David Wagstaff-Myers Photography

                                                                                                             Catchlights are the lights reflected in a subject’s eyes. I normally use strobes to capture them. Catchlights add life and sparkle, while their absence can result in dull, lifeless images. There are no hard and fast rules, and sometimes you may want dead and lifeless. It’s all about knowing what you want, why you want it and how to create it. But portraits are almost always better with catchlights. Single vs. multiple catchlights Regardless of the light source used, the goal remains the same: replicating what exists in nature. In nature, we have only one light source, the sun, and there’s only one....

Inspiration The most exciting kinds of artificial lighting are those that mimic natural light. It’s not easy to recreate nature’s subtle, atmospheric qualities. Beginners make the common mistake of throwing way too much light at what they’re shooting. Whether you’re shooting people or products, less is more. The more focused the lighting, the more interesting and visually compelling it becomes. If there’s light everywhere, there’s no direction for the viewer’s eye to follow. If there’s a scarcity of light, the areas that are illuminated become the focal point. We see this kind of subtle light in nature. Lighting geeks like me love nothing more than watching the way sunlight behaves as it streams through a narrow opening, moves across the sky or scatters into beams of light as it breaks through clouds or strikes the leaves of a tree overhead. It results in unique shapes and patterns. These magic lighting moments give me pause and remind me how powerful light and shadow can be in...

The Key to Basic Beauty Lighting Let’s talk about the word “beauty” for a second to get our journey off on the right path. The definition: “A combination of qualities, such as shape, colour, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight.” Seems pretty straightforward—we see something beautiful, and we admire it because of those elements mentioned above. As a photographer, ask yourself this question: how often do you break down a session into those key elements? Our creative path is usually inspired by other images we see, images that evoke the desired adjective of “beautiful” and also conjure the phrase, “I want to shoot something like this too!” You get all the necessary components together and start photographing. But are you replicating what you saw as your inspiration, or are you returning to the basics of beauty—the definition of the word? SHAPE To define shape, we can, of course, think about the pose of the subject, but the lighting patt...

Finish What You Started It is so important that, as artists, we finish our final images before delivering to our clients. The images we create are more than just a snapshot in time; they are truly a representation of how we see the world around us. These images will live on for generations to come. Shouldn’t we polish them before we deliver them to our clients? Now, in the world of post-production, we tend to see two camps. There’s that of purists, who believe in just delivering images as they were captured, reminiscent of the days of film before we had Photoshop. And then there are those on the other end of the spectrum who believe in using software to shape, alter, and polish their images before presenting to their clients. I’d like to think I live somewhere in the middle, which I am sure many of you can relate to. What I would like to do here is explore how the right amount of post-production can help you and your business stand out. First, let’s start with thi...

If you want to work as a model, it is extremely important to build a modelling portfolio. Then you will be able to show what you can do to your potential clients with ease. You will need to pay attention to several important factors when building your modelling portfolio. Here is a list of useful tips that you can keep in mind when building your modelling portfolio to get the best results out of it. 1. First of all, you need to determine what kind of model you are. In fact, modelling can be divided into several categories. Lifestyle, promotional and fashion are some of them. It is up to you to analyze your skills, outer appearance and preferences before making the decision. The decision you make here will create a tremendous impact on your future as a successful model. 2. When creating your modelling portfolio, it is important to think about quality over quantity. That’s where professional photographers can assist you with. In fact, the photographer you hire has the ability to ...

Your actor headshots, combined with your actor showreel, are the foundations of your actor profile. They are without a doubt a key marketing tool for your acting career. It’s important to prepare yourself in order to get the most out of your session. If you are reading this, it is because you have booked or you are thinking of booking a headshots session. In this article, I’ll try to answer most of the common questions that we usually receive on how to prepare for your actor headshots session. Clothing The clothes you wear in your headshot are crucial; the type, colour, and style can make the difference between having an effective headshot that gets you noticed and one that’s ignored. But figuring out what to wear is actually the third step in prepping for a headshot session. The first thing you need to do is figure out your “type.” How are you realistically going to be cast? Are you going to get work as the doctor or lawyer are you a Russian spy or a private detec...