Continuing my Men’s Shed portrait project
As the eagle-eyed among you will have noticed, I have finally got back to my Men’s Shed Portrait project I began on the eve of COVID in 2019. I had always wanted to produce more portraits, but for a variety of reasons, had not. Then I had the idea of photographing the mature-aged men at my local Men’s Shed, with the aims, to:
develop my own skills in portraiture.
represent older men in a positive light, showing their personalties and personal qualities.
produce respectful portraits of mature age members of various Men’s Sheds.
I have been reasonably happy with my results to date.
Originally, I intended creating environmental portraits with examples of the sitter’s work - but this quickly changed. The fact is that men attend a men’s shed for a variety of reasons. Some go to work on personal projects, some work on larger, often community-based projects and some attend simply for companionship. This meant that very few had an object with which to be photographed.
The other factor is space. The sheds are busy, and often short on space. Hence, it may be possible to make portraits on the floor of the shed, often it is not.
One thing I was determined to avoid was impersonal “head shot” photographs - they were to be portraits. To this end, I make a point of sitting and talking with each sitter, introducing myself and trying to understand each man.
I have tried to make the project a win-win-win arrangement. I get to practise portrait photography and add to my portfolio, while the men each receive a print of their choice and the Shed receives a set of JPEGs for use in their newsletters and the like.
So, in resuming the project in late 2022, I decided to try another, larger Men’s Shed in Perth: Midland. I was made welcome and was able to begin in late January 2023.
In doing this work, I need equipment which is portable and flexible. At Midland, this involves my Nikon Z9 with a Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.8 lens, though I carry my Nikkor 24 - 70 zoom and my Nikkor 50mm prime to allow for flexibility if needed. Light is provided by my battery-powered Godox AD 400 Pro (with a softbox), and while I also carry my Godox AD 200, I have been able to use a simple reflector to provide some fill to the side of the face in shadow.
In regard to the softbox, I had been using a Godox 120cm octagonal unit, but that let light spill around too much for my liking. So I bought a Godox (there’s a theme here, isn’t there?) 80cm x 120cm softbox because it has a grid to help control light - only to discover I have a grid for the octagonal unit - which I have never used!! After that mea culpa, I have to say that I’m very happy with the additional control I have with the grid fitted.
All in all, I’m happy with my results so far. While I can always improve, I believe I’ve had some success - not least because of the generous participation of the members of the Men’s Shed and my slowly improving skills. And of course, I must mention the incredible quality of the Z mount Nikon lenses which pin sharp, beautifully rendered images.
Shane Baker
shanebakerphotos@iinet.net.au
