The Luminate Photography Challenge
Advice and ideas for creating your photographic portrait
Introduction
We are delighted to announce a new opportunity for anyone living in Scotland to be
part of our festival. The Luminate Challenge is a chance for you to create something
new this summer, and to share it with others around the country.
In 2015 our Challenge focuses on photography. We would like to invite you to create
a photographic portrait of someone from a different generation, and tell us what
inspired you to photograph them. We will select a range of portraits which will be
exhibited online and in a touring exhibition during our festival in October.
To help you, we’ve commissioned some portraits from photographic artist Robin
Gillanders, and Robin has also shared some thoughts and tips below on things you
might like to think about when you’re setting up and taking your portraits.
The deadline is Monday 7 September 2015, and full details of how to enter can be
found in the Terms and Conditions document.
Robin Gillanders
Robin Gillanders is an Edinburgh based photographic artist. He taught History at the
Royal High School in Edinburgh for seven years until 1983, and then worked
commercially from a studio in central Edinburgh. After a period teaching part time, he
began teaching Photography full time at Edinburgh Napier University in 1988, and
became Reader in 2004. He left teaching in September 2012. He was awarded an
Honorary Fellowship by Edinburgh Napier in October 2014. Robin has exhibited
frequently in Scotland and internationally in France, Spain, Poland, Norway and
USA.
“As a portrait photographer, it’s an immense privilege – and responsibility – to
meet people from a variety of ages and life experiences, and to make a
portrait. This was a hugely enjoyable experience for me, and as ever with
portraiture, I’m keenly aware that, in a small way, I’ve contributed to their
personal history. My hope is that they will be portraits that the sitter and their
family will keep for generations to come.
These portraits were all made with an elderly Nikon D700 digital camera with
just one lens (a ‘standard’ 50mm), which is almost 40 years old. I used a
tripod for all the interior portraits and just ‘available light’ with no flash, or even
reflectors. Only very basic digital editing took place (brightness, contrast,
white balance and cropping) I decided that all the portraits would be
landscape format, so they would work as a set, and I’ve tried to make each
portrait tell a visual story, by carefully choosing the location, and including
things in the picture that say something about the person.”
1
Tips Sheet
We have created this simple tips sheet to help you create a stunning portrait.
 Luminate will accept portraits created on any camera device.
 Digital images submitted via the email address must be no larger than 8MB in
file size.
Artistic
 Think about your composition and be aware of all the elements in your
photograph.
 Take notice of what is in the background of your photograph and consider
where you should take the picture.
 Ensure that people in your photographs don’t have background objects
‘growing’ out of their heads!
 A cluttered background might distract attention from your subject, so it is
important to consider what is in the background of your image.
 Think about the details as well as the bigger picture.
 When thinking about creating your portraits, consider using a prop or
interesting personal object in your photograph. This can add a sense of story
and place to the portrait, giving some clues about the person you’re
photographing.
 You might ask your subject to hold an object or simply place it somewhere so
it appears in the picture.
 Consider how your image is framed. What can you see at the edges of your
photograph? Can you improve the composition by adjusting your position as
you take the photograph?
Practical and technical
 Make sure your batteries are fully charged and you have plenty of space on
your digital camera memory card.
 Reduce potential for motion blur or poorly focused images. If in doubt use a
tripod.
 To get the best quality images, use the highest resolution setting on your
camera for enhanced clarity. Images with higher pixels per inch (PPI) or dots
per inch (DPI) provide the best quality image so when the image is enlarged it
still looks great.
 Your image file should be no larger than 8MB.
 Be aware of lighting levels and if possible, set the camera for type of lighting
source or make sure white balance (WB) is on AUTO.
 Be aware where the light source is coming from and position yourself
accordingly to ensure the light is illuminating the subject - don’t position your
subject in front of a light source or window as this result in the subject being
silhouetted.
 Take a few versions of your portrait so you have many to choose from later.
 Stand still when taking hand held pictures.
 The best pictures are usually made when your built in flash is turned OFF and
you are just using natural, available light whether indoors or outdoors.
2
Portraits by Robin Gillanders
Stevie McCammond
Age 55
Glasgow
“I’ve been a mechanic all my life, off and on you know. But I’ve always had a love for
writing and telling stories. I’ve written a black comedy set in Glasgow and at the
moment I’m writing a fantasy novel. It’s a challenge working throughout the day and
writing too. You’ve got to feed off yourself because there’s nobody to motivate you to
do it apart from yourself, but I manage.
I have friends who play music and I used to play when I was a lot younger. But I had
an accident with my left hand. I’m left handed so there was a lot of pain there. A year
back, I decided to play right handed and I can play now. I’m enjoying it.”
3
Rebecca O’Toole
Age 17
Glasgow
“I have always been determined, hard working and loved being part of a team - which
is why I love hockey so much. In summer 2014 I was given a huge honour and was
chosen to carry the Queen’s Baton for the Commonwealth Games. This was the single
most memorable moment of my life so far. I felt such pride for my country and my sport
and I shall never forget it.
I am going to be studying engineering from September. I know the struggles and fears
females face within this field. I aspire to make engineering a field where both men and
women can work together equally and I would like to make women who aspire to be
engineers more confident in what they want to do.”
4
Murdo Maclennan
Age 88
Lewis
“I was born in a small fishing village in Lewis and I have stayed here all my life. I’ve
been married to Bella for 60 years now.
The church has been very important
throughout my life and I’ve been an elder for nearly 70 years. This is a model of the
boat owned by my two brothers and me. It was the best boat I ever sailed on, and we
fished The Minch until it was closed in the 1970’s due to overfishing by purse netters. I
still fish most days from a small dingy with an outboard motor and following local
tradition, I distribute my catch to neighbours.”
5
Beka Globe
Age 43
Harris
“I was born in Wales and moved with my parents to Harris when I was 12. I went to
Edinburgh to study photography and after graduating from Napier University in 1992,
I moved to London to work in the film industry. I returned to Harris eight years ago,
where my parents still live, with my husband Nickolai. We have two children aged 5
and 8. We successfully run an art gallery, Mission House Studio, where we sell
Nickolai’s ceramics and my own photographs.”
6
Louis Robinson
Age 15
Glasgow
“It took me a while to find my passion but basketball found me. I started playing
basketball when I started high school. I had never played any other sport much before
that but I’ve been playing for about 3 years now. I play for the school team and also
for Glasgow Rocks. I am committed and driven; this is only the beginning of my dream.
One of the most significant events in my life was when I lost my Grandpa, who was
my friend. I was still quite young when he died. He lived across the street and used
to pick me up from nursery and then school. But I think of him often. Grandparents
stay with you. “
7
Tommy Dick
Age 91
Edinburgh
“When I first went into bio engineering in 1964, Professor Simpson was the Director
and he was a brilliant chap. At that time, the number of thalidomide children being
born was quite large. So we had to provide them with some form of artificial arms and
we had children from all over Scotland, North of England and Ireland. The idea was to
give them a working functional limb. When you think about 1965, the batteries then,
were too big and too heavy. We used carbon dioxide gas to operate the limb and
initially they had an elbow reflection, wrist rotations and hand opening and closing.
And that was sufficient to pick something up and bring it to their mouth. We couldn’t
give them two limbs because it would have been too heavy for them. So we gave
them one working limb and usually an artificial limb with some sort of orthopaedic hand
on the end, which looked reasonably normal. In fact, here is one. I got this prosthetic
hand as a retiral present in 1991!”
8
Kezia Lewis
28
Glasgow
“Textiles was always in my blood even if I didn't know it. My parents had a small
knitting business making jumpers in the 70s before I was born. Early memories of
being surrounded in my family home by fabrics, textures, patterns, ceramics, colours,
stories, and music have definitely shaped my path. My diverse background and rich
cultural heritage, that spans Scotland to Jamaica, has influenced my love to travel and
research which is an important part in my practice as a designer. Since graduating
from Glasgow School of Art 5 years ago I have strived to involve myself in various
aspects of the industry. I showcased my work with Texprint in Paris, did a 3 month
internship at Diane Von Furstenberg in New York and worked at a prestigious print
studio in London. These opportunities opened my eyes to a world of possibilities within
textiles from freelance design to working within education and showed me to embrace
the nerves of putting myself out there. I finally found my perfect job when Fi Douglas,
director at Bluebellgray, got in touch about an opportunity at her company. I love
working full time as a designer where the ethos and aesthetic of the brand resonates
with me. Working with an incredibly supportive and inspirational director, lovely team
members and in a beautiful studio full of colour, sometimes I have to pinch myself.”
9