CONTROL THE LIGHT

To control the light in a portrait, you can move your subject into better lighting, add light with flash or LED lights, or bounce natural illumination back with a reflector. While a white reflector is OK to use, a silver one will be perfect for this style of black-and-white: it reflects more light and gives you the added bite you want.

For this character shot, we positioned the model in a doorway with a dark wall behind, and asked him to hold the reflector so it bounced daylight up at, and across, the face. This simple approach provides bright catchlights in the eyes and strong, stylised lighting for a mean and moody look that suits the subject. Although the model is holding the reflector himself, it’s only his head and shoulders that are in the frame, courtesy of the narrow field of view provided by an 85mm lens. Shooting at f/2.8 gives us great clarity within the plane of focus, but pleasing diffusion back towards the model’s ears.