Presentations by any photographer with a portfolio of high quality images are always a popular event for members of the Isle of Man Photographic Society- they inspire, they invoke our wonderment at just how the images were produced, and they stimulate a desire to get out our cameras and ’have a go’ ourselves.

We recently had just such an opportunity - arranged by Sue Blythe. It was a presentation by Ross McKelvey from Belfast via Zoom, in a superb webinar session.

Ross is a world-leading photographer, a regular winner at international photographic salons, and with an impressive list of professional qualifications - MPAGB MFIAP FIPF EFIAP/p FBPE - all very obviously justified given the quality of the images and the techniques demonstrated for us during the two hours of the webinar.

We started with a showing of a selection of Ross’s images with his commentary - ranging through portraits, fine art and composites, together with a few natural history and landscape shots - all top quality, all emphasising the importance of getting the lighting and composition right, and all paying meticulous attention to the finer detail in each image.

Ross’s work is particularly strong with his portraits and composites - and it helps, of course, that he is also the founder and president of Catchlight Camera Club in Belfast, as well as the owner of a major photographic studio, both of which have proved a rich source of models for his work.

Professional models especially will know how to pose, often have excellent make-up skills and can contribute their expertise and ideas on a joint collaborative basis to a shoot - and, yes, they can and do make an enormous difference to an image.

Ross rarely if ever uses frontal lighting in his portrait work, preferring a technique known as ’Rembrandt lighting’ - the model’s face often slightly turned, with directional light from one side, a technique as used by the painter.

This ensures good modelling on the face with a lit side and a shadow side, the shadow adding drama and interest.

’In The Hood’ demonstrates this well, an image of a camera club colleague who also happens to have been an extra in the filming of ’Game of Thrones’, and hence the whiskery look for an image with real impact.

Eyes are very important - the ’window to the soul’ - so are given careful attention in any portrait.

This may include lightening in post production to ensure they dominate the image, drawing the viewer into the picture, and hopefully revealing something of the character - that little extra which lifts an image from the ordinary to the special.

’The Red Hat’ is an image which straight out of the camera was rather dark on the face, and light on the shoulders - so Ross demonstrated his techniques to reverse this, ensuring that once again the focus is on the eye. Adding a subtle darkening of the frame with a vignette is also something of a trademark effect, again leading the viewer into the image and its subject.

Throughout, the emphasis was on ’less is more’ - meaning never overdo an effect, but get as much right in camera as possible with use of the correct settings and lighting, and any subsequent adjustments in post-production then become modest (but important) tweaks.

That is, until one attempts composites!

This is a technique which merges multiple images into one final image with use of multiple layers in Photoshop, a highly skilled art if to appear seamless.

Ross demonstrated his Photoshop skills with ease - skills envied by most of his audience, but done in apparently simple stages, step by step, each fully explained.

The image of Derek on Clevedon Pier is an example where two images were merged, but, for example, requiring the pier to be flipped horizontally to ensure that the light source was similar in both images.

The difficult made to look very easy - the essence of expertise!

Why not consider joining a camera club such as the Isle of Man Photographic Society and take the opportunity to gain experience and skills?

Members will always give a warm welcome to new members and be happy to share their knowledge, and give advice to help develop your skills.

Have a look at our website - www.iomps.com or our Facebook page for lots of ideas to stimulate your interest.

Chris Blyth