At the end of 2019 I was feeling pretty defeated. I had been laid off from my job as a product photographer and creatively I was in a serious funk. No form of photography interested me. I’d sit in my apartment trying to think of a project and nothing I came up with really spoke to me. Urban wildlife? I’ve done that. Look at my Instagram and you’ll see plenty of pigeons, the occasional hawk, squirrels, a dead rat… I’m not convinced people are too interested in seeing that sort of thing at this point. Every other idea I had I knew there were other people doing it and were successful. Photographing and speaking to random people on the street - People of New York already exists and I wasn’t too interested in speaking with strangers. Photographing random dogs on the street - The Dogist is doing that and I already photograph plenty of dogs. Everything else I thought of required a studio, which I don’t have. That mindset changed on December 25th of 2019.
For Christmas in 2019 I accompanied my girlfriend to her family’s home in DC. It was suggested to me that I create an Amazon wishlist of small items I might want for Christmas. I haven’t asked for anything for Christmas in almost 20 years so I had no idea what to do. I certainly couldn’t ask for a 1DX Mark III or an 800mm lens, which are items I legitimately want but it might be a little rude asking for almost $20,000 worth of items. So I started browsing the photography department to see if there were fun little accessories I could use. I came across a book called Studio Anywhere by Nick Fancher and I read a quick preview. It seemed pretty neat, the concept was that instead of renting or owning a studio you have a little portable studio that you can travel with. Surely I would need to buy more equipment I couldn’t afford but it might be an interesting read anyway. Fast forward to Christmas and Clare’s parents are kind enough to get the book for me and in the evening I started reading. The introduction might as well been my autobiography.
The book opens talking about how we all wish we had ideal conditions. A 5,000 square foot studio in NYC, top of the line equipment, more assistants than you know what to do with, the works. He goes on to describe the reality which perfectly mirrored my exact situation. I’ve got an old camera body I bought used and two high quality lenses that took forever to save up for, along with a few other very specific descriptors that apply to my life. He later shares a list of equipment he used for all the photographs found in the book and it mostly matched my own equipment, save for a few affordable additions. I immediately flipped through the whole book looking at the photos thing “No way, he’s lying.” To my surprise he shared a few behind the scenes photos as well. My understanding of what could be done immediately changed. I don’t need a studio, I don’t need expensive equipment. Like Tim Gunn says, I just need to make it work.
I’ve done portraits before but it was never something I advertised. When someone approached me looking for portraits I’d temper expectations, knowing I’d have to deal with conditions far from ideal. There was only one time in the last few years where I had access to lights and it was when I worked my friend Alex Fischer to photograph lawyers at a firm.
Looking back, there are a lot of things I’d change about these photos and I’d edit them completely differently. I think the depth of field is far too shallow and the client’s skin may be affected by the wall color just a bit much. They’re still serviceable photos and the client still uses these pictures years later.
Most of the time when I was asked to photograph portraits I requested we do it outside. While light indoors is easier to control, the lighting indoors is often unflattering and too dim to get the quality I want. There was one day when I was asked to photograph a series of young professionals who were in the city for a conference. We had access to Bloomingdale’s for some reason and I was asked we photograph the portraits inside. I hated that idea but it’s what they wanted, it made no sense to me. I did what they asked, I had no option anyway, it was raining outside. Then suddenly the rain stopped and the sun came out. I gathered my subjects and said “Round 2, follow me outside” and I redid the portraits, knowing the wetness outside would create some really great soft light.
The results speak for themselves. The client liked these photos much more than the Bloomingdale’s photos and I didn’t even add those photos to my portfolio, they’ve been lost to time. From then on all I but refused to do interior portraits unless I could also bring the client outside for what I considered to be better photos.
When I started reading Studio Anywhere and realized I was just a few items away from matching Nick Francher’s exact gear load out. I did a bit of shopping and found items that suited my photographic style and pulled the trigger on attempting to make a serious effort in photographing portraits. My first test images were with my girlfriend, Clare.
Clare O’Sullivan - @ccosul on Instagram
This photograph was taken in haste, I hurried through setting up my new gear, throwing up a few yards of black velvet on the wall, and asked Clare to pose for me. I took maybe 6 pictures before I dismissed her and checked out the photos in Lightroom. I honestly couldn’t believe it was taken in my living room. It wasn’t perfect but it was far better than I anticipated. I knew I had to do more but I had no subjects. So I tried myself.
My large head
I look a mess and immediately went and trimmed my beard after this photo but I was surprised once again with the quality. Desperate for more subjects I began messaging friends “Hey, let me photograph you.” “Do you have time on a lunch break or anything?” “Yo! I know we haven’t talked in a while but let me take your picture!”
Camille Harris - jazz musician, comedian, entertainer
With this photo I thought the background didn’t really match the emotion of the subject. It’s white leaning toward grey, it didn’t really work for me but my options were either black or white. Then I realized I could probably Photoshop the background to a more appropriate color…
Then I thought “I wonder if I can get more expressive with the lights themselves?” I have a background in lighting, I’m sure I can make something happen.
Stephanie Fagan - actor, podcaster (That’s The Spirit!)
My mind as been moving at a million miles an hour since January. All I want to do is sit people down in front of me, play with my lights, and take pictures. I’m finally having fun again. Last year I did maybe 10 portraits, tops. This year, I hope to do 100, 200, 300, all I can think about is portraits. How to get more clients, different lighting set ups, how I can further improve my editing. And honestly, it’s all thanks to this little ~200 page book.
My most recent portrait for a professional’s profile
If you are looking for a portrait photographer then you can look no further. Email me today at contact@sdconrad.com for rates and to book your appointment. The studio comes to you!
