On a recent photo excursion in San Francisco, I tagged along with veteran portrait photographer Don Blair, as he joined forces with some of Kodak's Digital and Applied Imaging personnel. A dedicated medium-format photographer, Blair demonstrated some of his classic portrait techniques with Kodak's new compact DC4800 zoom digital camera. For the past 50 years, Blair has made a name for himself as a revered wedding and portrait photographer. Based in Murray, Utah, he has won numerous awards, and today—at age 75—is considered one of the country's foremost portrait photographers and photo educators. On this particular weekend he eagerly accepted the digital challenge with a great deal of enthusiasm and energy. At the weekend's outset, Blair said, "What I'm most interested in is the ratio of light and the results on digital imaging opposed to print film."
Digital with Creative Controls
The Kodak DC4800 is a unique new digital camera that allows you to make creative "film" choices, such as selecting a neutral or warm color balance, or black-and-white. You can also select various filter effects, like black-and-white with yellow or red filters, or sepia tone. For most shooting situations, the camera's automatic exposure setting yields fine results. However, Blair sometimes experimented with exposure adjustments over and under in half-stop increments, particularly with photos taken indoors under varying lighting conditions.
The first images of the day were taken on a lovely staircase at the Argent (our host hotel) in San Francisco. Two models—Corinne and Laurent—were supplied by well-known Bay-area wedding photographer Bambi Cantrell to pose as bride and groom. Blair, who is a master at posing models and setting up the shot, posed the bride alone on the staircase with her long bridal train flowing over the steps, and later brought in the "groom" to pose with the bride. He set the camera's 3X optical zoom lens (equivalent to a 28-84mm on a 35mm camera) to shoot headshots, and backed off for full-lengths.
For these images, Blair worked with window light and a reflector of his own design, which he calls "A Touch of Warmth." He also used a tripod for added stability at all the locations, indoors and out. In bright situations, he subtracted the light by turning the reflector to its black side and positioning it next to the models. "I'm a believer in painting with light and putting it where you need it," Blair explained. Even without the traditional studio lighting and camera equipment he's accustomed to, he knew instinctively how to work with the ambient lighting and background to get what he wanted.
We worked our way to several upstairs locations at the hotel. Blair took advantage of the camera's 10-inch minimum focusing distance to get close-ups of the happy couple's hands and the bride's floral bouquet. Because they were posing close to a bright window, he used the DC4800's optional sunshade to protect the lens from flare.
From there, we went to several other indoor locations, including another staircase where the bride posed dramatically with her train flowing down the steps. Cantrell used a bare bulb flash to add a little sparkle to Corinne's face. At one very striking spot—a table beneath a colorful painting—Blair posed the bride with her back to the camera and her face in profile. He utilized only a ceiling spotlight for the light source on the bride's upturned face, and adjusted the camera's color temperature manually to compensate for the interior tungsten lighting.
