Often asked by photographers which equipment do you recommend to capture quintessential Portrait Photography. I’ve written a comprehensive blog post on my favourites which I can’t do without.

Sekonic L-308X (Light Meter)

A good light meter is essential, you will be surprised, I have taught a great deal of budding photographers in my workshops, and many have never used a light meter. Your digital camera can do significantly more than film cameras, but it is not a light meter. It has no lumisphere, it cannot measure the light output of flash prior to capture, it cannot measure the light output of multiple flashes in relation to one another and as a percentage of ambient light. Precise calibration for accurate digital exposures is essential in portraiture to create the right look and mood. You can’t meter flash/strobes by eye alone. I recommend the Sekonic L-308X, it’s simple to use and will ensure accuracy in your metering.

Profoto (Reflectors)

Whether you’re shooting in studio with strobes or outdoors, in bright sunlight or under clouds, the direction and strength of the light has a big impact on your images, and making the most of the available light can be the difference between a good photo and a great one. Reflectors are your secret weapon in portraiture, put quite simply reflectors bounce light. They enable you to control your lighting more effectively. With so many reflectors available its impossible to talk about them all. I prefer Profoto reflectors. In particular Silver/White Reflectors to create a bright more detailed portrait.

Posing Stool

Posing stools and posing tables play an important role in my portraiture, a portrait session is after-all called a sitting. Therefore ones model or subject should be seated.  Having a stool instead of a chair can be helpful if you don’t want the chair back to be visible in the pictures. Also when the client is sitting, options for placing his/hers arms and hands can be limited, so a posing table can help finding more poses.

Profoto Umbrella’s

Umbrellas are collapsible lighting modifiers that spread the light output into many different directions.  Silver Umbrellas throw light everywhere within a 180 degree radius. The wide and even pattern of light created by a silver umbrella makes them perfect for lighting portraits. Umbrella’s will give your portraits a softer look, they are portable and easy to use, and very affordable.

Profoto Octa Softbox’s

Octa Softboxes are perfect for portrait photography thanks to its circle-like shape that generates an attractive and natural looking catch-light in the subject’s eye. The Octa shape also gives an equally soft or hard edge on all sides. They are portable and simple to use, and very affordable. My preferred sofbox is the Profoto OCF Softbox 2' Octa Light weight and easy to assemble producing amazing results.

Manfrotto MT055CXPRO3 Carbon Fibre Tripod

Utilising a medium format camera has its advantages, but it is rather heavy. Traveling between London & Los Angeles, I wanted to find a light weight tripod. Carbon Fibre seemed to be the best option. However, you find these types of tripods can be quite expensive. Doing my research I found the Manfrotto MT055CXPRO3 Carbon Fibre Tripod it became the answer to my problems. This lightweight reasonably priced solution delivers on durability and precision with its tilt motion assistance, it weighs a light 2.5kg!

Peli 1510 (Photography Cases)

Often during photography workshops delegates always ask what bags do you use? My answer the Peli 1510, make sure you pick up the dividers, the to replace the internal foam supplied. I find the internal foam always falls to bits from regular use. You can also pickup a handy laptop pouch kit for your iPad and Wires. I’ve been using this for more that a year now. The 1510 is one strong case, truly water proof, robust and rigid. The wheels are of very good quality, I’ve dragged this case all over the world across pavements, and fields.

Profoto A2

Lighting wise, I recommend the Profoto. Every studio I visit used it because it was resilient and simple to use, so for me it was a case of getting my own first Profoto kit to break away from the studio and shoot where I wanted. It soon became my first full lighting kit, and as I grew as a photographer, it grew with me.

 Manfrotto Collapsable Backdrops

Those of you who follow my blog and twitter feed, see me using Lastolite Collapsable Backdrops on the majority of my Portrait Sittings. As a travelling portraitist collapsible backgrounds are a quick and easy solution. They take seconds to set up and pack away making them equally convenient to pop-open in offices & clients homes.

FULL RANGE OF BACKDROPS CLICK HERE

I enjoy shooting portraits with the collapsible backdrops. As a one man band, I can easily accomplish the background set-ups by myself since they fold and unfold like a giant reflector. They are easy to carry on public transport, which is a blessing. The majority of my sittings take place in London. As a regular passenger on the London Underground they are easy to stow in a large suitcase