Photography Work
with ronnie norton
About Ronnie Norton
Ronnie has 50 years of experience in the photography industry. He is renowned for his work with high-profile individuals, having taken compelling headshots for Bono, Mary Lou McDonald, and Gavin Duffy.
Ronnie wanted to speak to our class on the importance of headshots and personal branding. According to research done by Cognition And Emotion Journal (2012), people make their decision to trust someone within 100 milliseconds of seeing their face. In knowing this, putting your best foot forward with a strong smile, optimizing lighting and professional stance are all skills that Ronnie would help us with in our masterclass session.
Lessons learnt within this masterclass - Lighting
As the cameraman on our podcast team, I aimed to master various lighting techniques to enhance our production quality. Poor lighting might make the podcast look amateur. Ronnie provided a detailed breakdown of the effects of front lighting, back lighting, hard lighting, soft lighting, and scenarios with no lighting. Understanding these techniques was crucial for me to prepare effectively and ensure a seamless experience on the day of the podcast.
In my research on successful podcasts, I noticed a common trend of both front lighting and back lighting being used on each set. However, there was a diversity of approaches between hard and soft lighting. After consulting with Ronnie and referring to the ARRI Lighting Handbook (2020), we chose to implement soft lighting on our set. Soft lighting tends to provide a more flattering and consistent appearance for presenters. I refered to the ARRI handbook to guide the practical application of these lighting techniques, ensuring our setup would enhance the visual quality of our podcast effectively.
Hard lighting with both front and back illumination
Back illumination with no front lighting
No lighting
Soft lighting with both front and back illumination
Low exposure, can see all features
High exposure, features "burnt out"
My Headshot
Headshot
Using all the knowledge gained from the tasks above, I produced this professional headshot. It is common in the industry to use a professional headshot as a first impression, and this image will serve that purpose.