Singer-songwriter Norman Lamont wanted some new photographs for his website and latest album. I prefer to shoot environmental portraits to straight “mug shots” because these kinds of photographs allow me to tell a story. These environmental portraits reveal more of the personality of the subject and thus make it more interesting to the viewer.
I asked Norman about locations where he’d like to be photographed, and one of his suggestions was the Captain’s Bar on South College Street, Edinburgh. This venue regularly features live music and Norman has performed there on a number of occasions. I really liked the atmosphere, lines and textures this location had to offer.
We then moved to a more casual look. I always try as many variations as the time allows because it is often difficult to tell at the time of the shoot what works best.
Now that I knew I had some good shots in the bag so to speak, it was time for a little bit of experimentation. If you have seen some my impressionist photographs, you know that I’m not afraid to move the camera during long exposures. Placing Norman in a dark spot I used the lights of the bar to create streaks of colour by moving my camera from right to left and freezing Norman with flash.
Finally, we did a couple of light paintings, my favourite lighting technique.
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