Ian Chantler  


Contemplation by Ian Chantler

December 2025 - Contemplation

About the Image(s)

As I now live in Lymm I have joined Lymm Photographic Society,I am still a member off Hoylake and get to as many meetings as I can though it is a 2 hour round trip, the 2 clubs are very different Hoylake has monthly competitions and regular talks and is very PSA orientated whereas Lymm has only 2 competitions a year and both are judged by the pub landlord who lets us use his function room for our meetings I am only a new member and have already given a talk there.
At Lymms last meeting one of the members Emanuelle has some studio lighting and brought it down to the club for a portrait night members of the club acted as models we had a a one light set up with a reflector this gentleman modeled for me and I asked him could he pose for me as if he was in deep thought and this was the result.

How I did it

Canon EOS 5D Mk III lens Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art 016 f3055,125s, ISO 800 focal length 85mm Raw file adjusted in photoshop cropped from the top ,converted to mono in the RAW converter and sharpened using a high pass filter and a 2 px stroke added.


2 comments posted




Peter Clark   Peter Clark
Ian - a very competant portrait which certainly evokes the feeling of contemplation. Well lit, but with minor issoes. The distracting highlight on his right hand cufflink, left hand cufflink (although less distracting) and the bright button on his shirt. You could also tone down or remove the highkights in his glasses - they are a menace with studio lighting!
Bear in mind that I do not take portraits - exclusively landscapes and I may be being over picky.
Seasons greetings to you and yours.   Posted: 12/08/2025 12:13:09



Ella Schreiber   Ella Schreiber
Hi Ian: Lighting for portraits is a tricky business. Sometimes two lights are used one for the back, one for the front. Window light without flash sometimes gives a softer effect without glare or hot spots. The highlights Peter pointed out are examples of glare & reflections from shiny objects which are a distraction. Having said that, I think your effort is commendable given what you had to work with.   Posted: 12/12/2025 16:12:44



 

Please log in to post a comment