behind the scenes

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Constant LED Light Portraits with Sony and iPhone

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The more I use the LED Constant Light for Portraits, the more I fall in love with it.

I know I said it before in an earlier post but when you use it, the whole WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) not only makes setting up so much easier and quicker but also every time I use it, the people I photograph say how much more relaxing it is not having a flash go off in their face.

Just over a week ago I was recording some content for the iPhone Photography Conference and thought it would be an interesting comparison just to see how close I could get a photograph I took with my main camera, my Sony A7RIV Mirrorless and my iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Of course I went into this knowing that the iPhone image wouldn’t equal or surpass the quality of my Sony, but just thought it would be interesting to see how far the quality has moved on and do this with a lit Portrait using the constant light … the Westcott L60-B Bi-Colour LED.

THE SET UP

For the lighting. I had originally planned to use just one light, the L60-B, however I couldn’t resist the warm light emitting from the heater that Ian had turned on in the studio. I loved the way it cast a warm glow onto the wood panelling so this was carefully raised off the ground and then became the main light and the L60-B was positioned on the opposite side of Ian further forward and higher up.

The L60-B was given a warmer temperature using the iPhone app which works incredibly well.

As soon as I opened the app it connected to the light and I was able to dial in the power settings, change the temperature and I could even make it perform lighting special effects like lightning, TV and a faulty bulb … but these are obviously for use when doing video.

CAMERA SET UP 

So with my Sony A7RIV on my tripod I used my 55mm Zeiss f/4.0 lens and tethered this into CaptureOne on my iPad, which works an absolute treat!

It’s incredibly easy to set up; you literally plug one end of a USB-C cable into the camera, the other end into the iPad, and with the app open i’st connected and ready to go.

I’m using this all the time now when tethering and what I also love about it is that you can stop and start the monthly subscription whenever you want. The subscription is only £4.49 / month so I tend to look at what I have planned and just restart it for that period, then cancel it again.

The only thing I don’t like which might (I hope) be just down to a setting I’ve missed turning on, but the photographs you take are only stored on the iPad. I only discovered this after the first shoot I did using it. I disconnected the camera and went to check the images on the camera and nothing was there. Only once my heart re-started and I looked on my iPad did I realise where they were 😳

CAMERA SETTINGS

The settings dialled into my camera were …

  • f/4.0

  • 1/60 sec

  • 2000 ISO … which for modern day cameras is nothing

using the iphone

Having taken the portrait with my Sony I then swapped over to my iPhone which was placed on the tripod using the ULANZI ST-27 Phone Mount.

I also attached the 2x Telephoto lens from ReeFlex to the 1x lens on my iPhone using one of their cases that has threads in each of the lens apertures.

The 1x lens is the equivalent of 24mm and is the only lens on the iPhone capable of shooting in ApplePro Raw at 48MP … the highest resolution and largest file my iPhone 15 Pro Max can produce.

With the 2x Telephoto lens attached this made the 1x lens the equivalent of 48mm and did this optically rather than digitally, and so doing everything possible to create the best possible file; not quite 55mm but the closest I could get oto it optically.

iPHONE PRO CAMER APP

To take the photograph with my iPhone I used a Pro Camera App from ReeFlex and called ReeFlex.

This app like most other pro camera apps gives you control over extra settings like Shutter Speed and ISO but it also makes it very clear to see not only what file format you are in but also the resolution.

ReeFlex Pro Camera App usinfg 1x lens in Apple ProRaw at 48MP

However here’s the catch …

If when you’re using the 1x lens in Apple ProRaw at 48MP you make changes to the shutter speed and / or ISO then the file size immediately drops from 48MP to 12MP.

ReeFlex Pro Camera App using 1x lens with Shutter Speed Adjusted

So because of this I opted to leave the iPhone in the AUTO settings which kept the 1x lens in Apple ProRaw at 48MP, and these are the out of camera and out of phone results, with the Sony image on the left and the iPhone image on the right …

Now at this 100% magnification the iPhone file, although different to the Sony file, certainly looks to be holding up.

However, it’s when you zoom in on that iPhone file that things look VERY different …

Look how the file looks soft and slightly out of focus. Look how the file lacks texture and detail in Ian’s skin, his hair and the wood panelling.

Apple ProRaw

This softening appearance to the image is all because of shooting in the supposed highest resolution settings, AppleProRaw at 48MP and that’s because Apple ProRaw isn’t like a traditional Raw file as we know and understand them.

You see Apple ProRaw files do actually receive some processing such as Noise Reduction ( quite al lot ) and Smart HDR, so the file we end up with is also a blend of a number of images at different exposures taken and processed increibly quickly.

So not REALLY a Raw file as you would expect 🤷‍♂️

topaz sharpen ai

Running the file thorugh Topaz Sharpen AI does recover alot of that lost detail as you can see here …

However knowing what Apple ProRaw does to your files does arm you with a bit of knowledge so that you can make the decision to use it or not.

Depending on how serious you are about your iPhone photography you might want to consider shooting in 12MP Raw which Pro Camera apps like Moment and ReeFlex allow you to do …

Naturally we always want the highest resolution file possible but the noise reduction that Apple ProRaw does, might make you reconsider.

12MP Bayer raw files

Currently ALL Raw Long Exposure apps produce 12MP Bayer Raw files and that’s what all of my seascape images are and I’m more than happy with them.

Sure more resolution would be good but until that time, these 12MP Bayer Raw files are very acceptable …

So acceptable in fact that Digitalab even printed one of my iPhone seascapes at 72” on the longest side and it looked incredible …

final retouched portraits

Here though are the final retouched portraits with the Sony file on the left and the iPhone file on the right, and yeah the Sony file is definitely better and that’s to be expected, but looking at the iPhone file the future is going to be VERY interesting indeed!

wrapping up

So more testing to be done which will be interesting as new iOS updates come along and the iPhone 16 later this year.

In the mean time I’m going to carry on taking seascapes with my iPhone because I really enjoy doing them BUT I’ll also be taking them with my Sony too.

As for Portraits I’ll keep taking them with my iPhone but only as an extra bit of fun and experimentation when taking them with my Sony.

Catch you next time
Glyn

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FINE ART Storytelling Photography, DOGS and MONT BLANC | Ian Munro

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Watch the recording of this LIVE Broadcast as I chat with my great friend Ian munro and go Behind the Scenes of his Photography discussing his process, set building, how he comes up with ideas, lighting kit and more PLUS his latest adventure summiting Mont Blanc …

LINKS MENTIONED IN THE VIDEO:

Ian Munro Website:
https://www.ianmunro.co.uk/

Ian’s YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@IanMunroArt

Hope Rescue:
https://www.hoperescue.org.uk/

Ian’s Just Giving Page for Hope Rescue Dogs:
https://www.justgiving.com/page/ian-munro-1706473631317

Adventure Base Mont Blanc:
https://adventurebase.com/adventure/climb-mont-blanc/

Ian’s Photography Inspiration

LETURK: https://www.leturk.com/

Teun Hocks: https://www.artnet.com/artists/teun-hocks/

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I've started using Constant LED Lighting when taking Portraits and LOVE IT!

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Over the last few months I’ve been experimenting more and more with using Constant / LED Light when taking portraits as opposed to solely using a traditional strobe, and early thoughts are that I’m really liking it.

What I’m REALLY liking about using the LED Lighting is the WYSIWYG … What You See Is What You Get

Because of this, it’s so incredibly quick and easy to set up.

Controling the power output and temperature using the manual dials and touch screen on the L60-B is super easy with the non-fussy interfce, but I could even use the Westcott App on my iPhone; to do the same. this in turn means more focus on the subject and the matter at hand i.e. capturing a great portrait.

For the portrait above that I took of my friend Anthony Crothers, here’s a screen grab from some video that was taken to give you an idea of how the studio looked …

KIT USED

  • Camera: Sony A7RIV

  • Lens: Zeiss 55mm (FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS)

  • Light Source: Westcott L60-B Bi-Color COB LED (60W)

  • Modifier: Westcott Rapid Box Switch Oct (Large)

  • Westcott

  • Background: Westcott X-Drop Pro + Vintage Grey Canvas by Glyn Dewis

MODIFIERS

The L60-B can be used with all of the Westcott Modifiers I use which straight away is a HUGE bonus, but interestingly I spoke with friends at Westcott about the L60-B prior to this photo shoot and was advised to use it with the Westcott Rapid Box Switch Medium Octa as opposed to the Large as the light output “might” not fill it; however my experience was that in close as I was using it, the Large Octa worked out great.

The quality of thre light is VERY impressive … especially how easily it is to change the power output and temperature.

I genuinely love how you see exactly what you’re going to get; this alone made it such a different experience for me as a the Photographer (in a positive way) for a whole host of reasons, but interestingly this was also something Anthony commented on …

“Having a constant light source made for a far more relaxed, natural and anxiety free experience”
— Anthony Crothers

COLOUR CHECKER

To ensure colours (skin tone etc) were as accurate as possible, for this shoot I used a Colour Checker Passport from Calibrite.

Only needing to take one additional shot of Anthony holding the Colour Checker, the process then in Lightroom to create a profile from it was / is incredibly quick and easy. The new Colour Checker doesn’t seem to need a tighter crop to enable the softwre to generate a profile, so really seeing how seamless it was and how little time it took, I can’t justify NOT using it, and to add to that, this is the happiest I’ve been with resulting skin tones in a LONG time!

TIMELESS COURSE

Taking this portrait, using the Colour Checker and more is for part of a BIG update I’m adding into my TIMELESS Photography & Retouching Course which will also include an update the to the Retouching Workflow taking advantage of updates in both Lightroom and Photoshop have been added since the course was first released.

Anyone that has enrolled in my TIMELESS Course receives Lifetime Updates so will be getting all this new content added into the curriculum once it’s ready (expected very early March).

*Note:
Once the update has been added, the price of enrolling in the course will be increasing for new Students …

  • Current Price: $32.40 / £27.60 / €32.35

  • New Price: $45 / £35.40 / €41.50

I’ll be sharing more from using the L60-B over the coming weeks as I do intend to invest in a 2nd unit (invest sounds so much better than buy) so that I can create a different look to the lighting and will give more options.

I’ll be testing out different enviorments, both indoors and outdoors and will make sure to share all the experience with you here and in videos that I’ll likely post up on my YouTube Channel.

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Rick Wenner | Photographing ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER and Other Celebrities

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Watch the recording of this LIVE Broadcast when I was joined by New York based Photographer Rick Wenner and went Behind the Scenes chatting about the process behind photographing some of the most famous people on the Planet …

links mentioned in the video:

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Lighting a Portrait on a Mountain

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This is the other photograph that I took of Dai O’Toole in Pembrokeshire a couple of weeks back ; much simpler than the close up headshot I did ... and a lot less editing ( LINK )

With regards to the kit used …

Sony A7RIV with 70 - 200mm G lens

Lit with the Westcott FJ200 and the Westcott 45 Degree Deep Dish Reflector which ordinarily would produce a hard light , but by aiming it just past Dai the soft outer portion is what lights him up.

This outer area carries less power but was more than enough for this shot from the 200ws FJ200 , and done so as to match the soft light caused by the cloudy sky.

My mate Anthony aiming the light past Dai (camera right)

There were still some hard shadows caused by the light hitting the straps on Dai's rucksack and walking cane but these were very easily taken out using the new Remove Tool in Photoshop.

BIG thanks to my mate Anthony Crothers for holding and positioning the light

Movie Inspired Portrait in the Mountains of Wales

So last week I met up with my mate Anthony Crothers just outside of Cardiff, Wales and then we both headed to Newport in Pembrokeshire.

It was there that I’d arranged to meet up with Dai O’Toole ; a friend I’d not seen since my 39-45 Portraits Project Exhibition at the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum back in November of 2019.

We’d always kept in touch but this was the first time we’d caught up in person since, and this was all motivated by me having seen Dai mention about a Trek he was soon to be embarking on called the GR54 ; a 120 mile trek in the French Alps which takes in elevation of 12,500ft 😳

Hearing this and his motivation for doing so, I got in touch saying that I’d love to take his portrait on location and record a short chat with him about it all … needless to say , we were ‘Game On’

Meeting up in Newport, Pembrokeshire after some long overdue man-hugs, armed with a small amount of kit we all headed off on what Dai would call a stroll, up nearby Carn Ingli ; a mere 1500ft above sea level 😃

( Left to Right ) Anthony , Dai and Yours Truly

With no need to rush, we took our time making our way to the top whilst chatting , laughing and chatting and laughing some more whilst stopping regularly to take in waht can only be described as spectacular views.

I cannot stress enough how enjoyable and uplifting this was and it didn’t take much to understand why Dai goes out trekking every week.

Once at the top and in between repeated cries of “WOW” , with the help of Anthony on lighting, I took a series of full length portraits of Dai.

The main image from this I’m currently working on but with regards to kit, this is what I used …

Due to the winds on top of Carn Ingli I decided not to take a softbox but as there was a lot of cloud cover and consequently soft light, this I needed to match on Dai.

The solution was to take along the 45 Degree Deep Focus Reflector

This would help to give more control over the light, add an extra stop of power but also by aiming it slightly off Dai, the outer softer area of the light would light him. The result … soft light from a modifier that would ordinarily produce a hard light source.

Of course using the outer area of the light isn’t as powerful / strong but for this combined with the Fj200 and conditions on the day was more than adequate.

I was also shooting tethered into my iPad using a TetherTools USB-C to USB-C cable directly into CaptureOne Mobile; shooting tethered does not get simpler and it works an absolute treat!

Having finished on ‘the top’ we made our way down ( not quite so direct as the way up mind you 🤣 ) and after grabbing a coffee and chatting more and more, we headed back to the cars which is where I wanted to take a headshot portrait of Dai for an idea I had, inspired by the original ad for the movie Hancock starring Will Smith …

To control the light on Dai I opened the boot of my car and had him sit on the bumper.

Doing this reduced the light from above , behind , and to his right hand side ( camera left ) resulting in an obvious and controlled direction of light rather than his head being evently lit in all directions.

Using my Sony A7RIV on a tripod and my 85mm G-Master lens I took a series of headshots with Dai simply looking straight down the lens but now wearing some fantastic reflective and tinted sunglasses.

I tried a few shots using the FJ200 in the Rapid Box Switch Beauty Dish and bouncing some light onto a reflector which Dai held horizointal to the ground in front of him to bounce some light up onto his chest and beard.

However, I ended up going with the natural light as positioning Dai on the rear bumper under the car boot lid produced superb light with great direction.

These were the dialled in settings:

  • Manual Mode , f/4.0 , 1/125sec , ISO 160

And this is the final retouched portrait …

Genuinely loved every minute of this …

Getting to hang out and have a mini road-trip with my mate Anthony Crothers , catching up with and photographing Dai , working on the edit and to top it all, being out and about in the fresh air surrounded by stunning scenery.

What’s not to love about that?

Cannot wait now for the next adventure!

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100 MEGA PIXEL Female Portrait PLUS Retouching in Lightroom and Photoshop (Hasselblad X2D)

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Here’s the recording of a recent LIVE Broadcast I hosted over on my YouTube Channel where I went through the lighting and retouchingsteps of a female portrait PLUS likes and dislikes of the cameraa I used … the Hasselbald X2D.

🎬 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎

00:00 - Introduction
01:21 - Hasselbald X2D
05:29 - Things I didn't like
11:11 - Lighting the Portrait
15:18 - Lightroom
20:33 - Remove Tool ( Photoshop )
25:10 - Dust & Scratches ( Clean Glasses )
30:42 - Even-Out Skin Tones
36:12 - The 20/10 Technique
39:17 - Dreamy Glow
42:34 - Presets in Lightroom
44:45 - Di Edwards Sees her Portrait
47:19 - Questions

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How I Lit and Photographed this Portrait of a Female Attendee

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A couple of weeks back I was in Stoke on Trent presenting at the Guild of Photographers Event on behalf of Sony.

Kicking off first thing I hosted a workshop for a limited number of 10 people ( although 11 were there 🤣 ) and went through how I set up and light portraits but more importantly how I interact and help subjects in front of the camera to relax.

I love sharing this kind of stuff; stuff that I learned mainly from when I was full-on photographing World War 2 Veterans for my 39-45 Portraits Project. These portraits were of people who maybe weren’t so keen initially on being photographed or felt self conscious in front of the camera as opposed to me photographing models. 

No eye tracking, sharpness, dynamic range or whatever will help with this.

Anyway the reason for this was mainly to share one of the portraits I took when showing a lighting set up that is incredibly simple but so incredibly effective.

I only took one photograph but this is the result; a portrait of workshop attendee & Photographer Jo Bullas …

And here’s a Behind the Scenes photograph showing the set up I used however in this one I’m now holding the light for one of the attendees…

KIT USED

Aside from my camera ( Sony A7RIV with the 85mm G-Master Lens) , this is all the kit I used for this portrait …

If you saw an earlier post you’ll recognise the set up as being the same as when I photographed my friends Ian Munro, Anthony Crothers, Dave Clayton, Brian Dukes and Gerwyn Williams; I even jumped in front of the camera too …

The difference this time was simply down to a camera setting using a wider aperture and a slightly slower shutter speed to allow more ambient ‘ natural light into the shot.

Anyway if you didn’t see the original video I shared on my YouTube Channel going through exactly how I do this, I’ve shared it below.

Enjoy,
Glyn

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Photographing the Iconic Prince of Wales Bridge with my iPhone

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A few days ago I met up with my great friend Anthony Crothers at a Café in Bristol to spend some quality time together and also to try photographing the Prince of Wales Bridge that spans 3.2 miles from the South West of England, across the River Severn, to the South East of Wales …

Having seen some photographs of it in a photography book I own, I thought it would be both interesting and a challenge to see what I could capture using just my iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Conditions following a recent storm were perfect with great light and a sky full of clouds, although it was a little on the chilly side and once under the bridge, the wind blowing around caused some initial challenges keeping the phone perfectly still on the tripod.

I’d taken along my new Joby MagSafe Phone Holder which is so incredibly well made, however ended up not being suitable because of the wind causing a little bit of movement …

Instead I resorted to my trusty SmallRig Mobile Phone Cage that locked everything down and held it rock steady …

Lately I’ve been using the Lightroom Mobile App for creating Long Exposures, however that is restricted to a maximum of 5 second long exposures, so instead opted for another App I have on my phone called Even Longer.

This is an incredibly easy app to use with a clean interface and a menu system that is simple and very intuitive.

The set up couldn’t have been easier: dial in the exposure I wanted, choose the length of the long exposure and press the shutter button which then kicked into action after a 3 second delay to ensure no movement.

There’s so many composition opportunities at this location, but my favourite was when I was directly under the bridge to capture all the structure underneath and then the view as the bridge disappears across the River Severn …

To edit the image I intentionally limited myself to using my iPad and the Lightroom Mobile and Photoshop Apps which worked an absolute treat. In fact they made the editing process a joy!

I’m loving the mobile workflow where I can take photographs with my mobile phone and without having to involve memory cards, the images I take are automatically synced to my iPad so that in the comfort of the nearby café I can look through and start editing.

Final Image edited in Lightroom Mobile on my iPad

Once back home, the photographs I’ve taken, along with any images I’ve started editing (and all of the edits) automatically appear on my desktop computer so that I can then check them over on a Colour Calibrated Screen, and then confidently print them out knowing that what I see, is what I get. Such an incredibly portable and convenient workflow … that also gives peace of mind knowing that photographs you take are instantly backed up.

My video this week on my YouTube Channel, will be going Behind the Scenes from this photo shoot, as I show all of the steps involved from taking the photographs, editing in Lightroom Mobile on my iPad, and the final print …

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The 'Friends' Portrait Project

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Yesterday … a great day with friends which also saw the start of our ‘Friends Portrait Project’ which, over the next couple of months is a project that will intentionally mean we get to know each other way more than we currently do.

Back Row (L to R): Ian Munro , Gerwyn ‘Gez’ Williams , Anthony Crothers

Front Row (L to R): Brian Dukes , Dave Clayton & Yours Truly

This is to be a very personal project that’s going be quite a ride with the conclusion seeing us each revealing a portrait , composite , design … whatever, that visually describes and explains who the person is, what they mean to you, and how you ‘see’ them.

What really makes that person tick? Why are they like they are? What is important to them? What is there in their past and present that makes them the person they are? Their values. Their motivations. Likes, Loves, Dislikes. Life events.

There are no rules. There’s no competition. This is a project with the sole purpose of not just knowing, but understanding each other, and an exercise that will make close friends, even closer.

Each and every part of the process is being filmed, with the final part bringing us together and revealing to each other, the pictures we’ve created.

The first part today … Who will Photograph Who?

And so it begins …

© Glyn Dewis 2025