Owen Smith

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I occasionally shoot events for local groups, often political. This weekend, Owen Smith, the Welsh MP, was talking to Bath for Europe on ‘Can We Stop Brexit?’

Fun shoot, though reasonably easy to execute. He’s an animated speaker, and the light at Widecombe Social Club was very good.

I enjoy environmental work, though this turned out to be almost a formal portrait shoot, against a lovely simple background.

For such events, I never use flash, trusting instead in the ability of the Leicas to manage ambient light. My weapon of choice is the SL, with the Vario Elmarit 24-90mm zoom, at 800 ISO. The SL is fast, and the VE is as sharp as any prime lens in these situations. Manual exposure, though I find the AF very accurate. I usually underexpose a half or full stop, to make sure I have the highlights.

Quite pleased with the results, as was the Client, which is the most important thing.

Owen mentioned that he wanted some shots to give to the lady who designed his t-shirt …

Like most photographers, I make choices from the Lightroom Library. This time, however, I also decided to create a few contact sheets and look at things ‘the old fashioned way’.

Fun to do, though I am not sure it improved the results!

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