Have you ever wondered about how I’ve created some of the beauty images in my portfolio? If you have then now’s your chance to find out some of the lighting techniques, equipment and tricks that I’ve learnt over the years that have helped me create my images. I’ve teamed up with The Flash Centre, UK’s leading studio lighting specialists for over thirty years (https://www.theflashcentre.com/), to bring you ‘The Basics of Beauty - 8 simple lighting set ups to get you started building your beauty photography portfolio.’

Now, I know I said I was going to be taking a bit of a break from blogging but I had to share this news with you. I’ve been buying my photography equipment through The Flash Centre for years. They’re a great company and the team, at the branch in Birmingham especially, really know their stuff. They cater to both photographers and videographers and more importantly are the only stockists of my favourite lighting kit, Elinchrom (https://www.elinchrom.com/) in the UK. This isn’t a kit review blog but, in my opinion, Elinchrom is the best lighting equipment both in terms of quality of light and modifier manufacture. Anyway, I’m getting sidetracked!

So, with the help of The Flash Centre, I’ve created an eBook. A bit out of the blue you might think but about a year or so ago the guys from The Flash Centre, Birmingham asked if I’d be interested in putting together a workshop about beauty photography and lighting. I’ll be honest, I’ve never pictured myself as a teacher and I wasn’t sure anyone would be interested in anything I would have to say but it’s something that I went away and had a think about for a while. Commercial work and life took over a little and the workshop idea took a bit of a back seat that is until the end of last year, 2019. I was in the studio at The Flash Centre, Birmingham mentoring the winner of the Midland Fashion Awards Photography competition and the subject of a beauty workshop came up again! Having really enjoyed mentoring and with a little more gentle persuasion from the team at The Flash Centre I went away and started putting together some ideas for a workshop for photographers looking to start to build a beauty portfolio.

I created a framework of how the workshop would run, the lighting techniques we would cover and I’d even put together a few simple lighting diagrams and information for the photographers on the workshop to take away from the day to help them build a beauty portfolio. The wheels were all in motion. Just when we’d got things practically ready to set a date for the workshop we hit a bit of a roadblock. A global pandemic! The world seemed to grind to a halt and, disappointingly, the workshops were put on hold until all of the madness ends in the world. Sadly, no one seems to quite know when that might be though so I had a few conversations with Kev, from The Flash Centre during lockdown about how we could still do something to help photographers learn and stay creative despite not being able to attend a group workshop. So, I sent over some of the lighting set ups and information that I’d prepared for the workshop and we came up with the idea of expanding all of it into the eBook!

The original information that I’d created had to be added to, refashioned slightly and given a little more polish to create the eBook but it is now available for purchase via the link above or on the brand new shop on the main page of the website (https://www.mattwilsonphoto.co.uk/shop). 8 different lighting techniques each one with an illustrated lighting diagram, the camera settings that were used as well as information about each technique, all condensed into one simple to use eBook. There is also information about building a creative team, understanding the ’quality of light’, a detailed glossary of terms and a specific list of equipment that was supplied by The Flash Centre to create these images.

If you’re just starting out and don’t have any lighting equipment yet then there’s a technique for you or, if you’re a little bit further in your journey and have one light or even more, there are some techniques in there for you too. We’ve tried to make this guide simple and not loaded with too many complicated technical terms so it’s suitable for anyone looking to build their beauty portfolio. If you do decide to purchase ‘The Basics of Beauty’ guide then we urge you to experiment and use the lighting diagrams as a starting point to explore your own creativity. Below are examples of the images that I’ve created using the techniques in the eBook but there are no rules and what you create is up to you and your creative team once you have one.

Talking of the creative team, a huge thank you to the MUAs and models that helped me create all of the images that are in the eBook and agreed to be featured. I couldn’t have done it without all of them and crediting everyone on involved is hugely important in the creative industry and I talk more about it in the guide!

MAKEUP ARTISTS:

• REBECCA FRANCES

• GABY HUNT

• VICKY FENELON

• NAOMI HALLIDAY

• SHELBY BILLINGHAM

• CAROLINE COLE

MODELS:

• AMY DEAN

• SOPHIA SPARROW

• SHELBY BILLINGHAM

• AMY CRAWFORD

• ELLIE RYAN

• ELVIRA BACKTEMAN

• MELINDA SZEPESI

• VICK BOATENG

Finally, a massive thank you to everyone at The Flash Centre for supplying all of the lighting equipment and for their help with ‘The Basics of Beauty’ guide. I hope that we can arrange some of the actual workshops for the not too distant future. I’m excited to help some photographers with expanding their photography portfolios in the future.

The Flash Centre and I are trying to help photographers learn and stay creative and we hope you find this guide useful. It’s our aim to provide you with some ideas and simple lighting techniques you can use to begin building your beauty portfolio. Hopefully, by using these lighting set ups as a starting point, you will begin to understand a little more about lighting, the quality of light and how it can be used to create different moods and effects within an image. Lighting doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive to achieve stunning results! So with that said, ‘The Basics of Beauty - 8 Simple lighting set ups to get to started building your beauty portfolio’ will be on sale at £19.99 until we can get a ‘real-life’ workshop booked in and the world returns to normality… so indefinitely!