Engage with local people

On a personal journey through Oman, photographer Matt Porteous asked local people to assist his lighting setups.

During our trip through Oman, we headed home from Kumzar in a small rowing boat. That evening, when the sun was still high, the huge cliffs created an early sunset-effect with an incredible golden hue.

I used my Elinchrom gear to balance the light disappearing behind the ridge, and captured these beautiful portraits of our new friend Mohammed.

Whilst shooting portraits in the village of Kumzar, my Elinchrom lighting allowed us to capture some of the reasons we headed to Oman to shoot; their sustainable fishing, practiced at dusk for thousands of years, was demonstrated by our friend in the evening and illuminated by the Elinchrom ELB 400 and Rotalux Octabox 135.

I love how the lighting gets everyone involved on location; my fiancée Mandy helped out, and I like to engage with local people by asking them to assist with lighting, with their curiosity turning into them playing a role in the project.

These two pieces of Elinchrom equipment are my favourite; for me, it is crucial to use lighting to highlight every detail and bring attention to things that don’t – and can’t – always take centre stage.

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