A Long Winter Take 2 -Tudor Style Portraits

An update to my Long Winter blog earlier this month.

Occupying my thoughts, for some time, has been my hope to set up a photographic studio permanently in my garage. That won’t be possible just yet, so I am carrying all the lighting equipment up to my living room and setting up there.

Before Christmas I decided to make some Tudor clothing for Mike. I would stretch my sewing ability as well as my photography and Photoshop skills. I made a Tudor doublet and a “bonnet” style hat and the look was completed with a lace ruff bought on-line. Amazingly they fit perfectly. The first session of photographs was meant to be simply a rehearsal, but still produced some pleasing portraits and one montage (in the counting house).

This led to a second session with an Oldham PS member, Dave, who was also a great sport, though he didn’t realise he was going to embrace a large swan or become an assassin!

By the second shoot, I had cobbled together a late Tudor/Stuart lace collar and a “fur” (actually marabou feather) trimmed cape, which I also used in my third session with Mike. This trio of portraits was fun to set up and even more fun to put together as a montage. Cutting out round all that hair wasn’t an option I relished, so I used blending modes to create an “old master” style painterly background.

Some of these images will no doubt find themselves in a montage sometime, too. Time to make a new outfit?