ARTIST PAUL PETCH

Studio Portrait on Film.

One of the positives of moving into my own studio is that I get to explore and expand my portrait photography skills on film for the first time. I’m very comfortable outdoors, and commercially I’m no slouch when it comes to capturing headshots in a studio setting. But when it comes to transferring my technical skills and more creative concepts to film in the studio it’s mostly a new experience. With a solid set of gear available from powerful lighting, to multiple light modifiers, with various backgrounds, the studio is always ready to go.

Last year I picked up a decent light meter, as well as a Pentax 645N with a good auto focus lens that fires the studio lights (Godox AD600’s) perfectly. Once the shutter speed is set to 1/60th it is pretty much like shooting on my digital cameras- but of course the process and aesthetic is so much nicer.

Elisabeth, is a model for Portfolio Models and we’ve worked together before at ARA when the final year students were showcasing their work. (you can see the results here if you are keen). Instantly we were into the process and very relaxed. The background I chose was from a roll of material I found at the second hand store and the first time I’ve tested it out. What a beautiful setup! The peach tones really worked on the Portra 400- and I love the monochrome (I used Rollei 120) vibe a lot.

While this shoot was experimental, I do like the connection to the grassy organic element, that may well become part of a series. Saying that it’s nice to just shoot portraits and have fun rather than always looking at a bigger picture. Pairing two or three photos from this set would make for a great art piece, and the rough prints in the studio hung on the wall, do look really good.

What did I take away for this session? Mostly that even though I used a light meter, the set could have done with another stop of light to offer the best negatives possible. Unlike digital, film likes more light and in turn provides great dynamic range.

What about a highlight of the shoot? I used a tripod as the Pentax 645N and huge lens weighed a ton. A great decision as every image is in focus. Setting the Aperture to F11 of course helped too. The Pentax 645N is in my mind a perfect camera for the studio.