Portrait Practical Night at Our New Home in Otley Common

With our move to Otley Common now complete, we were excited to finally run the portrait practical evening we had been looking forward to for some time.

The additional space available in our new venue allowed us to create two separate portrait setups, giving members the opportunity to experience different styles and techniques throughout the evening.

The room was packed with enthusiastic photographers eager to get started. Our more experienced members quickly immersed themselves in creating dramatic film noir-inspired portraits, working with our model Richard (RJMaleModel) and experimenting with flash lighting techniques.

Meanwhile, members newer to portrait photography spent time learning the fundamentals — including how to work confidently with a model, understanding suitable camera settings, and exploring the use of constant lighting setups.

Following a quick halfway tea and coffee break, the groups swapped around. RJ joined the constant light setup, while the other group experimented by modelling for each other and trying different flash arrangements and lighting styles.

The evening was a fantastic success, full of creativity, experimentation, learning and plenty of support between members. It also highlighted the exciting opportunities our new home at Otley Common now gives us for larger practical sessions and workshops.

A huge thank you to everyone who helped organise and run the evening — and especially to RJ Model for working with us throughout the session.