Shooting portraits with Dr. Chris Brown

No matter the amount of light coming in and its source, low light scenarios can make for amazing images, especially portraiture.

For me my camera almost acts like a bit of an icebreaker when I travel, and it gives me an invitation to another world that I might not otherwise make my way into.

Bondi Vet and passionate photographer Dr. Chris Brown combines his love of travel and wine to reveal a favourite location to shoot a low light portrait, something he feels is such a rewarding experience because he gets to understand and know his subject on a deeper level.

The low light in a winery presents some challenges, but in a way it also adds so much more atmosphere in the shot. If you work with it rather than against it, you can create something really special.

For this image, Dr. Chris used a shutter speed of 1/400, aperture of f/1.4 and ISO of 1000 to expose Mark, the winemaker's face but leaves the rest of the shot quite dark and moody. He also places wine barrels in the shot to really tell Mark's story.

The thing I really love is that winemaking it’s such an art and passion for Mark and I want viewers to be able to see that in this portrait.

In this portrait, Dr. Chris brings across the warmth and connection to Mark's love of wine-making, and hopes it is an image that Mark will treasure for years to come.

Watch the next video with Chris: putting yourself in the picture