My first portrait shoot back in Sydney with Zac Lynch-Woodlock
Behind the scenes video of my shoot with Zac filmed on the 20 year old camera I brought as a prop.
Happy new year, beautiful stranger! I hope your 2025 is shaping up nicely.
Two months ago, back in November, my wife and I packed a suitcase each and crammed the rest of our belongings into a shipping container bound from Toronto to Sydney.
While 92% of my possessions — including the majority of my photography gear — bob through the Pacific Ocean, I’ve been keeping busy and just wrapped my first shoot — photographing director Zac Lynch-Woodlock around Newtown, Sydney.
Director and all ‘round great guy Zac Lynch-Woodlock.
At one point in time, before I gave Sydney two middle fingers and fucked off to Amsterdam, Zac and I worked together at the advertising agency, Ogilvy. Zac as an in-house director. Me as a copywriter.
My intention for our portrait shoot was to capture two images. 1) A tight, outdoor portrait to pair with 2) a wider environmental portrait leaning into the iconic gritty & grungy flavour of Sydney’s Inner West.
But, as per as usual, I overshot. Resulting in a few more keepers than planned. A good problem to have.
We met around 6pm at Zac’s apartment in Newtown. But as we were shooting in the Australian summer, it was going to be brighter than the sun for several more hours. Meaning we had no choice but to seek shade as my puny AD200 strobe is no match for the Aussie sun. (They did the job in Toronto, mind you.) Thankfully, Zac knows the area and did a location scout prior to our shoot and had a few shady spots in mind.
Simple portrait of Zac against a brick wall.
After shooting a few simple portraits against the wall of a sandstone church building, we headed to an interesting pedestrian tunnel going under the train tracks.
Zac told me it’s normal to see bands setup in the middle of the tunnel shooting music videos. It’s clear why. The tunnel has seedy and caged overhead fluorescent tube lights and sickly green graffitied walls. Making it an incredible location.
Zac watching the 6th food delivery rider be directed down the tunnel, only to have to turn around and find another route because they can’t carry their monstrous electric bikes up the stairs.
A location like this demands a wider lens and I got to work photographing Zac with my 35mm & 14mm; using a pop of strobe left of camera to expose Zac in a way that felt like a potentially believable source of natural light. I use *potentially* lightly here.
The Dutch Tilt never gets old.
The 14mm lens created the most fun and gritty look, giving Zac a slight unhinged look. Someone you don’t want to run into in this tunnel, that’s for damn sure. Just look at the way he’s holding that camera!
Zac looks unhinged.
At the end of the tunnel there were stairs leading back up to the street, which made for a great location for a seated portrait. I’m a sucker for a stairwell shot, and this stairwell was fantastic. Again, I tried to light the location with my single strobe and softbox in a way that felt *somewhat* natural. As if we timed our shoot perfectly, there was a beautiful shaft of light falling onto the staircase illuminating Zac.
This is a shot you could get framed for mum.
This location looks pretty deserted in the shots. But it was anything but. We had to stop shooting several times to let people pass and try to be as little of an inconvenience as possible. But nobody seemed too bothered by us. After all, it’s a popular photo spot. That or they took one look at Zac and decided not to say anything. Kidding, Zac. Kidding. (Don’t hurt me.)
I’m a big fan of how the top half of Zac’s face is in shadow.
After snapping a few hundred tunnel and stair frames, we left and shot in a few more “friendlier” looking locations. Including an “Aussie-looking” street with wheelie bins out and beautiful dappled light on the road. But after reviewing the raw files, the grittier shots felt much more interesting and suited Zac’s character.
Zac and I had the same favourite shot of the day: a frame of Zac on the stairs with his hand covering his mouth.
It’s nice when that happens.
Our favourite frame of the day and the newest addition to my portfolio.