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<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto 2021 \u00a9 Jessica Wikstr\u00f6m | FUJIFILM GFX50S and FUJINON GF80mmF1.7 R WR, 1\/125 sec at F2.8, ISO 100<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Finding a Portrait Photography Style<\/h2>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been photographing for 17 years now,\u201d Jessica begins. \u201cEarly on, having heard you must try everything as a photographer, I had no direction. I worked in weddings, products, corporate, fashion, you name it. But that drove me to hit a wall. I lost all my passion, sold my kit and quit.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne day, I got asked to photograph an old colleague and his friends, a fun bunch of bearded dudes. I agreed, but only if I could do it my way. Until that point, I\u2019d forced myself to create in a style that agencies, clients or magazines would like \u2013 but it wasn\u2019t my own.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe created the portraits and they hit the internet to great success. People loved them. That sparked something within me,\u201d Jessica continues.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto 2023 \u00a9 Jessica Wikstr\u00f6m | FUJIFILM GFX100 II and FUJINON GF55mmF1.7 R WR, 1\/125 sec at F5.6, ISO 400<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
For the next few years, she developed her style and followed an instinctual pull towards the everyman subject. Photographing a new era of model for male grooming brands, the photographer lay the foundations of an enjoyable career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI liked how stylish these men were. They brought something into the public eye that, at the time, people only saw women do. They were so vain and fussy about the way they looked, in a charming way.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt that time, I realised what I really wanted to do was portraits of real people \u2013 capturing them as they truly are. I started caring less about style and more about authenticity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Choosing Portrait Models<\/h2>\n
What attracts Jessica to her portrait photography muses now is far more attainable for photographers of all levels. Centrefold beauty is not a necessity for high-end portraiture.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto 2023 \u00a9 Jessica Wikstr\u00f6m | FUJIFILM GFX50S II and FUJINON GF110mmF2 R LM WR, 1\/125 sec at F2, ISO 320<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s okay if you don\u2019t have a supermodel,\u201d she states. \u201cYou can still pose and light your subject like they are one. It\u2019s not about forcing them to fit a certain ideal, but making someone feel their best in a photo.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important to deal with people you enjoy \u2013 and share an energy with \u2013 in this genre. The older I get, the more interested I become in people\u2019s stories and what they can tell me, rather than how they look.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a model chosen, next steps involve dressing and lighting a studio. It\u2019s here that beginner studio portrait photographers typically stumble, but once again Jessica offers a guiding hand that\u2019s open to all.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto 2017 \u00a9 Jessica Wikstr\u00f6m | FUJIFILM GFX50S and FUJINON GF110mmF2 R LM WR, 1\/125 sec at F2.8, ISO 100<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Portrait Lighting and Set Design<\/h2>\n
\u201cI love going around flea markets or looking online to find old chairs and wooden boxes for subjects to sit on, or rugs and cloth for backdrops,\u201d she smiles. \u201cYou can put together a whole set for \u00a3100 that way, which is amazing.<\/p>\n
\u201cNext, I\u2019ll prepare my studio early. I try to keep everything I\u2019ve collected there \u2013 nice and organised, and close by. If I didn\u2019t have at least the starting image\u2019s set-up clearly in my mind, I would run around not knowing what to do when my model arrived. The aesthetic can always evolve.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy lighting usually consists of one strobe and one modifier,\u201d the photographer adds. \u201cI love an octabox or umbrella myself \u2013 you can do a lot with that. Perhaps not big groups, but certainly a few people.<\/p>\n
\u201cBounce tools help, too. You can essentially create a second low-powered source that way. I don\u2019t have anything specific for that \u2013 I\u2019ll just hang a long sheet of white paper.\u201d<\/p>\n
Studio flash \u2013 or strobes \u2013 can be intimidating, and there are more specific approaches than could ever be covered in a single article. Jessica provides general tips, and reminds us that what\u2019s most important is trying anything at all, as the first step on the road to mastery.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto 2022 \u00a9 Jessica Wikstr\u00f6m | FUJIFILM GFX50S II and FUJINON GF45-100mmF4 R LM OIS WR, 1\/125 sec at F5.6, ISO 500<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cAt the beginning, I had no clue what I was doing. So, the photos looked bad,\u201d she recalls. \u201cA lot of people starting out will panic when they see that. But you\u2019re not going to know how to use a light when you first get it, and might not even know what it should be used for. You just have to start simple and commit to learning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always use a strobe with a continuous modelling light, so I can view my lighting effect consistently between pictures; it only flashes when triggered. I\u2019d also recommend getting rid of all other studio light, so you don\u2019t get ambient spill.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Best Camera for Portrait Photography<\/h2>\n
Then, there\u2019s camera and lens choice. After selling her kit all those years ago, Jessica used nothing more than a simple fixed-lens system to professional effect. Lately, that\u2019s changed.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nPhoto 2023 \u00a9 Jessica Wikstr\u00f6m | FUJIFILM GFX50S II and FUJINON GF110mmF2 R LM WR, 1\/125 sec at F2.8, ISO 400<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not a deeply technical photographer, in terms of what I demand from a camera. I don\u2019t use advanced autofocus modes or high-speed bursts. It\u2019s all about image quality,\u201d she asserts.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I first came across the GFX System<\/a>, I thought there was no way it could be much different to the camera I\u2019d been using. Then I saw the files and thought, \u2018wow, this is what I\u2019ve been looking for\u2019. I\u2019d been chasing that painterly feeling in my images for years. I thought it was my lighting or editing that needed to improve, but it came down to the files and what I can make with them. I haven\u2019t experienced that with any other camera, so it was love at first sight.<\/p>\n \u201cI always use my FUJIFILM GFX50S II<\/a> in the studio. When I work with families, I attach the FUJINON GF45-100mmF4 R LM OIS WR<\/a>. With older kids or adults, I can use the GF80mmF1.7 R WR<\/a> or GF110mmF2 R LM WR<\/a>. The zoom lens simply lets me keep up with children\u2019s movements, but the two primes are my absolute favourites. They create beautiful fall-off at faster apertures and I can get different types of framing with the two focal lengths.<\/p>\n \u201cI love the Film Simulation modes. They\u2019re a doorway to incredible artistry. Plus, if I photograph RAW+JPEG, it means I\u2019m not committed to that particular look. I can actually see the aesthetic I\u2019m building in the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n