Festival Faces Project

Stratford Literary Festival 2024

One of the highlights of this year was the portrait photography I did at the Stratford Literary Festival, it is now nine years since I started the  project that is ‘Festival Faces’ – portraits at the Stratford Literary Festival   I have been privileged to be able to set up a pop up studio at a variety of venues where the festival has been held and take portraits of the authors, artists, academics and celebrities that attend this event that takes place in spring and autumn, the locations have moved but this year a serious Fire at the Crowne Plaza made using the venue impossible and created a logistic nightmare for the team who organise this event, the Spring festival had to relocate to a number of venues but were back at the Crowne Plaza for the Autumn session.

I have tried to ensure that each year the subjects are shot in a uniform manner, using a background and lighting that holds the years shoot together as a body of work, I have always shot portraits, and backgrounds are important, the lighting even more so, but the individual subject will influence the way I put the combination together, often with little time as the schedule of talks, interviews,  presentations and performances can dictate the subjects availability.

To have a ‘studio’ set up allows me to produce an image that is consistent with others, and I can quickly adjust to suit each person, I tend to light each subject according to gender, I am usually going to use a harsher light for men, and what I would say is a softer more front on light for females, I have a choice of lights that I can employ or leave off, so although the set up looks uniform, the power and modification are often dramatically different. What usually holds them together is the background.

Ideally I would love more time with the subjects so I am able to develop a rapport and ensure they are relaxed and happy with the process, sometimes I can enjoy the luxury of time with the people who I am trying to record or capture for the project, many are very media savvy, know exactly how to ‘pose’ for the many photos that have taken, there are stylists and agents that train many actors, how to behave on a Red carpet to get the best results, they are great to work with, but I try to get a less cheesy look and often get a picture that takes the of guard or just relaxed and more themselves rather than the public persona. There are some who have little or no experience of been a photographic subject, certainly some new authors or academics are actually camera shy, they require careful attention, often I shall show them the display images to reassure them and help coaxed  a more relaxed look from them.

The images are not just for media consumption and a contempoary record but as a record that will become a historic collection of the time in early 21st centuary in the rich history of Stratford upon Avon.

For those who are interested in the technical aspects of such a project, I am happy to share the camera and lens that I use  and the lighting I employ, but that is not as important as who the subjects are and their story, also how does the reader react to a picture, a portrait should be about the subject, but it is also about the artist, how they respond and record the image.

The  Project Website

I feature many of the portraits from the project on my main website

www.gullachsen.com/portraits, however as each year develops I have now a dedicated website with most of the final edits from each year, here is a link to it.

www.stratfordfestivalfaces.com please explore.

Cameras, Lighting and backdrops.

Over the years the background have changed on an annual basis, for  the first few years, I shot on a Hasselblad 500cm, 150mm & 120mm,  with a PhaseOne P45 back, as Nikon launched the D850 I started using that with Prime Lens -85mm & 105mm. I am now working with Fujifilm GFX 100mm – 200mm and the Nikon D850. As technology changes I shall embrace it , however for most portraits, having a camera that I can work with at speed is certainly an advantage, especially as I only have I have literary a minute with the subject, that is when I go back to my Nikon.

Lighting has usually been Elincron, I have used the system for all my professional life, and I use a variety of light modifiers, many Cimera which I discovered in New York in the 80’s and have used ever since, I now also  use Godox flash heads for their portability and when a venue does not allow a studio style set up. I usually change the basic lighting each year, but as I never stick to rules, I do change as circumstances , subject or just cause I can. I like to use up to 6 heads, however three is my basic kit.

The Backgrounds are a mix of standard Lastolite professional backgrounds and reflectors Black, White or Greys, then I have painted canvas , a joyful process when I play at impressionist painting,  and I have used fabric dyes on  some Calico, industrial dust sheets and even bed linen sheets , I have used printed fabrics with skyscapes and next year ? Watch this space.

A few of this years (2024) authors