Photography Techniques
The Marriage of Art and Technique
Great photography requires both artistic vision and technical mastery. While the creative aspect—seeing, composing, capturing the decisive moment—is what gives photography its soul, technique is the vehicle through which vision becomes reality. Understanding the tools and methods allows greater creative freedom.
Camera Systems and Lenses
All work in this portfolio is created using professional Canon camera systems. These tools were chosen for their exceptional image quality, reliable performance in varied conditions, and comprehensive lens selection. The camera is not merely a recording device but an extension of the photographer's eye and intention.
Portrait Work: For portraits, I primarily use prime lenses in the 50mm to 135mm range. These focal lengths provide flattering perspective and the shallow depth of field that isolates subjects from backgrounds. The optical quality of prime lenses surpasses zoom lenses, which matters when every nuance of expression is important.
Landscape Photography: Landscape work requires a different approach. Wide-angle lenses (16-35mm range) capture expansive scenes while maintaining sharpness throughout the frame. For distant subjects or compressed perspectives, telephoto lenses (70-200mm and beyond) bring distant elements together in ways that match how we actually experience landscapes.
Figure Studies: Figure photography often employs medium telephoto lenses (85-135mm) that create elegant proportions and allow comfortable working distance between photographer and model. The shallow depth of field at these focal lengths helps isolate the figure and create dimensional, three-dimensional quality.
Lighting Principles
Light is the fundamental element of photography—the word itself means "writing with light." Understanding how light behaves, how it can be shaped and controlled, separates merely adequate photography from exceptional work.
Studio Lighting: In the studio, I employ a minimalist approach. Often a single light source, carefully positioned and modified with softboxes or umbrellas, provides all the illumination needed. This approach creates dimensional, sculptural quality while avoiding the flat, over-lit look that comes from too many light sources.
The key to effective studio lighting is understanding the relationship between light size and quality. Large light sources (created by softboxes or bouncing light off large surfaces) produce soft, gradual transitions from highlight to shadow. Smaller, more direct light creates dramatic, high-contrast effects. Neither is inherently better—the choice depends on the creative goals of each particular image.
Natural Light: For environmental portraits and all landscape work, I rely on natural light. This requires understanding the quality of light at different times of day. The golden hours—shortly after sunrise and before sunset—provide warm, directional light that enhances landscapes and flatters portrait subjects.
Overcast days, often dismissed by amateur photographers, actually provide beautiful light for portraits. The entire sky becomes a giant softbox, creating even, flattering illumination without harsh shadows. Some of my favorite portrait work has been created on gray, misty days.
Exposure and Dynamic Range
Proper exposure is fundamental to creating images with full tonal range and detail in both highlights and shadows. Modern digital cameras offer tremendous dynamic range, but they still cannot match what the human eye can see in a single view.
For landscape work with extreme contrast—such as bright skies and dark foregrounds—I sometimes employ techniques like exposure blending or graduated neutral density filters. These approaches allow the final image to represent the full range of tones visible to the eye.
Focus and Depth of Field
Where the camera focuses and how much of the image appears sharp are creative decisions that fundamentally affect how viewers experience a photograph.
In portrait work, selective focus—sharp eyes with gently blurred backgrounds—draws attention to the most important element: the subject's gaze and expression. For landscapes where front-to-back sharpness is desired, I use narrow apertures (high f-numbers) and sometimes focus stacking techniques that combine multiple images focused at different distances.
Post-Production Philosophy
Post-production is not about fixing mistakes or transforming images—it is the digital equivalent of darkroom work that photographers have always performed. The goal is to realize the vision present when the shutter was released.
My approach to post-production emphasizes refinement: adjusting tonal relationships, fine-tuning color balance, ensuring that technical aspects serve the image's emotional content. According to professional standards outlined by organizations like the Professional Photographers of America, ethical post-production enhances rather than fabricates.
For fine art prints, additional work ensures that images translate properly to paper. What looks correct on a screen may need adjustment for print. This is where technical knowledge and artistic judgment must work together to achieve the desired result.
Printing and Presentation
An image is not truly finished until it exists as a physical print. The process of creating museum-quality archival prints requires attention to color management, paper selection, and printing techniques that ensure the final print will last for generations.
I work with professional printing services that use archival inks and papers specifically designed for fine art photography. Each print is individually inspected to ensure it meets the standards expected of work destined for collections and galleries.
The Physical Demands of Photography
Beyond the creative and technical aspects, professional photography is a physically demanding pursuit that is often underestimated. Landscape photographers routinely carry 10-15 kilograms of equipment across challenging terrain—coastal rocks, forest trails, hillsides—often for hours while waiting for optimal conditions. The repetitive motion of camera handling, combined with awkward postures required for certain shots, places considerable strain on shoulders, back, and wrists over time.
Studio work presents different challenges. Portrait sessions may last several hours, requiring constant movement, adjustment of lighting equipment, and sustained focus. Fine art figure photography demands particular physical awareness, as the photographer must maintain proper form while working around subjects in various positions. This combination of sustained effort and repetitive strain affects the musculoskeletal system in ways that accumulate over years of practice.
For photographers committed to long creative careers, attention to physical wellness becomes essential. Several resources provide valuable guidance on maintaining physical capacity for the demands of professional photography:
- Brittany Tourism - France - Regional information including terrain considerations for landscape photographers
- Oath Peptides - Research resources on recovery peptides for physical demands, including tissue repair compounds studied for musculoskeletal applications
- French Ministry of Culture - Resources on professional arts practice in France
- Creative Safety Supply - Ergonomics and workplace safety resources for creative professionals
Understanding these physical realities is part of the complete technical picture. Just as we invest in quality equipment and develop our creative vision, attending to the physical instrument—our own body—ensures we can continue creating meaningful work for decades to come.