Written by Ron Layne

I decided today to write about my experience specifically to say thanks to the BPS Executive for putting together another immersive experience for me by way of introduction to another genre of photography.

On Saturday, July 28th 2024 Michael Evans Photography put on a presentation on Portraiture to a number of enthusiastic BPS members all with varying levels of expertise in their own photographic journeys. I write candidly about my own experience in this sphere as a straight newbie, and a newbie to a lot of BPS culture generally. That being said, I thought I had a decent handle on my camera and a few of the skills necessary to manipulate this camera device with a good level of comfort. I also had spent a little time looking at the Art of taking pictures of people and was looking at them occasionally for a few months. All the YouTube videos I watched about photography generally spoke in some form or another of capturing emotiveness or emotion from a singular moment as you click a shutter button open. The lens, settings and camera intricacies do some of the capture. The videos spoke at length on various ways to approach this experience, to interact with the subject, settings, lighting, props and many elements; it was not a surprise that I did not think for a while I was ready to deal with all that complication. Especially for something that I consider a hobby – something I define as an activity that I would engage in for relaxation and pleasure. However, I admit the opportunity to expose myself to a new experience and for the people who engage in it professionally in an introductory way was a bit more than a curiosity. I knew too, it was difficult to do; difficult to get the hang of; more difficult to take great pictures, and it takes lots of experience. Those who do it as a profession are quite skilful evidently! More on this, skilfulness, to come later. But before I go any further about the presentation and Michael Evans (Mike), let me briefly introduce what I think photography is and a little bit about myself.

You Are A Photographer?
I don’t know what makes me a photographer other than the fact I think there is something cool and amazing that you can do with this tool/toy called a camera. It allows you, the user at the control, to capture a moment, an incident, at a moment in time in a way that only you perceive it. Only you are looking into the frame. Then if you like, you share it with others to allow them to see/share in the moment you captured. How you did it and what you wish the viewers to share from your own perspective.
If it was a really special capture, then viewers get something; especially if you take that captured moment a step further and edit it. Editing is another skill that needs to be developed. Having said that, what the viewer gets is sometimes the same as your intent, other times it is not. I think that’s what makes Art finicky in general. It is a subject that I personally would not have a high level of comfort with, just like sharing with strangers your private thoughts.

The idea then of capturing something that is complex as a subject like a person or people is a challenge, one that I was always unenthusiastic to undertake. I have used a camera for years to capture natural beauty moments, what the photographers call landscape photography. Birds, animals and flowers are what the photographers call Nature photography and in my other hobby, Motorsport; photographers call Sporting Event photography. I usually know quickly what I wish to capture and what to do when an opportunity to take the subject as it presents and catch it once I have my camera in hand.

People, on the other hand, are way too complicated, so I start with respect for those who engage in this obscure art form called portraits which leads me to the original topic. The presentation, it was in my opinion heartfelt; with Mike presenting slides, a short video and a selection of his own photos as he has grown in the genre. He successfully interacted with the audience, got some opinions and then shared the comments his photos received from an external body of experts. He also was able to successfully introduce the topic, and explain some of the technical details, like lighting, styles and other higher-level attributes of this genre and some of the key elements that go into the attempt to make a great capture. It was a lot to take in and as a newbie, it was amazing to realise that clearly what I thought was intimidating to start with was infinitely more complex. So many other considerations I had not thought of and then, there were so many more toys/tools, personal touches and other things that others considered necessary to make the capture of something epic. The reality is that even in a controlled environment like a studio, like a lab, you remove as many variants to get a distilled observation. The aim to capture the fact in a moment was already overwhelming before Mike singled me out to go first in interacting with the model.

I can say that I do not “know” Mike Evans well, but we have chatted a few times and he knew I purchased his old camera through another photography Sensei within the BPS community. I got the impression Mike knew what he was doing, like many of those within the BPS community. Beyond the brief conversations, I knew he had a photography studio and was skilled in some areas of photography. The presentation confirmed his “expert” status. Mike goes on to let us know he is going for his Master status in the portraiture system. Something else, I did not know even existed until his presentation. Anybody reading now can see what I mean about complexity.

Images by Mike Evans

I took up my camera, was introduced to ‘Glory’ and I hoped that I successfully communicated my inexperience. Especially since I do not interact with fashion, and I realised then, in a moment that I probably thought about fashion stereotypically and judgementally. I was of a belief that fashion was some subtle version of vanity or a cliché like people who like to see themselves, or maybe it was that the photographer had captured the moment with someone who loved attention / the adoration from their genetic fortune. I realised how closed-minded I was and how many people were. Deeper thoughts to explore here for sure! Whatever preconceived notions I had; Mike’s presentation had required a rethink of those previous assessments. I now needed to be present.

My intention was to capture a nice picture of a human female who was subjecting herself to a scrutiny of 24 or 45 megapixel image captures; with a remotely triggered soft-box on one side and a window with waning natural light from the other direction. She had on make-up, I know nothing about this stuff either and I assumed it was professionally applied. More complexity than you would wish to embrace the then Glory. Glory was ready to sit there; subject herself to the photographic expertise of a room of strangers. To have devices that capture her image, her skin, body, hair, essence, any, blemishes or imperfections that her own internal insecurities might reflect; and then adjust her hands, body, and face to make an impression of her in a split second in the mind’s eye of a photographer look like something special. She was clearly brave and trusting. I instantly had respect for that and I knew right then I would have to do my best to shake any anxiety or reservations I had to do justice to this person. Is it not ironic that I chose the words ‘justice’ when the workshop was held in a space inside of the Supreme Court complex?

Forget about all of that, I was there with a camera at the moment. I looked at my camera took it from my User 3 presets and made the changes Mike instructed to capture the first test shot. Depressed the shutter, the soft-box Flash went off, the camera screen dark, and nothing on the screen I could see. I am puzzled. You are a novice!
Mike then explains, that the test shot is at its darkest with the flash, was to get a sense of what the photographer would need to adjust to get those future images that were about to be captured. He made some suggested adjustments to the settings and I took another picture. Glory’s face was not in focus and I couldn’t see her on the back view screen, but through the viewfinder it is ok. Nervous now, figure I will make an adjustment and use the viewfinder. I then realise I am using the camera’s auto ISO feature. Perhaps that is why I saw her in the viewfinder. I turn that feature off and look down at the camera. Hey! Wait a minute, I am on the preset U3 mode should be in Manual. I change the camera to Manual mode.

I then click to take the next photo, and my camera screen goes black and stays black for an eternity. I do not know what has happened. The camera has stopped working. Glory looks composed despite my panic and all of this discussion with Mike and I am ready to stop and walk away. This is too much pressure! Others in the audience are wondering what is going on as well; internally a sense of panic is creeping in as I frantically try to figure out what is happening with the camera. I turn it off….the green light lets me know that the camera is writing to the memory card and it is still on. I am more confused. Mike looks at the top LCD screen and says – look at your settings. I am still unsure what is happening.

Clarity occurs a few moments later. The last time I used manual mode, I was experimenting with a Neutral Density filter to do long exposures. The camera did nothing wrong; the camera was working. It was the user. I also hope I have not put off Glory as this did not feel like a pleasing first experience. I hoped I was not wasting too much of everyone else’s time either. This camera user had attempted to take a 30-second exposure when a fraction of a second was all that was needed. I really was not ready.

I then took a moment to sit away from the action, as others were interested in or were trying to capture their own interpretations of the expressions that Glory was willing to try and hold. The poses they asked for; the adjusting of their lighting settings; apertures; shutter speeds; flash settings; lighting power…so many settings; it was overwhelming. After a while, I had made adjustments too and thought I was ready to try again and waited for another opportunity.

Mike saw this and was keen to let me have a go of it. I still held some apprehension given what transpired earlier, but I was willing and would try again. During the wait, I switched the camera off and of course, all the changes I just made were not saved. The camera defaulted back to the settings I had saved for Manual mode again. The screen went black when I clicked again. This time, I knew what was happening. To my good fortune, Mike’s willingness to let me have another go at capturing something allowed me the opportunity to gain some confidence. I checked in with Glory and realised that she would have been posing in a standing position for a bit. At least in that way, I engaged with the subject in something some other way. Something other than, holding that particular pose; make an adjustment, smiling, turn your head this way or that; something else that could be helpful. She was standing in pointy-heeled shoes with us taking pictures of her face. She asked if we would prefer her to sit.

Continued in Part 2