Portrait of Anders Petersen, famous Swedish photographer ...

[Per Ellström]

... and I had spotted him once, but could not get my gear up in time ( transparent umbrella and a speedlite ), to ask if I could take a portrait of him. But a couple of months later I saw him shooting at the Pride festival, and then could ask him. He is most known for documentary black and whites from the 60s and 70s, so I made b&w portrait.

I usually visit the pride festival a couple of hours before the parade starts, as there are no public there then, so one can shoot the participants more freely.

[Asher Kelman]

Originally Posted by Per Ellström

... and I had spotted him once, but could not get my gear up in time ( transparent umbrella and a speedlite ), to ask if I could take a portrait of him. But a couple of months later I saw him shooting at the Pride festival, and then could ask him. He is most known for documentary black and whites from the 60s and 70s, so I made b&w portrait.

I usually visit the pride festival a couple of hours before the parade starts, as there are no public there then, so one can shoot the participants more freely.

Yes, he does look like. he's an academic photographer of renown!



Here in Los Angeles, gay pride festivals require you bring your camera! Everyone dresses up just for that! No need to ask permission folk pose if you turn towards them, and the smile gets bigger if you happen to have a camera.


Asher

[Roshni Patel]

This is so great. I really like such shots. Can you please share details of capturing such shots like what setting are required, ISO, etc.

[Per Ellström]

Thank you.
I use 1.8 or 2.8 for portraits as I am obsessed with DOF =), and I alos like to use a handheld transparent umbrella with a speedlite in it. I have an old 5d II and mostly use a 85mm.
This was a little special in post as when converting to black and white it did not look the way I wanted, so I used my strange "develop" method.

I start by adding three Multiply Layers so everything is almost completely dark, and then I start painting in the masks starting to reveal everything bit by bit, to a lightness level of my choice. Here is the Dodge and Burn layer and the three Multiply layers.

Its a bit time consuming, but I like to see the image grow from nothing.

[Asher Kelman]

But how did you get the grainy texture?

Asher

[Per Ellström]

I checked the original as my memory is weak =), and its rather clean ( maybe a little in the blurred parts, but not that visible even in 100% view ) So no added grain to this one. But at times I add noise in photoshop, blur it, and have it in a layer with Overlay blending mode.

100% view of the image.

[Maggie Terlecki]

Fabulous portrait. I love how intense you' ve made his eyes... makes him come alive! Wow