Glenn NorwoodColorful plays of light in the studio - Glenn Norwood
Reading time: 10 minutes - February 14, 2022 - by Joana Kritiotis From the Schnappschuss
Good lighting is important. When it becomes a play of light, it's all the more exciting and thrilling. This is exactly what sets professional fashion photographer Glenn Norwood apart.
Glenn NorwoodThinking in light and color
The Northern Irishman creates brilliant, pop portraits: fashion shoots at their finest and exclusively in color. It is as if he feels the art of photography and thinks in light and color. Every viewer can clearly experience this in his photographs. His setups are his playground and the rules are set and directed by him.
"I studied at art college because that was the only thing I was good at back then. I only ever picked up the camera out of a sense of duty to visually capture my artwork. Eventually I realized that I wasn't a born artist after all. The feeling of holding a camera in my hands completely changed the direction of my life. I was very fortunate to land my first full-time job in a large professional lab in Belfast and began to learn the art of photography and C41 and RA4 color processing. After a few years of mainly working in the darkroom, it was time to explore the world of photography," he writes to us.
Glenn NorwoodColor harmony
This is how his talent for photography gradually developed. He worked for a while in New York in the field of photojournalism and his great passion - music. "I started photographing a lot of the hip-hop artists that were popular at the time. I then returned to Belfast, Northern Ireland and worked in many areas of photography: social, PR, advertising and especially fashion. I currently work as a commercial fashion and beauty photographer from my studio in Belfast."
Always looking for color harmony, he consciously uses the color palette. In doing so, he goes back to basics. For him, there has to be a clear balance between primary and secondary colors. Behind his work lies a precise, highly accurate design philosophy and color science. He works with unconventional lighting methods and light shapers to create that little bit extra and at the same time an "imperfect perfect". Each flash head is aimed in such a way that something new happens in every corner of the subject. The camera exposure and position of the model does not always have to be the most important thing. It can vary. The lights themselves are also always repositioned and the design is played with. For Glenn, the movement, the fall of light and the ambience created by the color are decisive. Especially in fashion editorials, when clothing and accessories are in the foreground, he wraps everything up with his lighting. He loves it when happy coincidences happen. The results are colorful, fresh, crisp and always individually different. He wants to show that so much more is possible with artificial, controlled studio lighting than many people think. For him, it is important to create the mood and create a dramatic atmosphere with the light.
Glenn Norwood
Glenn Norwood
Glenn NorwoodPhotography is a team effort
When we asked him which photographers inspire and influence him, he replied: "That's a difficult question! There are so many great photographers that I'm constantly getting new inspiration. There are some that I always follow when I need a good dose of inspiration. For example, in no particular order, I like Eugenio Recuenco, Tim Walker, Kristian Schuller, Nick Knight, Steven Klein, Paolo Roversi, Miles Aldridge, Hiro, Marcus & Mert and Chris Von Wangenheim."
As a rule, my work is a collaborative process. You have to work with stylists, make-up artists, hairdressers, models and designers. For the end result to work, we all have to pull together. Any weakness would compromise the result. That's why it's important to prepare and communicate well in advance, because ultimately it's a team effort.
His tip for anyone new to photography is to take lots of photos. You can google everything and get knowledge and inspiration from tutorials and others. But practice is the most important thing. In his opinion, anyone who doesn't actively take photos will have a hard time.
Glenn NorwoodA huge aquarium that needs to be decorated
The realization of a project can take him anywhere from days to weeks. There is a lot of preparation and problem solving behind it and he usually works in a small team. One of the biggest difficulties when photographing underwater is positioning things and especially keeping them there. Every material behaves differently and it takes a lot of time to get pieces of furniture and all kinds of props under the liquid surface and fix them in place. You have to imagine it like a huge aquarium that needs to be decorated. The difference here is that the decoration is not available in the pet shop, but is found and bought at flea markets, DIY stores or in classified ads. Always in the hope that the materials have the right properties. Borrowing the props is not an option, as the water usually destroys them after several hours. It all seems far too cumbersome in an age of digital image processing that makes everything possible, doesn't it? For him, the "old school" method is a must for special underwater portraits and part of his process. Brett tends to adjust little things in the editing process, such as color saturation, contrast and eliminating unwanted reflections caused by water movement.
