stekki no.9; location portrait workshop special

december 2014stekki < japan, fashion, photography, lifestyle, lifeno.9 workshop special edition

location portraiture workshop - nov. 2014

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a japanorama production | japanorama.co.uk/stekki

素敵

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stekki*

素敵すてきsu-te-ki /ste ki/

adjective: beautiful, great, lovely, splendid, wonderful, nice

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index/ credits

credits

EDITOR IN CHIEF, LAYOUT & DESIGNAlfie Goodrich.

SPECIAL THANKS & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Hiromi, Joe, Ami and Charlie [for putting up with and supporting me throughout the years], Gianluca Carrero [for the initial magazine template design], Matthew Lamb [for that chat in tbe van, on the way back from Kinugawa].

produced by japanoramawww.japanorama.co.uk/stekki

coverPhotographer: Elena TyutinaModel: Stephanie Hodges Huynh

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I’d reckon that most of us who own a camera and who like taking

pictures have been asked to shoot a portrait at some point; maybe of family members, maybe of friends. It’s a satisfying thing to get right, making someone look good in a photo. So, with the idea in mind of shooting some fun portraits of each other, a bunch of us set off down by the Sumida River in Tokyo recently. Some of the dqy would be spent using just the ambient light, some spent using flashes and reflectors. We were blessed in the late afternoon with some glorious sunshine and most of what happened around that time was ambient only portraiture. But, as much as we were learning to shoot better pictures of people - learning what poses, angles and lenses might work best - the day

was also as much about using the environment around us to make a great setting for the portraits. Tokyo, I have said before, is a great studio and the area we chose down on the river is particularly good; not so crowded, plenty of great little settings, good light. Once we’d finished shooting, we had a critique session at a venue in Nihonbashi. I did a little editing of some shots, we discussed what worked and what could have worked better. A lovely day out that resulted in some classy portraits.. and it was a lot of fun.”

WELCOME TO STEKKI

Alfie GoodrichPhotograph by Lisa Fujiwara | paintwithstars.com

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Location Portraiture Workshop: Sumida-gawa, Tokyo, 25.11.14Photo: David Glass

A photograph:a reflection.

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A photograph:a reflection.

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Ken Enochs and his son, photographed by Alex Mustățea.

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Philippe Halsman once said that “...a true portrait should, today and a hundred years from today, be the Testimony of how this person looked and what kind of human being he was.”

Whether any of the portraits we each took down by the river back in November last 100 years, I think it could certainly be said that a little of each subject’s appearance and character was captured. To add to what Halsman said, I’d go on to say that a portrait is representative of both the person in the photo and the person who took it. Something of each character transfers. In the photo we are seeing the sitter; their face, their eyes. The photo is a window into their life. From the photographer we get angle, location, context, colour or monochrome, a feeling, a style... enhancing the subject’s character, sometimes at odds with it. Shooting portraits is not something every photographer finds easy or even wants to do. Communication with one’s subject is key. With environmental portraiture [the type shot outside and not in the studio], the location plays an enormous part of the feeling the photo transmits to the viewer. Finding good locations is something the photographer needs to develop an eye for. The place doesn’t need to be complicated, a simple wall will often suffice if the light is right. Lines, colours, perspective, depth, texture, light... all these play a part in finding a place that is going to suit your subject. Enough words from me. I leave you to enjoy the portraits and the people they portray. Alfie Goodrich

Alex poses with Ken’s son, Aidan, whilst Ken takes up the camera for this shot.

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Stephanie Hodges-Huyhn shoots a lovely warm portrait of Elena Tyutina, using the setting sun and a gold reflector.

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Taro, photographed by John Murch in front of this wonderful door and mosaic by the river.

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Mete captures Stephanie going climbing: great

lines and colour in this, the bricks tapping into the

stripes on Steph’s shirt.

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Enrique Moreno has a bit of fun with turning the buildings into a ‘ghetto blaster’ for David to carry. Flash & ambient light here.

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Mete, captured in a contemplative moment by Stephanie in this ambient light only portrait.

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Taro’s great shot of John, using a 600W battery-powered light fired into a modifier that is somewhere halfway between a beauty dish and an umbrella. Great colour,

great lines and a really nice balance of ambient light and flash.

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Alex photographed by Ken.

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Gavin Oliva, by Elena Tyutina. Nice use of

intersecting lines in the scene to make a perfect place for the

subject to stand.

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David Glass found a great collection of lines and dots to frame up this shot of Enrique.

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Ken Enochs got in close for these two lovely, full-face portraits. On the left, Alex and on the right is Aidan, Ken’s son.

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