People and Place: Assignment 5, Shoot 4

Shoot 4: Darren, writer 02/02/2014

Darren's a writer, and chairman of Wrekin Writers.  He offered me a cup of tea when I arrived at his house.  On reflection I should have accepted it; this would have given me more time to consider and think about the shoot in its location.

Location

Darren has an 'office' in a corner of the living room.  Some photographs were taken in the garden - he's a keen golfer - and some at the other end of the living room.

Poses

At his desk.  I took some time to correct exposure in this high-contrast situation, eventually switching from aperture priority to manual.



A confusing view; is he in the garden, or is he at his desk?

 

There was a trellis in the garden.  I arranged the pose so that it framed him, then cropped the result.

Now he's clearly in the garden.

In monochrome

At the desk, pretending to type

 And smiling

 In the garden with the golf club

 And a clutch of balls.  My idea, I'm afraid, but Darren's a good sport

Cropped version of a very similar shot.  I've darkened and de-saturated the background foliage 

 Simple portrait, using light from the window on the right and reflected sunlight low on the left

Monochrome

 A more direct view, with stronger light on the right

 Monochrome. 

Of these two direct portrait views, I prefer this one in monochrome, and the previous one in colour

A similar view

Mrs Bailey was in the house; I took the opportunity to capture them together

And, monochrome

 

Lessons Learned

Accept hospitality: it takes pressure off and gives time to think and plan.   Irrespective of the effect on the model (who should be put at his ease)  think I would benefit from sitting and chatting prior to starting to take pictures.
I could have used different angles to add variety; all these shots are taken close to eye-level.