About a week ago I saw a stop motion on LinkedIn which grabbed my attention. After a brief chat I invited Heulwyn to display her work in the Photographers Corner and give us an insight into why she became a professional photographer.
My name is Heulwyn and I am a commercial photographer based in North Wales.
Although I’ve had a passing interest in photography throughout my life, it wasn’t until my mid 30’s that it first became a hobby for me. As most of us do, I tried my hand at many genres and devoured as much content that I could around photography. It wasn’t long before I knew that this was more than a hobby for me. It’s an outlet that satisfies both my creative and logical sides.
I was particularly drawn to product photography because it allows me to play and experiment with many of the different genres. Food and drink became my primary focus during lockdown not only because I could use what I had available but it really lends itself to experimentation and playfulness. Plus it’s something I can do whenever inspiration strikes.
I now focus on working with small to medium sized business that have a connect with food and drink. That ranges from a grower to manufacturing, from retail to the hospitality industry.
I currently use the Nikon Z6 II mirrorless system. It’s a full frame camera with great quality glass. Many of my images are shot on the 24-70mm lens, and my kit includes an Irix 150mm macro, the Laowa 24mm probe lens and their 100mm 2:1 macro lens. When using flash I have a number of Profoto lights, 2 B10’s which are great for their portability, a B1x when I need some extra oomph and a B2 set when 3 lights are not enough. I also have a continuous light from Pixapro which I use for stop motion projects and when I don’t need tight control of the lighting. I’m a big fan of using one light as many sources by using cards, mirrors or a myriad of other things to bounce light back into a scene. This is a great way to lift shadows or highlight specific elements in the frame.
When shooting stop motion I used a combination of continuous lighting and a slower shutter speed to minimise any flicker I may get in the final sequence. Shooting on manual and having your camera mounted to a sturdy tripod will also add to the quality you produce and just make life easier.
If there is one piece of advice I could give you, it would be to constantly ask yourself “What happens when…?” And apply it to anything you try in your photographic journey. You’ll get a lot of results that don’t work, but you’ll also discover plenty that do work in interesting ways.
If you want to know more about what I do you can find me here:
https://www.heulwynroberts.com/
https://www.instagram.com/heulwynrobertsphotography/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/heulwynroberts/
Images © Heulwyn Roberts Photography
