lifestyle photographer

Manipulating Natural Light for Portraits with Simple Modifiers

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I woke up one morning and decided that I wanted to shoot some natural light portraits and I scrolled through my Instagram to see who I could ask randomly. It's great when you can find someone who actually models and acts also. Elena Bargo was just that person that I had in mind to shoot for such an exercise so when I reached out to her and mentioned what I wanted to do, she happily agreed. We had tried working together before but busy schedules and that cup of tea made it tricky at times. So when I finally locked her down, I think my finals words to her in my pitch were, "let's make it happen!"

Elena mentioned that she lives just off an old golf course and in my head, the greens, trees and foliage would be perfect for the shoot. So after sending her a mood board and agreeing on wardrobe, my team and I set out to capture Elena and shoot a tutorial video at the same time.

Armed with a simple setup, I used two modifiers; 1 large diffuser and 1 collapsible reflector,  manipulating the light on the golf course and illuminating my subject who gave me great looks the entire set. We shot at different points on the course and even threw in a few small props just to give the shoot more of a lifestyle feel. Light retouching and small presets in Lightroom produced a look that I am more than pleased with and I think Elena was too with the entire experience. Watch the Video below and subscribe to my YouTube Channel for more videos.

Image: Scharad Lightbourne // MUA: Erinn Simone

Image: Scharad Lightbourne // MUA: Erinn Simone

WATCH THE TUTORIAL VIDEO. SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE

Video: Tony Williams Media. Editing: Scharad Lightbourne

Lifestyle Photography with Carolyn Carter

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Carolyn Carter, Miss US Virgin Islands visits Nassau a couple times a year and every time she comes into town, we always set up a photo-shoot. Carolyn loves lifestyle photography, and so do I. I love the free flowing natural of this particular style and that would make it easy to shoot someone who equally felt the same.

We took a boat out and ventured into the Lyford Cay area to find the perfect spot to shoot several different looks. Being the unapologetically impatient photographer that I am, I began to shoot Carolyn onboard the boat!

Being an island girl at heart, Carolyn pulled looks from brands like BHLDN, LikeToKNowIt, Solid and Striped and Isabella Rose Swim, which helped us get some great shots around the key. The beach was beautiful and has spaces full of character on which to shoot my model against including and old dock which I thoroughly enjoyed retreating under for shade! Overall the shoot went great and using natural light, we got some really nice photos.

Image: Scharad Lightbourne // Swimsuit by: Isabella Rose Swim

Image: Scharad Lightbourne // Swimsuit by: Isabella Rose Swim

Lifestyle Portraits of Artist in The Bahamas

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I'm a part of an industry where there are some pretty amazing creatives, many whom I've had the pleasure to photograph. I've known illustrator and painter,  Philece for quite some time and I've always admired her creativity. Her illustrations match her personality, soft, vibrant with an energy you have to see in person to believe. 

I called her and said "Philece, let's shoot!" and with little to no reluctance, she adamantly accepted my offer. I told her I wanted to shoot her in her environment, the studio, her front yard with simple styling but capturing her personality and energy.

My approach as the photographer was to capture her in bright surroundings with clean bursts of light and pops of color that would portray Philece the way I saw her. I knew many of the shots would be "in the moment" and with her quirky, awkwardly funny and an aesthetic that bleeds creativity, I knew I'd capture her candidly and create images that truly represent the artist. 

Photography + Styling: Scharad LightbourneMUA: Makeup by LilyGrips: Keron Wood // Video: Tony Williams

Photography + Styling: Scharad Lightbourne

MUA: Makeup by Lily

Grips: Keron Wood // Video: Tony Williams

"Market Value" Editorial photographed in Kensington Market, Toronto

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While I was in Toronto earlier this year, I planned to shoot something, anything, anywhere in the city. The city is a breeding ground for creative ideas especially photography and on my 2nd trip there in 3 years, there was no question that I'd want to shoot in the Kensington Market area.

I called stylist Aziza Brown who immediately agreed to work with me again and when I told her where I wanted to shoot, she instantly came up with the style direction for the clothing. We just needed to put a team together and with the help of MORGAN Model Management, we sourced unique and diverse talents for the shoot. The final piece of the puzzle was MUA (makeup artist) Senita Rodrigues whose work I admired for awhile and I contacted her to work together and she was friendly and very open to my ideas.

On shoot day, we started about 8am that morning, using a parking garage as HQ, yes a parking garage! It was central to everything and we had covering so we made it work. The models were troopers changing in and out of looks and I actually scouted the market from high above.

Kensington was an incredible area, bustling with people, vendors, sights and sounds who all seemingly ignored the fact that I was photographing two unique and diverse models in the street, against doorways, in between stalls and up against walls. I was everywhere and loving the energy the market seemed to throw right back at me.

Check out the gallery below.

Photographer: Scharad Lightbourne
MUA: Senita Rodrigues
Stylist: Aziza Brown
Clothing Designer: Print Vintage
Shoe Retailer: Heel Boy
Models: Shakhira & Nadia Blackwood