I was invited to make official portraits of the new mayor of brighton & hove…

Councillor Mohammed Asaduzzaman is the new Mayor of Brighton and Hove and I was invited into his chamber at Brighton & Hove Town Hall to create the official portraits to mark the occasion of his inauguration. I’ve been in the chamber before so I know the colours are rich and I wanted to preserve them and the atmosphere of the space so I packed a single monobloc and sent the flashes through a white umberella, which was pointed at the ceiling. The flash to bounced from the ceiling and onto the Mayor from above, the light is soft and diffused and does not spill into the environment too much. Shooting the light from above also meant it did not cause unsightly flash hotspots on the Mayor and the reflective glass covering a portrait of Kind Charles in the background, thank me later KC.

Creating a portrait in my mind and then figuring out how to light it is something I have learned through trial and error, there is no exact science to lighting a subject or a space but rather a creative ability to visualise an image and then set about creating it. Taking risks and trying new ways to light a scene is definitely worth doing because this is how you will learn and gain confidence, this is how you will develop your skills. This is what will set you apart and make your pictures special.

I had the absolute luxury of an assistant for light checks which meant we were ready to shoot as soon as the Mayor placed his feet on the X (marks the spot)! Having an assistant is super useful in you want to try a new lighting set up when the main subject is short of time.