Introduction

Anton Robert, a Cape Town photographer, invited me to shoot with him in his Bo-Kaap studio last week. We wanted to shoot large format film photography, more especially 4×5 and 8×10! His quality of work is top-notch, shooting black and white, nudes and commercial work. He has a very good understanding of lighting. Anton arranged this shoot with Vicki Alexia, which I have entitled Studio Photography – Vicki Alexia | Cape Town Portrait Session | Craig Fouché, where we could meet up and shoot on digital and film. Anton Robert has an 8×10 camera and took care of the lighting setups. I brought along my Nikon D4, Pentax 6×7 MLU & Shen Hao 4×5 camera.

Vicki has a wonderful personality, travelled internationally, is easy to work with, and her experience and professionalism shine through in every pose. She has a lovely Cameron Diaz look about her; I think it is her smile.

The Shoot

We decided the look we wanted would be headshots in black and white, and possibly move over to film.

Wine-bottle Lighting

Whilst I have shot wine bottles before using large strip box lighting, Anton had a better idea, using translucent perspex panels, which work extremely well with a better result. The lighting is soft, wraps around nicely and is very pleasing.

Positioning

The lights need to be positioned correctly. You should choose a place that shapes the face according to the different portrait positions. It can be at a height. You can try above the camera or to the side. If the model turns her head, you should follow with the light.

Quality of Light

The lighting is soft and very pleasing. Prophoto and Elinchrom lights were used.

Exposure and Control

We used controlled areas of light to get beautiful gradations.

Hair & Makeup

Makeup is also very important in portraits. Vicki had her hair & makeup down to perfection. When done correctly, it makes my job so much easier in post-production. There were absolutely no flaws or any photo editing needed to remove not even a speck of mascara! I did use a red filter, which is perfect for skin in black and white photography.

The Cameras & Film

We both shot on Nikon digital cameras, Anton on a D850 with a Nikon 70-200 f/2.8, and I used a Nikon D4 with a Nikon 105mm f/1.4. We did not shoot large format – 8×10 & 4×5 or medium format. We discovered we needed a special sync cable for the lights that he has, and we plan to shoot film on our next shoot. There is something to behold when looking at the image on the ground glass of large-format cameras, and more when you print.

In Conclusion

It was an amazing day, with passionate, professional people working together to create fantastic images and with such ease – old school on film, and digital. I can honestly say it was a fun easy shoot. Thanks to both Anton and Vicki for the day, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I look forward to working with you again. Studio Photography – Vicki Alexia
Give the following team a follow on IG:

Vicki follow on Instagram and check out her work: CLICK HERE

Anton follow on Instagram and check out his work: CLICK HERE

Gallery

My Shot Of The Day

Digital Gallery

Overall, I am very happy with how the results turned out. It is always a good day out when everything runs smoothly, and you don’t have to heavily edit your images.  If you would like to join me to shoot in the studio or any other environment, get in touch! I can teach you all I know. Sign up for one of my one-on-one photo workshops.