Alastair Batchelor / London, UK
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© Alastair Batchelor
“As for grain and texture, I personally really like it when an image looks as though it’s ‘built’ from something other than pixels. It reminds me of when you inspect an oil painting up close in a gallery and see the individual brush strokes.”
Dwayne Brown
Hi Alastair, your journey in photography has been unique—from capturing London’s hidden cityscapes to cinematic portraits and headshots. What inspired you to move from urban scenes to photographing people?
Alastair Batchelor
I decided to take up photography at 19 while looking through an issue of Time Out London. There was an article by a couple of ‘urban explorers,’ photographers who would sneak into abandoned buildings to capture strangely haunting and stunning images of forgotten places. As with any thrill-seeking, we soon wanted to push the boundaries further and ended up planning a series of trips into London’s abandoned tube stations. These stations are connected to the live underground system and required more extreme methods of access, like abseiling down ventilation shafts and running along live tracks. Eventually, our adventures caught up with us, and we ended up in court facing charges! Luckily, the case was hugely exaggerated, and our lawyers got it dropped before trial. This felt like a sign to move into a new genre of photography. After seeing the work of photographers like Alessio Albi and Kolja Eckert, I was immediately drawn to the filmic, dramatic style of capturing people.
DB
Your images carry a cinematic quality, almost as if an ambient soundtrack is running in the background. How does music influence your approach to shooting and shape the mood of your sessions?
AB
I’m glad that comes across in the images! Funnily enough, I’m also a music producer and spend a lot of time working on music for various sync projects and albums, often spanning cinematic genres. Music influences me heavily, as many of the films that inspire my stills work also have soundtracks I love. An obvious example is Blade Runner, but more recent films like Bones and All and Longlegs have inspired me from both a cinematography and sound perspective.
DB
You’ve shared that ambient lighting and available light are central to your style. What makes ambient light so appealing to you? Now that you’re working more in the studio, do you still gravitate toward this ‘filmic’ approach?
AB
When on location, I love how much available ambient light (natural or artificial) can vary from place to place, creating unique incidental lighting setups by chance. I capture this feel in the studio by using some of the same techniques I use on location. I use wide-open vintage lenses, usually with a filter, and apply the same filmic grading and texture. I’m not a strobe guy, so I work with a couple of LED constant lights and often use hard light adaptors, like a beauty dish, bare bulb, or snoot. I also enjoy creating an atmosphere with fabric backdrops, drapes, tables, and stools that help give a studio setup more of a ‘location’ feel.
DB
You’re known for capturing portraits in diverse locations—from intimate bars to high rooftops. How do these unique settings influence the mood of your portraits, and what guides you in choosing the right environment for each subject?
AB
For on-location portraits, if I find a place with interesting interior features that frame or surround a subject without being too busy, that’s usually a winner! Generally, I’m drawn to locations with a strong sense of identity or places where I can imagine a film scene taking place. I’m less inclined to shoot in ultra-sleek, modern spaces, but I love spots with lots of ambient lighting, especially if it’s low and away from the ceiling.
DB
Colour grading plays a significant role in your post-production process. Could you briefly describe how you use this process to achieve your film-inspired aesthetic?
AB
I personally love colour palettes that look both retro but also ‘expensive’. I’ve always been a fan of warmer tones in photography, and the selective colour tool in Photoshop is great for fine-tuning specific hues, especially for skin tones. I would say my colour grading process is often a combination of multiple layers doing subtle things that collectively add up. Also, with Luminosity Mask toning, treating your highlights differently to the mids and shadows can create a staggering difference in the perceived depth of an image! Using these techniques can certainly help get colours closer to how they’re rendered on 35mm and Medium Format.
DB
In an era of ultra-high-definition digital photography, you add a touch of ‘analog imperfection’ to your images. Why are texture and grain so essential to your style?
AB
There is no doubt that the digital photography revolution has been incredible in terms of practicality, efficiency and reliability. Beyond that, of course, it all comes down to personal opinion. In the era of ultra-high-definition camera technology, it can be pretty easy for emotion to be lost in the art of photography. I think high-resolution digital images offer a fantastic starting point, but I think there’s a lot to be said about adding elements of analogue into the digital medium. This can come from several places, but for me, the combination of my 1983 Minolta 50mm lens with my Sony digital camera is the perfect balance of the two worlds. The fact that those lenses don’t ‘perform well’ when compared to modern digital lenses is exactly why I love them! As for grain and texture, I personally really like it when an image looks as though it’s ‘built’ from something other than pixels. It reminds me of when you inspect an oil painting up close in a gallery and see the individual brush strokes. As I mentioned with the highlight toning aspect of colour grading, I think playing with texture is another way of creating depth. I also believe that the right amount of grain can pleasantly take away from the ‘too perfect’ sharp digital look.
DB
Your style is both cinematic and emotionally intense. How do you capture your subject’s true personality while creating a sense of narrative in your portraits?
AB
Direction is an area I’d like to improve on, but I try to make my subjects comfortable by being conversational—mainly because I naturally tend to talk a lot! I think there are a few factors at play when it comes to capturing emotional intensity. Direction is certainly one of them, but sometimes it’s just about letting people do their own thing. I’m glad my photos convey emotional intensity, even if it’s not something I always think about consciously!
DB
Finally, Alastair, what does being part of Headshots Matter mean to you, and how does it shape your work as a portrait photographer in London?
AB
As someone without many photographer friends, I find it great to be part of a community of photographers who shoot the same subject in a wonderful variety of styles across different countries. Photography can be competitive, so it’s awesome to be part of a collective built on appreciation and support. It’s fantastic to stay in tune with what others are doing in the same creative space around the world.
DB
Thanks so much Alastair! We’re very grateful for your time and that you’re such a creative member of HSM.
To see more of Alastairs’s work, please take a look at his website: www.alastairbatchelor.com
© Alastair Batchelor
