I love to photograph portraits using natural light. I have an outdoor studio that allows me to control the background and, to a certain extent, the lighting.

American photographer Irving Penn is a major inspiration for this. I read his book, Worlds In A Small Room. In it, Penn writes about his experiences photographing portraits in all manner of exotic locations. He also shares how he created an outdoor, natural light studio.

A few years ago I decided to build my own DIY photography studio at home. Over the years I have altered the design of the studio. A German engineer gave me some good advice on how I could improve it. The original construction was too weak. Now I have strengthened and expanded it. I have a black and a white background side by side. Another key change I have made is to the shade above the background. The area of this shade needed to be enlarged to make it more effective. I take it with me to the villages I visit in northern Thailand.

I love being able to photograph people in Thailand as they remain in their comfort zone. In their villages. I cannot imagine any of these people would be comfortable in a regular studio. Setting up a background lets me isolate my subjects. This also gives me more control of the lighting, which is all natural. Over all this set up allows me to capture more relaxed portraits.

In recent years I have incorporated the use of my outdoor studio into some of the travel photo workshops I run. You can learn more about these here.