Gavin Hoey
Gavin Hoey is a freelance photographer, writer and trainer of all things photographic. His work is regularly featured in photography magazines, websites and videos.
Gavin has a real passion for sharing his photography and Photoshop knowledge. In 2008 he started recording and uploading video tutorials to YouTube. These quickly gained a large following and to date his videos have been viewed over 20 million times.
In 2010 Gavin was the winner of Adobe’s “Next Photoshop Evangelist” competition and since then he has given training demonstrations in Photoshop, Lightroom and Photoshop Elements in the UK, Europe and the US.
In 2012 Gavin joined forces with Adorama as a presenter on Adorama TV, where he inspires and teaches photographers from around the world in the art of photography and post processing.
What happens when a photographer is kept in the dark about every part of a portrait shoot from the styling to the model? Well, that’s exactly the challenge that Gavin Hoey accepts when he takes on another Secret Portrait Challenge, and this time there’s a Halloween theme!
The whole shoot has been organized in secret by Sophie the model and Gavin’s wife, Sam. All Gavin has been told is he’ll be working in his small home studio. There’s also a very good chance that it will be a little bit spooky. Other than that, Gavin has to think on his feet and figure everything out as he goes along. And as you’ll see in the video, that’s not always a smooth process.
After discovering the theme is a marionette string puppet, Gavin starts with a simple one light set up before advancing to a two-light shoot, and finally, he adds some smoke, a colored gel, and a third light into the mix. Along the way, Gavin talks you through his thought process and shows you what worked and what was less successful.
Want to learn more about portrait photography? Take a look at these guides on 42 West:
- How to Control the Lighting in Portrait Photography
- How To Shoot Golden Hour Portraits with the FlashPoint XPLOR 600
- Lens in Focus: Audrey Woulard’s Favorite Nikon Portrait Lens
PRODUCTS USED:
- Flashpoint XPLOR 300 Pro
- Glow S2 Round Flash S-type Bowens Mount Bracket
- Glow 7” Honeycomb Grid Set
- Flashpoint eVOLV 200 Pro
- Glow ParaPop 28″
- Flashpoint Streaklight Grid/Gel Set
- Flashpoint R2 Pro Transmitter
- CHAUVET Hurricane 1200 Fog Machine
- Flashpoint 10’ C-Stand and Grip Arm
- Olympus E-M1 Mark III
- Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro
- Tether Tools Pro 16′ USB 2.0 Active Extension Cable
- Tether Tools AeroTab
- Sekonic L-308 Flash Meter
- Sekonic L-308 Red Cover