Rory Lewis
Photographing Ant & Dec
Link to Rory's online workshop video. https://www.rorylewis.studio/online
Vintage Collapsible Background 1.5 x 2.1m Tobacco/Olive https://amzn.to/2ZJXFi7
Skylite Rapid https://amzn.to/37LGPUt
Rory's Recommended Equipment https://www.rorylewis.studio/blog/equipment
Projects are essential, as a portrait photographer promoting your technique & style is a tried and tested method of securing new clients and interest in your work. Renown presenters Ant & Dec sat for a dual portrait just before the new normal became wonted. The portrait took centre stage in Northerners, a collection of faces who hail from the North of England, just like myself, exhibited in Manchester last year.
Now presenters, but once working actors my aim was to reignite these thespians, manifesting Ant & Dec as a couple of wise guys from a Scorsese movie. Totally opposite to their kind and pleasing TV profile, taking Ant & Dec out of their comfort zone. Challenging the established norm and instead injecting moments of dramatic improvisation.
Both subjects are sat at a table, leering at the viewer, I’m positioned in the centre on the level with the counter, pointing my (F7.1) camera lens up at both subjects, giving Ant & Dec a towering presence.
In my style of simplicity, the portrait is all about the ocular. Keeping it simple is my mantra in directing subjects. My instruction to both, “Ok wise guys, I owe you money, I can’t pay, intimidate me”. Ant & Dec obliged me with a series of provocatively menacing expressions direct to camera.
Lasting only 30 minutes my sitting with Ant & Dec was thoroughly enjoyable, spending most of the time, bantering broke the ice for these vivid and thought provoking portraits.
If you are thinking of attempting this style of portrait yourself, keep it simple, just use a desk or freestanding table. Sit your subjects in the centre of the frame, position lightning 45 degree angle, using a softbox or shoot through umbrella. Utilise a reflector opposite the lighting to bring out those shadows.
Recommended Equipment
Lastolite by Manfrotto EzyFrame Vintage Background 2x2.3m Olive https://amzn.to/3kw21CU
Lastolite Octa Medium Ezybox Pro for Studio Flash - Black https://amzn.to/3uGmpWv
Bowens XMT500 Flash Head https://tidd.ly/3dhnIFg
Bowens Snoot https://tidd.ly/3s0l4rJ
Sitting Stool https://tidd.ly/3anKUjj
Lastolite By Manfrotto Halo Compact Reflector 82cm https://tidd.ly/3qrQmr8
Online Photography Workshop https://www.rorylewis.studio/online
Recommended Books https://www.rorylewis.studio/blog/books
Recommended Equipment https://www.rorylewis.studio/blog/equipment
Instagram http://instagram.com/rorylewisphoto
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rorylewisphotog
Rory's Books
Portraitist: Portraits and Photography Techniques https://amzn.to/2GKbIhM
Soldiery British Army Portraits https://amzn.to/35bvcoO
Portraits 2014-19 https://amzn.to/3eFLmtM
Soldati della Repubblica: Ritratti dell'esercito italiano https://amzn.to/3eF5V9R
About Rory
Winner of the Portrait of Britain in 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020. Lewis is a dedicated portrait photographer who has spent over a decade capturing many of the world’s most recognised faces. Sitters have included the likes of William Shatner, David Cameron, Sir Derek Jacobi, Iain Glen and Natalie Dormer. Rory’s images have been exhibited on both sides of the Atlantic, and several of his iconic portraits have been acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in London. His recent project, ‘Soldiery’, which documented the British Army of the 21st Century, was completed over a two year period and has been hailed as a national success story, named by the BBC as ‘The changing face of the British Army’. Rory divides his time between London and Los Angeles, working with a wide variety of clients. In addition to his projects and private portraits, his photography has been commissioned by Pepsi, Universal, the British Army, The Times, The Guardian and Cancer Research UK, among others. Rory draws immense inspiration from the masters of art including Hans Holbein the Younger, Titian, Caravaggio and Jusepe de Ribera.