All eyes on you
THE PRO
NAME: Louise Carey
CAMERA: Nikon Z 50
Bath-based Louise has a background in photography magazine publishing and is currently e-commerce editor for the Digital Camera World website. She’s always been interested in portrait photography, but developed a specific interest in self-portraits when creating her Instagram @fablesandlouise. She has run photography workshops in the past, but due to lockdown restrictions has decided to coach you, the reader, in N-Photo’s very first virtual Apprentice.
Portraiture can be rather inaccessible at times. Plenty of genres can be solitary pursuits – just you and the camera – but portraits require a human subject. If you don’t know any willing sitters, hiring a model or sourcing street portraits can be daunting, particularly if you’re not yet a confident photographer. Even if portraits are your thing, social distancing has made photographing anybody but your immediate family or flatmates largely impossible.
All of the above is precisely why we caught up with photographer and Instagrammer Louise Carey, who’s spent the past year shooting self-portraits. This is a technique that every N-Photo reader can try out at home, so consider yourself this issue’s Apprentice!
As Louise puts it: “Self-portraits let you learn how to shoot portraits at your own pace, but that’s not to say experienced photographers can’t have fun with them. They’re a great way to express yourself and afford you total control over your vision.”
COTTAGES AND CAPES
Castle Combe is a historic village nestled within the Cotswolds. The picturesque main street is a popular filming location that’s hosted a variety of big-budget productions including 1967’s and (2011). Louise arrived at 7.30am to avoid crowds of tourists and hopefully capture the flattering morning light. What she hadn’t anticipated was that the location would be shrouded in a thick layer of mist.
