Photography News Issue 71

Advertorial Simply stunning

SPEND SOME TIME enjoying Rory Lewis’ striking portraits and you’ll quickly realise he’s a photographer who values simplicity. Using elegant, uncluttered lighting in his work helps bring his subjects to the fore and creates portraits brimming with character. “I like to keep things simple,” he explains, “and not overcomplicate a shoot, as – tome – it’s all about capturing a compelling subject, not lighting for the sake of it. I don’t want to take the detail away or create some jazzy style that overtakes the person in the portrait.” In that way, his work is closest in style to classical portraiture, with influences drawn fromRenaissance art as well as German expressionist films like Nosferatu and Metropolis . It’s a mix that makes his work stand out from the rest as clearly as his subjects stand out from the frame. “Over the years,” Rory explains, “I’ve foundmyself in awe of Caravaggio, Titian, Ribera… their use of light, subject matter, expression and religious themes... so it all comes through inmy own work now.” In terms of a lighting style “it depends on the brief ”, says Rory, “but a typical set-up for me is never more than one or two lights, usually set up in a Rembrandt, broad or short arrangement. I always use my Profoto OCF softboxes or shoot-through umbrellas, setting the brollies at angles from 45º to 90º, and using the softboxes side- or full-on to the subject. Pro portrait photographer Rory Lewis tells us how using the Profoto B10 helps him create his striking brand of character studies

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent For this portrait of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, Rory used a single Profoto B10 head and a small translucent umbrella. The light was placed about 45º to camera right and raised slightly above the prince’s head.

36 Photography News | Issue 71

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