Starting as a political news and celebrity portrait photographer in DC, Sam was instantly drawn to wedding photography as a space to promote more inventive ideas. Sam’s focus is on photographic techniques that are deceptively simple but have the potential to transform difficult or uninspiring shooting environments into one-of-a-kind opportunities for every photo made.
Dolly Parton – February 10, 2009 (Upscale embedded with SynthID)
The Gear
Lens: Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 at 50mm
Camera: Nikon D300
Settings: 1/200s, f/2.8, ISO 500
Lighting: Softbox (one of my first modifiers ever) + bounce flash for the receiving line
Technique: Softbox portrait in a large receiving space, plus learning the hard way about flash direction during receiving lines
The Goal
Create a soft, flattering portrait of an icon… and figure out how to handle my first major receiving line.
The Vision
This portrait has gentler light than many from this period because I was able to bring in one of my first modifiers ever… a straight-up softbox. The location was the Holman Lounge at the National Press Club, a room they typically use for receiving lines because it’s big enough to hold 50-100 people comfortably standing and sits right next to the main ballroom where events typically occur.
You can see from the behind-the-scenes shots that this was another luncheon-style press conference in the middle of the day. They set up an American flag and the Press Club seal for a formal backdrop… the kind of setup they do for every invited guest to sit down with the current Press Club president. Very DC formal.
The Story
Dolly Parton was gracious, animated, and genuinely kind in every interaction. Before the main event, this was the first time I’d ever had to handle a huge receiving line of people waiting for photos with the guest. I was conflicted about my approach… should I use bounce flash over my shoulder, bring in a modifier, or just use direct flash?
I ended up using bounce flash pointed straight up over my head. It softens the light, but the direction is unflattering… light coming from directly above creates shadows under the eyes and isn’t particularly kind to anyone. In later receiving lines, I learned to point the flash down and over my shoulder at a 45-degree angle instead. It costs a little more flash power, but the directionality is far more flattering. That became my standard approach for wedding receptions and any situation with a long line of quick interactions.
Because I’d been having such quick, natural interactions with Dolly and everyone she was photographed with, she seemed to genuinely like me… although I’m sure she makes everyone feel that way. Once the receiving line was done, she stepped aside for a brief portrait in front of my softbox… just a few feet from where we’d been doing all the other photos anyway.
You can also see in some of the event photos that I was trying a stage-lit direct off-camera flash effect during her performance… and it kind of failed. The light is harsh and the positioning wasn’t right.
The Lesson
I’m a big believer in capitalizing on failures and sharing them with others so they can have a leg up. So here are definitely some failed ones with the off-camera flash from the stage coverage. Some of the receiving line shots (in terms of lighting) weren’t great either… bounce flash straight up is soft but unflattering. The lesson: direction of light matters as much as quality. Soft light from the wrong angle is still the wrong angle. Point your flash down and over your shoulder at 45 degrees… it’s more flattering, it mimics natural window light, and it became a core part of my technique going forward.
The portrait, though? That one worked. Sometimes you just need someone to like you enough to give you an extra 30 seconds.
The Epic Portrait Series
