An introduction about you?
My name is Charles Hildreth and I am a freelance photographer specializing in portraits and weddings. I currently live in Los Angeles, California, but I was born and raised in Denver, Colorado.
I majored in Journalism & News Editorial at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where I put a strong emphasis on journalistic writing. My childhood consisted of a fascination with Hollywood heroes like Indiana Jones and an appreciation for the romanticism of history and Arthurian tales. In 2006, I took a 90-day, 16-country tour of Europe where I explored as many big and small art museums as I could. It enriched the understanding I once had of world culture, opened my eyes to new cuisine, artists, and put my degree in perspective as far as objectivity was concerned. My portraiture work is a combination of any of these elements, mixed with an objective observation of humankind and an internal struggle for self-confidence in an opinionated world.
My work, to me, is flawed and always will be, as it continues to be a reflection of me, the photographer. I’m not a photographer’s photographer. I can’t sit in a room and chat about camera logistics or ratios, nor have I ever had the desire to. I know what works for the content I produce and gradually grow from a core of photography appreciation.
If I could one day fit in among other artists as a storyteller, I think it would be a better fit than photographer, but for now, this is the one medium where I can explore this desire to produce art. I have never wanted to pigeon-hole myself into one particular craft. In the future I hope to continue submit work to publications, print work for local art shows, and explore a world full of engaging individuals.
What is the secret behind to capture a great portraits?
Make the shoot simple. Spend time getting to know who you are, so you can see that in others. I firmly believe the old saying: a photograph is merely a reflection of the photographer.
Can you please describe your post image process?
My post-processing is a series of (up to 14, sometimes) layers in Photoshop. I manually adjust color, make separate layers for retouching, and use several curves to achieve the desired result. I offer tutorials for this as it is not a simple explanation. These can be found on my web site.
What camera and lighting gear do you use for a typical shoot?
I like to keep it minimal. I bring my d700 body, the 85mm 1.4 and the 50mm 1.4. I shoot in RAW.
Could you leave our readers with one last practical piece of advice on shooting portraits that stand out from the rest?
Have good taste and tell a story. That is, if you want people to follow your work. Otherwise, create what it is you want and put it into the world. I feel it’s everyone’s duty to create and realize there is no good or bad in art, it’s all subjective.
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You can find Charles Hildreth on the Web :
Copyrights:
All the pictures in this post are copyrighted to Charles Hildreth. Their reproduction, even in part, is forbidden without the explicit approval of the rightful owners.
