It’s not often a master photographer sits down and talks about his journey becoming a photographer and shares a wealth of information with whomever is interested in learning, but that is just what Gregory Heisler has done in the informative two-hour video that you can watch here:
“They had just come back from some remote part of China photographing the oldest known human footprint. You have to appreciate the reason they hired this guy, he’s not shooting aerials over Rio,they flew him to China to photograph a piece of dirt. That’s the true test of a photographer, if you can make a piece of dirt come alive and tell a story–that’s what they are hiring him for.”
Some of the sage advice Heisler shares in the video reflects his feelings on lighting. Heisler suggests that when shooting portraits, to make it look at natural as possible. As a fan of window light, he tries to make his photos appear as though he just happened to be there with great light, such as in the portrait of Bruce Springsteen (above).
This masterclass is directed towards his new book: 50 Portraits
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Excellent presentation and excellent work. Surly brings to light that portrait photography goes beyond a point and shoot shot. Time, planning and creative thinking are of premier importance.
I saw Gregory Heisler speak at ImagingUSA 2014 in Phoenix. I attended his class because there was none other in that time slot that was interesting, but to be honest, I had never heard of him and expected very little from his talk. That 90 minutes changed my approach to photography forever, his ability to share his knowledge in a way that completely captivates you is quite amazing. It was the most in-depth lesson I’ve ever had in how to THINK how a person or object needs to be photographed to convey the message and tell the story, and that’s right down to the lighting and how it affects emotion. I’m in my 50s and not easily impressed, yet I walked out of that session absolutely changed for the better photography-wise. I immediately bought the book, you MUST, because when you immerse yourself in what he was thinking and how he pulled off each portrait (and the obstacles encountered and the mistakes he made), everything about how you think on an image you are about to make will improve by three orders of magnitude.
Thank you Tiffany for making this article and that 2-hour video known to us!