’s something special about York’s train station – such can be found at MPB
was its significance in revitalising the city’s fortunes in the 1800s. Ryan has done a great job of
capturing the majesty of the station’s structure, concentrating on the rawness of the engineering In second place, Charlie Jobson shot
set against the more elaborate decoration on the right. The sinuous curves of the roof lead the his blissfully rural scene using a
eye through the frame towards the end of the platform. It was essential, of course, to have a train Pentax K10D. Something of a vintage
in shot, and this is placed beautifully in the bottom left third of the frame. Excellent work. model, it was launched in 2006 and
received excellent reviews. It features
a 10MP CCD sensor with dust
removal, 11-point AF with 9 cross-type
points, shake reduction and an ISO
range of 100 to 1,600. It’s also
weather-sealed. If you fancy trying it
out, you can pick one up at MPB in
excellent condition for a mere £88.

Taking fifth place, Sabrina Garofoli
shot her quirky street scene with a
Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM |
Art. A high-quality standard zoom with
constant f/4 aperture throughout its
zoom range, it employs 19 elements
in 14 groups, including an array of
special elements to suppress
aberrations. Its Hyper Sonic Motor
ensures it’s fast and quiet in use.
When reviewed in AP it was described
as ‘a pretty compelling option as an
everyday lens’. This lens can be found
at MPB for between £374 and £524,
depending on condition.

David Dunnico was awarded sixth for
his tension-filled shot, which he took
with an Olympus E-M10. This Micro
Four Thirds camera features a 16.1MP
Live MOS sensor, a 100-25,600 ISO
range, 8fps shooting and three-axis
image stabilisation. When reviewed in
AP, it was said its ‘speed, functionality
and portability are key features’. This
excellent camera can be purchased in
like-new condition from MPB for £174.

To browse the extensive range of

stock at MPB, visit www.mpb.com

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk 27

APOY 2022

7 Tommaso 7
Carrara
UK 0pts

Leica M10-R, 28mm, 1/750sec
at f/5.6, ISO 100

Tommaso has been
placed in this round’s
top ten for a second
time, with this
quintessentially
British scene of a
woman enjoying the
sunshine in front of
her beach hut. What
lifts the shot out of
the ordinary is its
observation of the
limited colour palette,
the composition
– which is all the
stronger for not
including the
woman’s head – and
the shadow that’s so
perfectly contained
within the stripy
windbreak. A scene
many of us can relate
to and enjoy.

8 CAMERA 9 Trevor Hosking
CLUB UK 35pts

HIGHEST Fujifilm X-T4, 16-80mm at 34mm, 1/750sec at f/5.6, ISO 160
There are few things more British than stoically enjoying the
SCORE outdoors, no matter what the weather. What lifts this image
out of the ordinary is the yellow paintwork of the beach hut
alongisde the yellow of the blankets, contrasting with the
woman on the left’s pink clothing and the turquoise stool.
The viewer is left feeling that they’d like to pour a cuppa, sit
down and join in their conversation. On a technical level,
cropping to a square format contains everything nicely
without the frame being cramped.

9

8 Richard Hemming
UK 40pts

Fujifilm X-T4, 50-150mm, 1/125sec at f/2.8, ISO 5000
Even after viewing the images in this top ten numerous times, this image still
made a number of us laugh. It’s all about the expressions on the two men’s
faces, which speak of… well… we’re not quite sure! Has something gone
wrong? Are they discussing the latest petrol price increases? Has the man on
the left just found out it’s not fancy dress? Who knows? But it’s certainly fun
trying to work out what might be causing such a pair of grimaces, which
contrasts so well with the comical Union Jack cone hat. Black & white is
the ideal treatment for such an image, which has a lot to commend it.

To see more images from APOY Round Five and Young APOY, visit www.amateurphotographer.com/APOY2022

28 www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

The 2022
leaderboards

10 Tommaso Carrara is awarded his
second winning image of this year’s
10 Nigel Watson APOY, and has jumped from fifth to first
UK 30pts place. There’s every chance for the
leaderboard to shift significantly,
Canon EOS 7D Mark II, 24-105mm, 1/1000sec at f/8, ISO 320 however, given there are still five
An action shot where the viewer instantly knows what’s going on. The Santa rounds remaining in this year’s
costume and hats dotted throughout the rest of the frame indicate just one competition. With only 50 points
thing – a Christmas Day swim for the crazy. The timing is excellent, with the separating those in first and joint sixth
‘Santa’ on the right anchoring the frame, and Nigel has captured the laughter places in Young APOY, there
and anticipation of the swimmers very well. The long shadows in the foreground is still the opportunity for new names
complete the scene and speak of low, winter light. to appear in the top ten. Our camera
clubs are continuing to fight it out, with
CAMERA CLUB COMPETITION two clubs pulling away from the others
– but all it takes is a couple of top ten
David Waters placings from one camera club for that
UK 10pts all to change. If there’s one thing that
APOY has proven to us over the years,
Canon EOS 700D, 100mm Macro, 1/400sec at f/5.6, ISO 400 it’s that nothing is predictable! As
This little harvest mouse is full of character and has been captured with Tommaso has two images in the top
pin-sharp precision by David, who is a member of Royston Photographic Society, ten, only his highest-scoring image
who currently sit in joint fifth place in our camera clubs leaderboard. Entrants to receives points.
APOY can earn points for their club by selecting it from the dropdown menu
when they upload their images to Photocrowd. David’s shot, which has been APOY
excellently timed and composed, with the depth of field giving context without
being distracting, was rightly shortlisted in this round. 1 Tommaso Carrara 230
2 Sabrina Garofoli 180
www.amateurphotographer.co.uk 3 Marco Tagliarino 175
4 Azim Khan Ronnie 160
5 Nguyen Tan Tuan 150
6 Inge Schuster 140
7= Bodgan Zarkowski 130
7= Ian Bramham 130
9 Osama Elolemy 110

YOUNG APOY

1 Yousef Naser 150

2 Tallulah Cartlidge 135

3 Jamie Spensley 120

4= Pubarun Basu 110

4= Ryan Kitchen 110

6= Kareem Ayman 100

6= Mohammed Bahith Kamal 100

6= Sennen Powell 100

CAMERA CLUBS

1 Launceston Camera Club 350
2 Kempsey Camera Club 210
3 Plymouth Camera Club 80

4 Bristol PS 70

5= Truro Camera Club 60

5= Royston PS 60

29

COMPETITION

Amateur Photograp

Your chance to enter the UK’s most prestigious comp

Round seven Anything goes when it comes to the
People people and portraits round of APOY

From the traditional to the unconventional, inside or outside the
studio, whether you choose to make yourself the subject or capture
others, we’re looking for a portrait that tells a story and gives us an
insight into the person portrayed. Great people pictures can be found
in all walks of life – it’s how you capture the subject that draws viewers
in. For inspiration, take a look at the work of David Bailey, Arnold
Newman, Mary Ellen Mark, Jane Bown, Rineke Dijkstra and more.

Your guest judge

Your guest judge for Round Seven, People,
is Denise Maxwell. A full-time photographer
for over ten years, Denise left her job in
the NHS to specialise in events and
portrait photography, but now works in
other fields, including sport, fashion,
wedding and music. Shes photographed
Barack Obama, Usain Bolt and Lewis
Hamilton, and clients have included the
BBC, the Commonwealth Games and
Starling Bank. See her work at lensi.co.uk
and on Instagram @lensi_photography

Plan your APOY year

Below is a list of all this year’s rounds, including when they open,
when they close and the dates the results will be announced in AP.

THEME OPENS PHOTOCROWD OPENS AP CLOSES RESULTS

Low light 08 Feb 15 Feb 04 Mar AP 12 April

Black & white 05 Mar 15 Mar 25 Mar AP 10 May © HENRIK SPRANZ

Travel 26 Mar 12 Apr 22 Apr AP 7 Jun To enter visit

Landscapes 23 Apr 10 May 20 May AP 5 Jul ALL ABOUT APOY 2022

Best of British 21 May 7 Jun 17 Jun AP 2 Aug The camera club award

Close-ups 18 Jun 5 Jul 15 Jul AP 30 Aug Do you belong to a camera club? You can
accumulate points for your society when
People 16 Jul 2 Aug 12 Aug 27 Sep you enter APOY, and after all the ten
rounds are complete, the one with
Wildlife 13 Aug 30 Aug 09 Sep 25 Oct the most points will win a voucher
for £500 to spend at MPB. The
Street 10 Sep 27 Sep 07 Oct 22 Nov club might want to spend it on gear
for use by members, or even run its
Sport & Action 08 Oct 25 Oct 04 Nov 20 Dec own in-house competition with the
prize going to the most successful
YOUR FREE ENTRY CODE photographer. It’s entirely up to the
winning group to decide.
Enter the code below via Photocrowd to get one free
entry to Round Seven – People

APOY43817857

30 www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

her of the Year

petition for amateur photographers

£11,000 InassociationwithMPB

worth of MPB
prizes to be

won

PRIZES
WORTH

£900

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/apoy2022 What you win

The Young POTY award Take your pick from MPB’s

For the second time, we are adding a Young huge catalogue of used gear
Photographer of the Year category to APOY, in
order to encourage our up-and-coming snappers. The winner of each round of APOY
Entrants should be 21 years old or younger by the 2022 receives a £500 voucher to
competition’s final closing date of 4 November spend on anything at MPB. The Sony
2022. All the categories are the same as for the FE 35mm f/1.4 GM employs an
main competition – simply select the Young APOY 11-bladed diaphragm to render
option on Photocrowd when you upload your out-of-focus highlights as circular; and
images. This category is free to enter; each is dust and moisture resistant. In our
category winner receives a £250 voucher, and review we said it was ‘one of the finest
the overall winner receives a voucher for £500 lenses we’ve ever tested’. Find one in
to spend at MPB. like-new condition at MPB for £1,399.

With a slightly wider aperture, the
Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM is
another lens well worth considering for
portraiture. Its virtually circular
aperture diaphragm gives out-of-focus
areas a soft feel, with the subject
appearing sharp and jumping out of
the frame; while its ultra-sonic motor
allows quick, near-silent autofocus. A
well-used example can be picked up at
MPB for £664, while one in like-new
condition costs £994.

The Canon EOS 5D Mark IV is a
superb workhorse of a DSLR and is
rightly extremely popular. AP’s reviewer
said ‘we expected a pro-level
autofocus performance and that’s
exactly what we got’. You can find this
all-rounder at MPB for £1,599 in
excellent condition.

Visit mpb.com to take your pick from
thousands of second-hand items.

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk 31





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Portrait
Mini Guide special

32 pages of advice, tips and
inspiration to pull out and keep

A history of PLUS
portraiture
Arteh
We talk to Philip Prodger Odjidja
about his book Face Time
A refugee story
Smartphone
portraiture Gideon
Mendel
How to get great shots of
people, using your phone Portraits in Ashes

Thandiwe
Muriu

Unforgettable
portraits

Retouching

Diana Kenyeres shares her
portrait editing workflow

HISTORY OF THE PORTRAIT

Afbaocuet
Philip Prodger’s book Face Time explores
the photographic history of the portrait.
He tells Amy Davies all about this
enduring subject

A compelling and features, but actually something KENSUKE KOIKE AND THOMAS SAUVIN
comprehensive guide to of their personality, who they are
the photographic portrait, and how they’re different from Kensuke Koike wonder Philip describes it in the
Face Time is a new book other people.’ and Thomas book as so tricky to master. He
by Philip Prodger. In it, he expertly Sauvin, ‘Untitled explains, ‘I think that a great portrait
walks us through a history of the At AP, we admittedly have a #21 from the is like a dance. You have the volition
genre, from photography’s invention tendency to draw quite hard series No More, of the photographer, and the will
right up to the present day. He does divisions between the photographic No Less’, and personality of the sitter. It’s
this with care, consideration and a genres. We have focused on 2016-2017 about finding and negotiating that
decent dash of humour to boot. portraiture in this issue; with other space. That’s an incredibly difficult
similar or overlapping genres, like thing. You’ve a kind of push and
Currently a Senior Research street and documentary, perhaps not pull that’s going back and forth
Scholar at the Yale Center for British traditionally falling into the same between the photographer and sitter,
Art, his varied career as a curator in a category and usually meriting a and finding that moment where you
number of prestigious institutions special of their own. As an academic capture something unique and
perfectly places him to write the and interrogator of contemporary special is very difficult indeed.
book, maybe none more so than his practice however, Philip has a
stint as Head of Photographs at the different opinion. ‘Frankly, in this ‘I would also add that we ask an
National Portrait Gallery in London. century, there are no longer any awful lot from portraits. We want
bright lines between these different our portraits to tell us something
Earlier this month, I was able to divisions – and I think that’s all for fundamental about the sitter, but
put my questions about a genre the best. I’m not sure that social we’re confining ourselves to
which is described by Philip as ‘one documentary, or street photography,
of the most difficult undertakings in is a very satisfactory term on its own www.amateurphotographer.co.uk
art’ to him. Pleasingly, he responded – but there’s no question that there
to them with the same warmth, wit are many portraitists who are
and care that is is displayed in working out in the world, in the
abundance throughout his book. communities, out on the street and
they’re photographing people and
The most obvious question to start showing us something about their
with for somebody like Philip is to story.’
lay the groundwork and decide
exactly what is a ‘portrait’ - aside Probably as anyone who
from a straightforward definition as undertakes the genre will tell you,
a picture of a person – the answer portraiture is not easy. That’s not to
may not be as simple as you might say there isn’t skill in other genres,
expect. Philip says, ‘I think if you but it’s a simple fact that pointing
asked different curators you would your camera at a beautiful landscape,
get different answers to this odds are you’re going to get a decent
question. But, for me, the difference shot. The same can’t be said for
is capturing something of a person’s pointing your lens at a person. With
identity – not just the way they look, so many variables at play, it’s no
not just the physicality of their

36

HISTORY OF THE PORTRAIT

IMAGE COURTESY OF THE PEABODY ESSEX MUSEUM, SALEM, MA.

© 2018 ARTHUR TRESS LEGACY TRUST Above: Floyd
Rankins,
whatever the exposure time is of that Theopholus
photograph – perhaps 1/60th of a Bracket, Old
second. The idea that you could Swampscott
condense everything that’s worth Fisherman, n.d.,
knowing about a person at that gelatin silver print.
moment into 1/60th of a second is Image courtesy of
just absolutely extraordinary. A the Peabody
photographic portrait is uniquely Essex Museum,
powerful in that somehow that Salem, MA
tension, where you have to
condense everything down to a Left: Arthur Tress,
millisecond, makes it resolve Child Buried in
somehow. When the photograph Sand, Coney
falls into place, it’s like no other Island, 1968,
form of communication.’ gelatin silver print

The sad news for readers of AP 37
looking to recreate some of the great
masters of portraiture is that
defining how to achieve all of

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

COURTESY WERONIKA G SICKA AND JEDNOSTKA GALLERY

the above is nigh-on younger curator, the things that Above: Weronika © 2019 GRAHAM HOWE (FOR PAUL OUTERBRIDGE)
impossible. ‘I’m not sure I could male photographers thought were Gesicka, Untitled
put it into words,’ confirms Philip. okay, they no longer think is okay – #32, 2016 from
‘It’s one of those things, when you and you know what, the world is the Traces series,
see the photograph and you’re better for it. We need to be 2015-2017
moved, and you know you’ve seen a absolutely careful that we’re not
great photograph – but there’s no excluding anyone, and that we are Right: Paul
formula. There’s so many different embracing the fullness of human Outerbridge,
ways of making a portrait. It can be experience and treating people as Portrait of a
done in the studio, it can be done equal. That’s actually what I think is Woman, 1930s
in the street, it can be done with so fabulous about portrait
careful planning, it can be photography – we are all equal
spontaneous. There’s no single recipe before the lens. Photography can be
that will you get you to a great such a powerful tool to be
portrait photograph.’ welcoming and inclusive, to include
There’s an interesting section in all kinds of different perspectives.
Face Time which discusses both the So much ink has been spilled over
male gaze and the colonial gaze. the male and colonial gaze – and
These oft-controversial topics split you know, much of it is absolutely
opinions frequently – some will roll right. But as a photographer, the
their eyes at a so-called ‘woke question going forward must be how
agenda’, while others will ferociously are we going to improve our
argue for our awareness of the issues. practices and make our photography
It’s safe to say that Philip lands that much more interesting,
somewhere near the latter. ‘We just compelling and inclusive.’
need to be aware of the practices of
the past,’ he explains. ‘I’m really Moving on to another sometimes
struck that even when I was a controversial topic – the Taylor
Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize,

38 www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

organised by the National Portrait I love them, and when I was COURTESY OF STEVENSON, AMSTERDAM/CAPE TOWN/JOHANNESBURG AND YANCY RICHARDSON, NEW YORK/© ZANELE MUHOLI HISTORY OF THE PORTRAIT
Gallery. This annual, prestigious involved with Taylor Wessing, we
portrait prize has been the leading were always looking for photographs Above: Zanele
international portrait competition like that for that reason, because it Muholi, Ntozakhe
for almost two decades. As the NPG’s does become sort of a convention. II, Parktown, 2016
former head, Philip was heavily But, as I say in the book, there is
involved in it, and is no stranger to this idea that if you’re sitting for a
the criticism oft-levied at the awards, formal portrait, you want to be sort
namely that all of the subjects tend of all potentialities. You don’t want
to look depressed, miserable or at the to choose your ground. You can be
least, far too serious. Indeed, AP has happy, you can be sad, you can be
published opinion pieces and angry – all of these things exist as
received numerous letters from potential within you, so you might
readers decrying the lack of smiles at just show the neutral and then
the annual awards. In Face Time, you haven’t committed to any
Philip references neutral expressions particular emotion. But… as you
tending to be taken more seriously, say, sometimes that can look a
so it seems that the two are little bit grim.
intrinsically linked.
‘I’m totally sympathetic to the
He laughs, perhaps somewhat suggestion, but at the same time, if
knowingly, at my suggestion that one went back and looked at the
this neutrality is mistaken for misery. actual successful portraits every year,
‘You know, I would turn it around. I think you’d see a certain percentage
I’d say that there are all different of them are very emotional, and we
emotional expressions that are really were not at all interested in creating
powerful and alive – and it’s not that something that was a sort of study in
neutral expressions are not, but misery.’ So there we have it.
there’s a sort of convention in
photography that people will have Emotion is unquestionably an
those neutral expressions. It dates integral part of portrait photography.
back to the 19th century, where a Prodger’s doctoral thesis, studied at
smile wasn’t possible due to slow Cambridge University, explored the
exposure times. role of photography in Charles
Darwin’s study of emotions. A
‘But I’d also say that it’s really hard century and a half later, I’m
– in some ways it’s harder – to make interested to know where we get the
a photograph that is compelling of a ‘most real’ portraits – are studio
smiling person or a laughing person. portraits somehow less real, when

TANIA FRANCO KLEIN Left: Tania Franco
Klein, Plane
(self-portrait) from
Proceed to the
Route, 2018

39

HISTORY OF THE PORTRAIT

‘The book was started before Covid. But ... with
the shutting down of certain social interactions
and intensifying of others; it’s really poignant’

the environment is stripped recognition”, but that’s a very loaded COURTESY MAUREEN PALEY, LONDON, © SARAH JONES
away? Maybe the opposite is term. Portraits can be very abstract
true, and without the distraction of – they don’t necessarily have to look
a background, we can truly see into like the physiognomy of the person
the human psyche. Perhaps wishing being photographed. I’m not of the
to avoid committing too fully, school that it ceases to be a portrait
Philip offers ‘it depends on the sitter’ if you can no longer automatically
as an answer. easily recognise the figure. I think it
‘Some people are very self- depends on the intent of the artists
conscious. And the other side of that and how successful they’ve been in
is that some photographers are very presenting that essence of the
good at making the sitter feel individual. There’s an idea in art that
comfortable and confident. That’s representation doesn’t necessarily
one of the reasons that professional have to mean figurative exactness,
portrait photographers do so well, is that in fact, representation can mean
because they have a way of engaging some of those qualities about a
with the sitter. At the same time, person that a picture can elicit and
part of being a celebrity – if we’re they don’t have to be strictly
talking about people who get representational.’
photographed all the time – is
learning to deal with the studio and Face Time is a book that’s been in
be okay with it. Some people, such the works for quite a while. It’s not
as me for example, I’m horrible in just the often relatively slow pace of
the studio. It would be much better book publishing we’re talking about
to catch me out in the world doing here, but says Philip, it stretches back
my thing. The studio is a very even further. ‘It goes back to my
unnatural situation, and I think earliest days as a curator and a
results from it are almost miraculous, scholar,’ he explains. ‘There’s bits in
or magical really.’ there that go back to my doctoral
Yet another controversial topic in thesis. In fact it was great fun to put
portraiture is the subject of editing. the book together, as I was able to
There seems to be something draw along every stop of the way of
inherently more moralistic about my career. I pulled out photographs
using image manipulation when it from every institution I’ve worked
comes to photographs of people, out. Of course the viewer doesn’t
compared to say a landscape, or a
macro subject. It’s also true of course Above: Sarah
to say that manipulation is nothing Jones, The Dining
new – for any subject. In the book Room (Francis
for instance, Philip references From Place) I, 1997,
Charwoman to Dowager by Cecil Colour coupler
Beaton – a set of three images from print
the 1930s which show just how
fundamentally a photograph could Left: Anderson &
be transformed using common Low, Untitled (The
darkroom techniques. The woman Mighty One),
in the picture has been slimmed 2009. From the
down, her hairline lowered and series Manga
thinned, her double chin removed. Dreams
Sounds familiar in modern times,
doesn’t it? Given our earlier Right: Tom Hunter,
discussion about what exactly is a Woman Reading a
portrait, I ponder whether when Possession Order,
something – or someone – has been 1997, Ilfochrome
changed beyond all recognition, print
whether it can still bear the name
portrait at all. Philip says it can – but © ANDERSON & LOW ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
once again it depends. ‘My personal
opinion is that it depends on the
photograph. You said “beyond all

40

HISTORY OF THE PORTRAIT

MÜNCHNER STADTMUSEUM

© THAMES & HUDSONhave to know that – it’s notand enduring is also the simplest. ItAbove: Münchner
ILFOCHROME PRINT. PHOTO TOM HUNTERparticularly interesting for them –heals, comforts and strengthens – by Stadtmuseum
but for me it was a great privilege. reminding us we’re not alone.’ Josef Albert,
Hedgehog and
‘The actual book started before I can’t resist one last question Hare, from the
Covid. It took several years to pull it before our enlightening conversation Fairy Tale Ball,
together, and is one of those projects ends. The name of the book: is it a 1862
that would probably have been done play on the Apple software, that
sooner were it not for the pandemic. among others, exploded in Face Time: A History of
That said, this period of time that popularity over the past couple of the Photographic
we’ve just been through – with the years – or not? ‘No – it was not a Portrait by Philip
shutting down of certain kinds of play on the Apple product at all,’ Prodger is available to
social interactions and intensifying Philip answers. ‘It was just an buy now. Published by
of others; it’s really poignant. I think attempt to get out this question of Thames and Hudson,
it’s a really good book to read in the faces, and 95% of all portraits zero in RRP £30. ISBN:
wake of Covid (let’s hope it’s the on the face – something which I 9780500544914
wake) – it really brings home a lot of discuss in the book. The idea that
these issues around social interaction the photographer is looking at the
– and portrait photography is face, and then the face is looking at
nothing but social interaction.’ the photographer. Then, the image
Philip perhaps sums it up best in the is displayed in print or on a screen,
book itself: ‘Ultimately, all portrait so the viewer is looking at the face.
photography is social. Like all art, It’s a whole chain reaction of faces
portraiture has many different and – and interpretation and
sometimes overlapping purposes. expression… so we thought
Arguably the most notable, powerful that was a good title.’

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk 41

Technique READERS’ PROJECTS

Chris Porsz

Chris Porsz began his interest in photography while hitchhiking across
Europe and North Africa in the early 1970s. He started shooting images
of people on the streets of Peterborough in the early 1980s. Years later
this led to a newspaper column and an ambitious project that saw him
photographing the same people again, sometimes over 40 years apart.
www.chrisporsz.com

Powerful
portrait
projects

Steve Fairclough speaks to three AP
readers who each embarked on ambitious
and highly rewarding portrait projects

Chris Porsz’s project dates back to passion was rekindled in 2009 when Above: Former published pictures and Chris had his
the early 1980s when he ‘wandered he sent some old images of Thomas Cook CEO ‘lightbulb moment’, when he asked
around the streets of Peterborough Peterborough in the 1980s to the Bernard Norman himself ‘perhaps I can find them?’
with my camera’. But the arrival of local paper, the Peterborough Evening waiting for a train That long search began in 2009.
children, and a busy career as a Telegraph. Chris reveals, ‘Amazingly, at Peterborough When possible, he photographed
paramedic, put his photography on they loved them and they gave me a railway station in the people in the exact same
hold for almost 25 years. column – Paramedic Paparazzo.’ 1981 and, 40 location and pose he’d originally
years later, a shot them in. ‘What got me going
He admits he, ‘sort of fell out of Some local people started retired Norman again was digital. The fact that you
love with photography’, but his recognising themselves in the with a real donkey could instantly see your images and
take as many as you want.’
ALL IMAGES © CHRIS PORSZ Left: Paul Smith
with his Ford The work was published in the
Cortina in Cobden 2016 book Reunions, but that wasn’t
Street in 1980; the end of the matter… Chris
and, 41 years decided to continue. After retiring as
later in 2021, a paramedic in late 2020, he took
Smith, who is now the time to put together a second
a DJ on book – Reunions 2 – as the first book
Peterborough had left quite a few people still to be
Community Radio re-photographed. By this time his
journey through cameras had taken
him from a Kodak Instamatic camera
to the Canon EOS 5D Mark III with a
24-70mm lens. He admits, ‘I also
wanted to bring those 1980s mono
pictures alive to a certain extent.’

For Reunions 2, Chris explains,
‘I went through my terrible filing
system and I pulled out about 300
pictures; people I couldn’t find last

42 www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

time. People were very often Right: Mark Court, Chris’s
reluctant and were camera shy; there left, and his
was a lot of persuasion and cajoling.’ brother Matt portrait
tips
He eventually shot 168 Reunions eating chips in
for his second book and had to stop 1980 while their 1 Try not to be a
in order to get it published. ‘When mother shopped in fair-weather
I retired I had more time. It was Bridge Street; and photographer. Use
18-hour days at the computer. What pictured in April a lens hood, as
kept me going was this unshakeable one drop of water
belief that this is important. I’m a 2021. The on the lens will
great believer, like in photography, brothers went to invariably end up
in seizing the moment.’ school with Chris in the middle of
Porsz’s children a face.
Chris admits it was tricky to edit
down the photographs. ‘It’s and now live in 2 Always carry
important to have a decent camera Birmingham your camera,
but it’s equally important to put the and check it has
miles in, take lots of pictures, learn The book Reunions 2, by charged batteries
and to always have your camera Chris Porsz, is published and extra memory
with you at the right settings. I’m by Chris Porsz. (ISBN cards. Keep
not very technical. I can do a bit of 978-0-9574329-6-3). checking all
Photoshop. I’m not very good at it www.chrisporsz.com settings such as
so I usually use the Canon Digital focus points, as
Professional software to edit.’ they mysteriously
get altered!
He has ended up with a unique
look into Peterborough’s places and 3Walk the miles
people over a 40-year-plus period. to make your
‘There were 20 or 30 I would have own luck and
liked to have shot again, that didn’t have the eye to
happen. On the whole, the successes not just look, but
made up for the disappointments.’ to see. 

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk 4 Get your
composition
right. Use your
legs as your zoom
lens and move
around the
subject to achieve
a good balance
and to avoid any
distracting
elements. There’s
no substitute for
getting it right
in-camera.

5 Direct eye
contact and
chatting helps to
relax the subject
and allows you to
capture a fleeting
gesture that
makes a stronger
image.

6 Wait for a
character who
stands out to
walk on, or find
another ‘stage’.

7 Juxtapose a
subject with
funny adverts,
newspapers or
signage for a
visual pun. 

43

Technique READERS’ PROJECTS

Anil Mistry

Anil Mistry is a creative director who has over 20 years
of agency and client-side experience with strong
conceptual, storytelling, visualisation and presentation
skills. He specialises in developing campaigns, concepts
and content in the experiential, retail, advertising,
digital and immersive spaces. www.anilmistry.com

In 2007, Anil Mistry moved from to just go when I rocked up.’ Steve
London to the Sussex seaside town In the end, Anil went with what
of Shoreham – it was this move that ALL IMAGES © ANIL MISTRY Paddy & Ozzy The book The Pub
eventually led him to his ‘Pub his calls, ‘Rembrandt lighting. Really Portrait Project, by Anil
Portrait Project’. He recalls, ‘I started simple but really nice, shaped Mistry, is published by
to explore my local pubs. Being lighting that felt right in a pub Anil Mistry.
freelance, you end up with spare because there’s a sense of tradition anilmistryphoto.com
time, so I started wandering around about it. I set up a black backdrop
and ended up in this place – The behind the people.’ He lit the
Duke of Wellington. I took to the subjects with a Godox SL200 LED
place. It just had a very different light with a softbox, to mimic the
atmosphere to all the other pubs in window light on one side, and a
town, less frosty, and they were reflector set up on the other side ‘to
really nice people.’ just push a bit of light back in.’

At that time Anil ‘was always He used a Nikon D850 with a
carrying a film camera around.’ He Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art lens ‘for my
started to shoot people he’d met in wider, sort of bigger shots.’ Anil also
the pub over a period of about three had a Nikon D750 with a Zeiss
or four years. He collected a set of Planar 85mm f/1.4 manual lens, and
photographs and decided to make a ‘shot most of the people on film as
book about it, The Welly. However, well – I think I was using Ilford Delta
he explains, ‘I realised that all these – using a Contax Aria SLR and Zeiss
shots were documentary and very Planar 50mm f/1.4’. However, for
candid. I thought it would be nice to the sake of consistency, he only used
have something that was more one film image in the ensuing book.
iconic… actual staged portraits of
some of the key players in the pub.’ Tonal quality

So in April 2017, he set up a Those who posed for Anil could see
camera on the stage in the pub and the results instantly as he tethered
organised a day where people could his main camera – the D850 – to his
come along and the regulars could Mac laptop. The digital images were
have their portraits taken for a book. shot in raw as colour but Anil
Five years later, a ‘Facebook memory’ converted some of the portraits into
triggered Anil to revisit the idea. black & white. ‘Sometimes you see
someone who is fantastically wrinkly
‘I had much better kit and my – that works so well in black &
work had moved on. I thought I’d white. It becomes tonal; it’s about
like to do it again and maybe make a character and really looking at that
book of it. The shoot was in April landscape in their face. Also,
2022 and over the course of six sometimes, someone was wearing
hours I took 53 portraits. It was a bit something that just looked horrible
more of an event. Through in colour. I didn’t want to have a
photography, it was bringing the book of constant colour portraits –
community together and making a you need to mix it up a bit.’
record of this pub with a real charm
and character, which is known for its Anil also had an assistant, who
real ales and its history.’ made sure the names of those who
were photographed were
Again, Anil shot the people on the documented accurately, so Anil
stage in the pub, but this time he would later know who correlated
planned it more meticulously and with which frame numbered shot.
made sure everyone signed model
release forms. ‘We started promoting The resulting book, The Pub Portrait
it about three weeks before the Project, includes all those who posed.
event. In the run-up, I was practising ‘They were very classical portraits. It
at home and just trying to work just made people feel grand and gave
out what my approach would be. them a presence. It’s the opposite of
I had to do a lot of planning and the everyday selfie. Suddenly you’ve
make sure I had everything ready got something that’s deliberately
quite serious, quite weighty.’

44 www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Anil Mistry, left, Graeme & Victoria Anil’s
pictured whilst Laurie & George
shooting The Pub portrait
Portrait Project tips

Hamish Kaya & 1 The best
Autumn portraits come
when you take
charge. Direct
your subjects, get
them into poses
you like, and let
them know when
you’ve got a
great shot to
encourage them.

2 Use good
equipment.
For me, having
good glass is
everything. Find
the right lens; the
quality lens that
you enjoy working
with. Find its
sweet spot and
its idiosyncrasies
that work with or
against you.

3 If shooting
someone’s
face, look for that
highlight in the
closest eye and
focus on it. You’ve
got the start point
of the portrait; not
that every portrait
has to be in
focus, of course.

4 Get up and
move around.
Once I’ve got the
main shot I will
get people to
move and try lots
of angles and
elevations, and
just get as
adventurous as
I can with them
because that’s
when you get
interesting work
that feels
non-conventional.

5 Keep them in
mind. Be
conscious of your
subject being a
human being and
really work with
them to relax, so
you’ll get a lot
more out of it.

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk 45

Technique READERS’ PROJECTS

Rick Corbishley Chris Fairley, Community First
Responder. Jack-of-all-trades including
Originally from Manchester, Rick Corbishley has a background in ‘builder, caterer, massage therapist,
building but changed career to become an ambulance dispatcher, engineer, event organiser, skip rat,
then later a dispatcher of volunteers for the Yorkshire Ambulance tosher, salvager, up-cycler and
Service. Recently retired, he is a keen street and portrait photographer eBayer.’ Built his own video and
in his spare time. www.mhbphoto.uk photographic studio from largely
recycled material

ALL IMAGES © RICK CORBISHLEY Adrian Grimshaw, Community
First Responder. Office

equipment engineer, former
football referee, plays golf,
has five children and nine

grandchildren. Enjoys
watching and feeding the

squirrels and birds

Rick Corbishley’s new portrait book, something they can keep and I hope Ordinary People Who Community First Responders but
Ordinary People Who Do Something it will be motivational as, certainly, also Patient Transport Volunteer
those in it are. These are ordinary Do Something Drivers. From about 1,300 ‘possibles’,
Extraordinary, came out of his work folks just like me. It doesn’t take any he ended up shooting 110 people.
life. He retired in July but, prior to special skills. Anybody can do it. So, Extraordinary, by Rick
that, for over 12 years he worked as a that prompted it all.’ Corbishley, is published He shot it all with his Fujifilm
dispatcher of volunteers for the by Yorkshire Ambulance X-T3 and X-T4 cameras with
Yorkshire Ambulance Service. Rick The book idea was pitched to his Service with a suggested 16-55mm and 50-140mm zooms
explains, ‘There are about a then employers, the Yorkshire donation of £12.50. and a 35mm f/1.4 prime. He also
thousand Community First Ambulance Service, in January 2021. www.justgiving.com/ used a couple of Viltrox prime lenses
Responders who’ll go out with a ‘Because of the preparation involved – an 18mm and a 56mm. Though he
defibrillator, oxygen, first aid… – I had no idea how much when I fundraising/ prefers natural light Rick reveals,
essentially, it’s to keep people alive set out – I wasn’t able to go out and ‘Occasionally I needed flash when
until the paramedics arrive.’ meet people and photograph until something- we were indoors or the light was
August 2021. I then photographed crap. I used a couple of the Godox
Rick combined his love of on most of my days off until the end extraordinary V1 roundheads, when I needed to.’
photography with shooting their of March this year.’
annual awards events – where people Rick shot ‘a minimum of 20 per
would win awards such as Responder Rick travelled over 4,000 miles shoot, maybe up to 50, just because
of the Year or Team of the Year. But around Yorkshire doing his shoots, of the circumstances and trying to
these events came to a grinding halt with the idea that those being get something just right.’ He did all
during the Covid lockdowns. photographed would appear in his post-production in Capture One,
natural surroundings. ‘They might working on five to ten images from
Then a Christmas present from his be a gardener, and I’d get them in each shoot. He then cut it down to
wife, of the book Portrait of Britain, their garden, or they might be a one per person, and shared the
sparked an idea. ‘I thought I could football fan in their kit. I went out to results with his subjects prior to
do something of a similar quality their home or somewhere nearby publication. Only one asked for an
where we could feature these that meant something to them.’ image to be changed – as they felt
volunteers and give them that bit of they were more ‘boring’ than the
recognition which we’re not doing The scope of the project was original wacky image portrayed.
with an [awards] event. It’s widened to include not just

46 www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

Above: John Moorhouse, Rick’s
Community First portrait
Responder. Toolmaker tips
for engineering company,
keen walker and cyclist, 1 It’s very
passionate about important to
cricket. Once opened communicate
the batting for England – there are a
against Australia range of ways to
(supporters’ team) build up a
relationship. I’d
Right: Allison Green, never met most of
Community First the people I went
to photograph. It
Responder. Professor, was about
biomedical researcher at building up a
rapport. Create a
Yale, Cambridge and very relaxed
York; horse-rider, hiker, environment and
you get a natural
swimmer, cook and portrait.
baker. Wants to give
2 Know your kit.
something back I feel under
pressure when
The result is a mixture of black & Right: Janet Long, I’m working with
white and colour portraits that show, Community First somebody. I’m
on the face of it, very ordinary Responder. taking up their
people. The book had to be out Professional time and I don’t
before Rick retired but also it had to want to keep
be printed to meet the deadline for musician, principal them waiting
Volunteers Week in June, as this was percussionist for unnecessarily
Yorkshire Ambulance’s official Manchester when I’m messing
contribution to Volunteers Week. Camerata. around trying to
Awarded the work out what the
‘I think there are some things that prestigious hell I’m doing. So
I’ve taken away that I’d probably Salomon Prize by I made sure I was
change but, overall, I’ve come away the Royal well prepared
with an experience I’ve never had Philharmonic when I turned up.
before and may or may not get Society. 111
again. Anybody who’s a bit stale or call-taker and 3 I’ve not got
comfortable should try something keen volunteer the skills to
different and challenging. I’ve learnt take one shot and
every step of the way. My Right: David walk away. I work
photographic arsenal is bigger than Turner, Community at it and I work
it was when I started this. the angles, the
First Responder. backgrounds and
‘The book title says it all… these are Mechanical the locations to
ordinary people who do something engineer, IT come away with a
extraordinary. They may not be an range of shots.
actual superhero but, when you director, former Therefore when I
experience a loved one in cardiac merchant navy do sit in front of
arrest being given life-saving CPR by seaman, nuclear the editing screen
one of these special people, who I’ve covered those
would say they’re not superheroes?’ submarine angles, and if
research and something
development, Land doesn’t work I’ve
Rover and DIY got something
else to fall back
enthusiast on. It makes a
difference.
www.amateurphotographer.co.uk
47

ARTEH ODJIDJA

CoThme pany
Storf angers

Photographer and educator Arteh Odjidja has
been photographing and interviewing young
migrants and refugees for his book, The Stranger
Series: Fear & Dreams. Peter Dench finds out more

I n 2012, when London-born Coram Young Citizens. Over a series Right: Omar
photographer Arteh Odjidja of workshops, he supported the Below: Khalil
was visiting Moscow for an Young Citizens ambassadors to
Ozwald Boateng fashion show, develop their photography skills and
he met a young African man called creative voices. The photographs
Abdulay who had settled in the produced showcase the
capital (via Portugal) after migrating achievements and aspirations of
from the west African island of São young migrants, challenge public
Tomé and Príncipe. ‘When in Russia, perceptions, and inspire those from
and an obvious foreigner, many similar backgrounds. Over 1,000
people make you feel like you’re a people viewed the photographs at
stranger. People literally stare at you venues including the British
and your mind fills in the blanks as Museum, and City Hall. They were
to what they’re thinking. You feel also presented to Her Majesty the
like that a lot, and I said to myself, Queen at the opening of Coram’s
if I’ve been here three days and feel QEII Centre. Some of the young
like this, what must it be like for people Arteh met through the
Abdulay who’s lived here for two programme are featured in his
years? That’s when I dived into his book, others he met through
story,’ explains Arteh. connections, friends, church and
chance encounters. 
Galvanised by his meeting with
Abdulay – and disturbed by the Arteh deliberately chose portraiture
sweeping headlines in the media as his preferred method to deliver
describing migrants entering Europe the migrants’ stories. A single
as swarms – on his return to the UK, portrait to counter media images of
Arteh started paying more attention the masses. Using a stripped-back
to migration. His decision was to approach of a handheld Leica
create a project to humanise allowed him to employ many of his
migrants and their individual other skills. ‘As a photographer
experiences. ‘I saw these people you’re not just a camera operator,
almost as Superheroes. People who you’re a conversationalist, body
migrate, leave everything behind language expert, friend, mentor,
and take that chance on themselves organiser, inspirer – all these things
and go and learn a new language, you need to get the image that you
start in a new place – that takes want from that person. It’s about
guts,’ he says. being a human being in that
moment and saying I need to
In 2018, Arteh partnered with

48 www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

connect with your humanity. Abdulay
Having a smaller kit for me was
having no barrier to that. The
camera was often incidental.’

Arteh’s portraits took him across
the UK, to Moscow, Russia and
Berlin, Germany. After conversations
with his subjects, locations relevant
to the individual’s story would be
discussed and decided, making sure
they got to present themselves how
they wanted to be seen. Youth
football coach Ramin Keshavarz,
who immigrated to London from
Iran in 2008 when he was 17, is
photographed outside Wembley
Stadium. Thirty-two-year-old
classical violinist Ramona
Racovicean is pictured outside City
Hall performing to an invisible
audience. ‘I like to capture a bit of
vulnerability or thoughtfulness in
the imagery which immediately
connects with every human being
because we all have those
moments. I love getting to

www.amateurphotographer.co.uk 49

ARTEH ODJIDJA

Left: Mariam

know people. For me to educate We don’t hear young migrant stories book is a way to create a sense of Below: Rakiba
myself, portraiture was a way as often. They migrate and have to permanence about the topic and
for an hour or two, to hold that continue their education, learn a meaning of what you’re trying to
person’s focus. When you’re doing a new system, a new language in convey. I can give it to people who
portrait and it’s just you and them, many cases, manage trauma, find a will cherish it and take the time to
people are very honest. They trust peer group along with everything look through it. I don’t expect
you if you make them feel else. I was interested in that people to read the stories straight
comfortable, they do what you want experience, that vulnerability, the away. Maybe in about a year’s
them to do. That trust should never peer pressure they face and learning time they’ll realise they might want
be abused. I want to present these a new way of being here. A lot of to read them.’
people as individuals.’ people I spoke to were being refused
Looking through the twenty black from schools for being perceived as The route into book publishing
& white portrait stories in the book, not being at the right literacy and
you don’t picture a horde of ragged comprehension level. Some of them
refugees or a packed boat landing on were so determined to break through
a beach, you see a portrait of Omar, these limitations they persuaded
Fatma, Dami and Joudy. Each face is people to mentor them and
an introduction to the compelling wouldn’t stop until they achieved
and diverse first-hand accounts that their goals. I found it really inspiring
accompany each portrait. We learn at that age to have such grit and
that Abdulay stayed in Moscow for determination to improve your life
seven years, met and married and navigate how you do that.’
Christina from Bulgaria and had a
son, Martin. They all now live in The story of immigration across
Sofia. Bulgarian is Abdulay’s sixth Europe will remain and evolve. If the
spoken language. We learn that portraits and testimonies of Arteh’s
Sayed immigrated to Berlin, subjects were published in a
Germany when he was 20 after magazine or website, the awareness
being hit repeatedly over nine days would arguably be more temporary.
with cables, sticks and guns by the Arteh had an inclination and an itch
Taliban who wanted to extract to create a book. ‘One thing I
information he didn’t have. I won’t discovered early in my career when
disclose any more of the stories as I was doing a lot of fashion
the discovery is part of the appeal of photography was that initial
Arteh’s book. recognition for your work was great
All bar one of the people Arteh but I didn’t actually like the
chose to profile are deliberately transience of fashion photography,
under 30 years old. ‘I like hanging how temporary it was. Creating a
out with young people and project that you believe in, collecting
understanding their dreams. It was the thoughts of others is also a
an inclination to tell their side of it. testament to your focus and what
you want to share with the world. A

50 www.amateurphotographer.co.uk