Photography technique

[Alicia Kornick]

In reply to a request this is how I photograph. I always set up the photo shoot between the hours of 9:30 am to 11:00 am. I like morning light. My camera is a 26 year old Minolta SRT 200 with a manual focus and built in light meter. Not fancy, but a good reliable 35mm camera, very easy to use. I use a special portrait lens 85mm 1:1.7 MD Rokkor-X. The film is Kodak Supra 100 and the shutter speed is 1/60.

I never use a flash. I place the subject near a window and sometimes use a white sheet or reflective shield (the ones used in cars to block the sun) off camera opposite the light source to bounce light back into the shadows. Then just click away!

The problem I have found with this method is that it is totally reliant on the weather. I have had to reschedule many times because of rain or cloudy days. Currently considering using lights to simulate natural lighting.