For Denny – Quick Tip March 2025 Blog

By Gary Bernstein

Shooting Couples – A Commercial Approach and a Combination Session for actor Clifton Davis.

Last month we ended with this advertising shot I made for the La Costa Hotel and Spa. Let’s talk about how the image was made; and why you should be making images like this for your portrait clients as well:

Shot A

First of all, let’s face it, most people are intimidated when being photographed. This is especially true when facing the camera lens of a professional photographer. In a day and age when more photos are taken than ever in history with probably half of them being selfies; and when those images are produced and deleted in a heartbeat based on their appeal or lack thereof, we are very fortunate indeed that people will still seek out a professional photographer.

When your phone rings for a photo session, it is because that person realizes that their better half and friends have failed to get a good picture of them; or perhaps it’s a special occasion that brings them in. I can tell you that for the past 50 years when subjects are asked why they either like or dislike an image of themselves, they simply do not know—but they sure know what they like and what they don’t. There may be a split second between 2 motor-driven images, and one will be loved and the other not!

Without question the basic elements of photographing people hold true, lens length, lighting, composition, etc. etc. and most certainly how you work with people psychologically. Time for a plug: Check out my books for tips and tricks and sophistication that has produced a world of successful photo sessions over the years.

For the same amount of time when a subject is asked why a portrait photograph looks professional, most people respond “because of the background.” That is certainly good news for Denny Manufacturing ;). Professional props help as well, for example, the Denny props that are created for special occasions from birthdays to sporting events; besides these elements scream professional photographer – and that’s what you want.

I can tell you that for all my years the reason people like their photographs is because they are also comfortable and there is balance to the image, and because the greatest gift a photographer has is the ability to make the subject look special and love their photographs; but always shoot a lot of images. Pixels are very inexpensive, and just because you believe you got the shot, doesn’t mean that your client will agree.

SHOT 1 (above)

While this is a commercial image, I can tell you that half of my portrait sessions—certainly with couples—are shot this way: I direct the subjects as though they were actors in a film explaining (and in the case of the example above) to the woman that “you’re going to get into the booth, lean in toward the man, look to see if there’s someone you know in the corner of the room (I tell her where to look), then pick up the glass of wine, set it down, turn to your partner, and stroke his face.” I told the male model “You look at your partner when she gets into the booth, then turn toward the camera without your eyes looking at the camera and then look at your desert and start to take a spoonful.” The entire time you are capturing the scene. It gives great confidence to the subjects because they have been given roles to play, and the resulting images are beautiful. Very often you can sell a series of images.

HOW WAS SHOT A PRODUCED TECHNICALLY?

I used 2 lights (in reality the image was made with the warm modeling lights alone without the use of flash creating the warm mood (lights were 3500K) with focused spots (note the falloff)) —one to camera right behind the female model illuminating her hair and back with rim light; and the second light was place slightly to the right of my lens. The back light was kicking in about 2 exposure steps more light than the front light (the main light).

SHOT B (below) - I USED THE SAME TECHNIQUE FOR THIS FASHION SHOT:

I directed the female model to start an argument with the male model; and she went for it! You could do the same thing without the anger and end up with another great couples shot. The image was made against a Denny white background against a wall with 2 strobes – one low by the camera for the subjects, the second overexposing the background by about an exposure step.

Shot B

Session 8 – Legendary Clifton Davis for headshots and an advertising campaign

Shots 4-34 (4-35) and 4-36

Light Source: Natural open shade through a doorway with a silver reflector pop

Location: Rental studio for commercial shoot

Camera: 4 and 6 MB Digital Cameras with Zooms (short telephoto)

Lena Harris was behind the video camera filming the commercial; and I was shooting the print images for a campaign with legendary actor, songwriter and minister, Clifton Davis. Now, let this be a lesson to you ;): I spent 99% of my time with Clifton shooting studio lighting setups and situations. We probably shot a good 30 minutes in the studio (that’s a long time for a headshot series with one change—because I work quickly—and Clifton is so amazing in front of the camera). We wanted to get the still shoot out of the way before the commercial was shot. While the staff was setting up for the commercial I asked Clifton to take a walk with me…

It was late afternoon on a hazy, overcast day. I opened the back door to the soundstage, sat Clifton on a stool slightly inside of the doorway; asked an assistant to hold a small silver reflector behind me so that it picked up and reflected a bit of diffused sunlight (just for a little bit of extra pop and to create hotter catch lights); asked another assistant to hold a remnant grey card behind Clifton as a background…

…and the results were incredible (far superior in my opinion to what we got in the studio). We shot maybe a half dozen images, a couple of which are printed here. Bottom line: Never assume you know which angle is best, which lighting is best, which location is best etc. etc. Again: Variety (and shooting every image as through it were your last) is the key to pleasing the subject and client.

We cropped Shot 4-34 to create the ad shown (Shot 4-35). Shot 4-36 is a variation on a theme—simply a more up attitude.