Can’t touch this: Certificate of Merit

By Zoë van der Spuy, 4*

This picture is of Francis. I met Francis through a young friend of mine, they were at school together. When I started taking my photography seriously I quickly realised that the area that I was most passionate about was studio work, I love working with people. I went to the shops one day and bought myself a small set of studio lights and a backdrop. From there it was really just a question of spreading the word that I needed models to practice on.

Francis is one of my favourite models. She has a big personality, a kind heart and a sunny disposition. These attributes, together with the fact that she is very photogenic, make her easy to take great pictures of (never underestimate the power your models personality in in your pictures). As I hadn’t taken photographs of Francis in a while, I was delighted when she let me know that she could join me in my studio.

I should also note that when I have people in the studio I don’t worry too much about taking pictures that will be submissable for Club. My main focus is making sure that I get material that is going to send my model home with a great big smile and the memory of some super fun times.

Francis loves quirky photographs and as a result I am always challenged to come up with poses and ideas that are a bit different. One of my philosophies on life is that we are the sum of our parts, the details are as important as the overall picture. I love to take pictures of these details – some of you may remember the photograph of the little hands at the tap – “Save Water”? So the idea for this picture was really born from my love for details. For this picture, my lights were set up for a low key photoshoot. I used one light on the right hand side, placed at 45 degrees to my model. I was lucky enough to have an assistant to hold a gold reflector up on the left hand side of my model. The reflector was to make sure that I got a bit of light and detail on the left of the picture. I took one picture and was happy with the result. I always shoot in RAW and used my 18 – 55mm Canon lens.

My camera settings were as follows:

• F-Stop: F7.1
• Exposure: 1/100 sec (Depending on my setup I also sometimes use 1/125sec in a studio environment)
• ISO Speed: ISO 100
• Focal length: 24mm

I did limited post processing on this photograph. I converted the picture to black and white, checked the contrast and shadows and sharpness - all in the raw converter. I used photoshop to put a border on the image and to resize it for EMMA.

Shooting in a studio setting can be a challenge, as you constantly need to come up with new ideas. This is really an environment where you “create” a photograph. The most important lesson that I have learned is to persevere as once you have learnt all the technical stuff, at the end of the day the photographer creates the picture. Be bold and try new things – you will surprise yourself with the things that you are able to create with that small box that you hold in front of your eye.