Portraits, Wide Open

Editorial portrait photography in East Anglia. By Jean-Luc Benazet. Half-day and day sessions in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire and the surrounding counties.

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The signature

Editorial portrait photography is a slower, more considered way to photograph people. Two lenses. A 50mm at f/1.4. A 200mm at f/2.8. Used wide open.

The eye sharp. The background dissolved into circles of light. The subject held by the lens rather than the room.

It is a specific way to photograph. The focus is a knife edge. The discipline shows up in the work, or it doesn’t. Almost nobody shoots this way commercially, because shooting wide open is unforgiving and the keeper rate is lower than the conventional way of working. The look it produces is irreplaceable.

I have been shooting this way for nearly thirty years, originally on film. The signature comes from the lenses, but also from how I see. I have functional vision in one eye, no depth perception. The lens manufactures the depth my eye cannot. That is where the look comes from.

A selection of recent work

  • Professional portrait of a smiling man in a grey blazer for corporate photography.
  • Portrait of a woman smiling outdoors, showcasing natural lighting and confident expression.
  • Portrait of a mature man with glasses, smiling, in front of lush green foliage.
  • Corporate portrait of a man with confident expression for professional branding.
  • Portrait of a smiling businessman with crossed arms in a natural outdoor setting.
  • Portrait of a bearded man with long hair, sitting indoors with natural light.
  • Portrait of a smiling woman in a blue patterned dress outdoors.
  • Portrait of a smiling man wearing glasses and a scarf outdoors.
  • Portrait of a smiling woman with glasses, natural background, suitable for corporate headshots.
  • Portrait of a confident woman for corporate photography.
  • Portrait of a confident woman with tattoos, wearing a floral dress, against a warm background.
  • editorial portrait photography

Who I shoot

Founders who’d rather not have a LinkedIn headshot. Senior consultants and advisors who want one strong image to use everywhere. Academics and researchers being profiled. Speakers, performers, conductors, makers. Authors with a book coming out. People being interviewed, photographed for press, profiled in features. People whose portrait will be used for a decade and needs to age well.

If you’ve spent ten minutes on this page, you probably already know whether this is for you.

The session

Half-day and day sessions, on location. The catchment for standard sessions is East Anglia: Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Hertfordshire. Rutland and Lincolnshire by arrangement.

We agree the location, approach and key images in advance. I prefer photographing people where they actually work or where they feel themselves: the study, the studio, the workshop, the lab, the empty stage before the audience arrives. The room does some of the work. The light does the rest.

On the day, I bring the two lenses, two camera bodies, and not much else. No backdrops, no large strobes for most sessions. Available light, sometimes a small reflector. The work is in the looking, not in the equipment.

20 to 40 considered frames delivered in an online gallery within ten working days. High-resolution files for press, web and print use. Yours to use, no further licensing.

Sessions and fees

Half-day session — from £750

Three hours on location. Single subject, single location. 20 considered frames delivered. Suitable for one strong portrait set for press, profile and ongoing use.

Day session — from £1,400

Six to seven hours on location. Single subject across multiple locations, or several subjects in one place. 40 considered frames delivered. Suitable for a fuller portrait library or for institutional commissions.

Beyond East Anglia

London by arrangement, on natural light only (kit travels by train).

A limited number of sessions per month. Booked in advance.

Enquire about a session See my other work

Why wide open

Editorial portrait photography is a slower, more deliberate way to photograph people that has been gradually disappearing as cameras have got faster, autofocus has got better, and Instagram has rewarded volume over consideration. A typical commercial shoot now produces 200 to 400 frames in two hours. A wide-open session produces 30 to 50, of which 20 are keepers.

I prefer the slower way. It is harder to do, easier to recognise when it works, and the portraits last longer.

Enquire

If you are considering a session, the best place to start is a short email describing who the portrait is for, what it will be used for, and roughly when. I will come back to you with whether it is the right fit and what the session would look like.

Email me Contact me

Frequently asked questions

Very little. Wear what you would actually wear in your professional life. Bring an alternative top if you want a second look. If we are shooting on your premises, the room as it normally is works better than the room tidied for photography. The signature comes from the lens and the light, not from styling.

Not as standard. For most editorial portraits, naturalness reads better than salon styling. If you would like a hair and makeup artist on the day, I can recommend trusted professionals across East Anglia and we factor the cost into the booking. Many subjects prefer to come as they are.

Almost nobody feels photogenic. The signature of this work is that it does not depend on the subject performing for the camera. The lens does most of the work. My job is to put you somewhere comfortable, talk to you, and photograph the moments between the moments where you think you are being photographed. Trust the process. The keeper rate is high enough that there will be portraits you genuinely like.

I prefer not to show images on the back of the camera during a session. It interrupts the flow, and a small LCD does not represent the final image fairly. Galleries are delivered within ten working days, properly edited, on screens that show the work as it is meant to look.

20 to 40 considered frames in the final gallery, depending on whether you have booked a half-day or a day session. The number is deliberately low. Editorial portraiture is about a small set of strong images, not a large set of acceptable ones.

No. The work includes the considered selection and edit. Raw files are unfinished and do not represent the work. The high-resolution JPEGs in the gallery are licensed for press, web, print and ongoing use, with no further licensing required.

On location. Your study, your studio, your workshop, the lab, the office, the empty stage. The place where you actually do what you do. For some sessions a neutral location works better, in which case I can suggest options in Cambridge and East Anglia.

Editorial portraiture as a service is for single subjects, or for small groups in an institutional setting (a founding team, a department, a board). Weddings, family portraits and event photography are handled separately, through a different business.

London by arrangement, on a natural light basis only. I travel by train, which limits the kit I can bring. Sessions in London are best suited to subjects who are comfortable being photographed in available light, on location, without studio equipment.

A limited number of sessions per month. Lead time is typically two to four weeks. If your need is urgent (a press deadline, a launch), email and I will tell you honestly whether I can fit you in.