The Writer

A few weeks ago I was graced with a visit from Eric, one of my closest friends. He had recently lost a large amount of weight while also treading the waters of self-publishing, starting with his short story site (which you can find at www.mythmakersforge.com. His stories are HIGHLY recommended if you like fantasy, mythology and surrealism). Naturally, he came to Yours Truly for a photo set, not only to celebrate these landmark achievements in his life, but to use for any promotional material he may need in the future.

So what we had is probably what I would consider a "jam sesh" for photography. Like with music, jamming is getting a few people together and playing away with no specific songs in mind to practice. Sometimes you can jam with a camera and some lights as well. Just try different set-ups with no initial idea in mind, and see where the wind leads you. Eric was on board, and had brought his favorite outfit to give us a starting point (which he could not fit in a few months prior).

[[Side note: I do NOT recommend this as a general approach to professional sets. While spontaneity is a huge blessing for any job, most clients will want to have a specific shot or theme laid out and obtained before you tramp off down the whimsy trail. Know when to stick to the script and when to improvise. Okay, back to your regularly scheduled programming.]]

Let's start by discussing the process that led to this shot:

At the time, my basement was currently being renovated, so my studio space was out of commission for the night. Now, my wife is a wonderful interior designer, so our floor level makes a wonderful set anyways, but it was also around Christmas time, so the other open space reserved for my portraits had a massive, but gorgeous, Christmas tree taking up a large amount of the room.

It may have been a jam session, but Eric didn't seem too keen on a Yuletide theme. Oh well, we'd just have to shoot around it.

As we played around with the set and lighting, chatting about the mood we wanted to instill into the pictures, it was decided that we would start by incorporating hardcover novels as props. A writer reading a book, right? It seemed like a natural idea.

A little cliche' as well, if we're honest, but it's a good starting place, and ideas tend to stay locked in my head until the shutter actually starts snapping away. So I got him a low ball glass of bourbon, gave him a thick collection of tales by Jules Verne, set him in a big, comfy leather chair and...hated it. It caused Eric to feel closed off, absorbed in a novel on his lap rather than engaging with the viewer. Instead of seeing a facet of his personality, we just see a smart-dressed dude who likes to read and drink. Wooo.

But you know how I said that sometimes you just have to get started and see where it goes? This disappointing turnout forced my brain to evaluate Eric's personality, and how I could express that on a deeper level than "writer=books." He's an avid reader, sure, but he is also extremely charismatic, and ludicrously confident at times. When these qualities combined in my head, I immediately envisioned a storyteller, sitting at the apex of a circle and spinning tales that captivate the people surrounding him.

I took the book away from him and instructed him to relax into the chair. I also switched to my 50mm lens and got close, sitting on the ground before him. This gives him an air of authority as he looks down at the camera from a higher vantage point, and it also works with the context of the shot by evoking the feeling of a child, sitting on the ground and being told a fable by an adult (at least, that's what I was going for).

At first I only had one light fixed on him, a 22x36" softbox that's raised about 6 feet and pointed down towards him at a 45-degree angle just a few feet from camera-left. This kept the light from reflecting in the glass in his hand and also worked to smooth out the shadows on his face, but I felt that it made the shot a bit too bright and even. Eric's stories are weighty, his prose exploding with themes of betrayal and sacrifice. I wanted his portrait to compliment that, so I grabbed a second light and shot it through a snoot (think of it like a barrel that directs the light to a targeted area rather than letting it just go everywhere).

This didn't have much of an effect on his skin, since that was already fairly evenly lit from the softbox, but it did cause more detailed shadows in his clothes, and (what I was hoping for in the first place) cast his shadow hard against the curtains and chair behind him. Now it looks more dramatic, with his confident smile assuring us that we're about to hear a tale for the ages.

That should do it for today. I'll share a couple more shots from the set before I go. Thanks for reading! A big thanks to Eric Moore for being a guinea pig for my creative impulses. Again, please visit his writing blog, Mythmaker's Forge, and give his stories a read. I promise you won't be disappointed.

-Bryce

Getting Started

Before we dive into this blog and what it is, we should probably get the awkward, elementary school introductions out of the way. This will only take a minute, I promise.

My name is Bryce Grumley. I'm a photographer based out of Michigan, working the metro-Detroit area (and beyond, really. I love this state and I'll go wherever there's something interesting to photograph). I dabble in multiple practices, such as food and product photos, but my main passion lies in portraits. I like people, especially people with unique or interesting talents, and I've become somewhat obsessed with capturing this intrigue in the best way possible.

I get most of my inspiration for lighting and framing from cinema, especially classic Hollywood productions from the 1930's to the 60's. This doesn't mean I'm closed from other influences, however, as I've made multiple shoots that were conjured from music, Italian Renaissance and Japanese woodblock paintings, short stories...generally, any artistic endeavor that genuinely causes an emotional reaction within me.

There. That wasn't so bad, was it?

Now, the point of this blog is to assist in keeping a sort of consistency in my life regarding personal photo projects, which can come and go in waves if I let my daily work overwhelm me. By taking on weekly and monthly challenges and using this site as a diary for every step of the process, I hope to share whatever knowledge I can about the process of conceiving and creating a finished image, but to receive feedback from others as well so I may, in turn, learn and grow.

With my schedule as it is at the moment, my current plan is;

1.) Make a weekly post every Friday, sharing images from a set I've taken, old or recent, and break into the hows and whys of my decisions (I.E, "Why did I put a flash in a certain location?" "What was my inspiration for the set to begin with?" and so on).

2.) Make a monthly post regarding a brand new photo set. A theme will be chosen at the beginning of the month, with the possibility of reader votes being used to settle on what idea to use if enough interest is generated. Many of these will probably be deconstructions of lighting and composition used in work by elite photographers and artists that I feel I can learn from.

I plan for this blog to expand its scope as I settle into the swing of it, but in the meantime, I sincerely hope you enjoy following along with my adventures. Come back this Friday for our first breakdown!

-Bryce