Why Photographer Tim Dunk is Doing FaceTime Photo Shoots

Lockdown life calls for new ways of looking at things.

It's a time that's forced us all into new routines and new struggles—but it's also a time for new ideas. Many creatives have recently turned to FaceTime not only to catch up with friends, but as a new medium for photography.

We were a little skeptical of virtual photo shoots at first. Is it really photography? How does it even work? And, most importantly... Can you actually capture great photos over webcam?

In search of answers, we actually tried out a virtual photo shoot ourselves. The results were surprisingly great! (You can follow along over here on our YouTube channel.) With our interest in this intriguing new photographic medium piqued, we also decided to reach out to photographer Tim Dunk for some expert insight into the FaceTime photo shoot phenomenon.

If anyone is a virtual photo shoot expert it must be Tim Dunk. Based in Leeds, England, Tim is a wedding photographer who found all his usual photo business gone due to COVID-19. Tim also runs a co-working space and photo studio—and that's shut down, too.

Tim decided to get creative with his newfound down time via FaceTime photo shoots. What started as a few casual portraits of friends has lead to over 200 photo sessions with people from around the world, which Tim's been sharing on an Instagram dedicated to the series.

We chatted with him about how this came about, and the inspiring goal behind this project.

Pexels: How did you initially come up with the idea to do FaceTime portraits?

Tim: Like the rest of the world, the Covid-19 virus hit and I was left stuck at home with no real way of safely doing the thing I love doing.

This has had its financial impact, of course, but it also left me in a place where my options to get creative, socialize, or just hang out with people making images together, was suddenly reduced to zero.

It all started as a joke! I was so bored and missing my friends, I posted on Facebook "losing my mind, anyone want a FaceTime photoshoot?!" and a few people who were equally bored said yes!

I quickly realized how much fun the sessions were for both me and the subject, and people were really pleased with the final product.

The first shoot was a lot of fun, it was surprising how easy and enjoyable the process was, and how well the photos turned out.

What is the process like for setting up a FaceTime shoot? How do you work with the subject to choose a location, ensure the lighting is right, and find the best poses?

Location is entirely dictated by the light. I just get them to run around the house while I look for the best light. We hardly ever end up shooting where the subject thought we would.

Posing guidance is a lot more verbal than I’m used to. It’s harder to show people what you mean.

What technical pointers would you share for photographers looking to do their own FaceTime photo shoots?

I shoot through FaceTime from my Macbook and my subject is using an iPhone ideally, though iPad can work, just the camera isn’t so good.

There is an on-screen button to take a photo, it takes a "Live" photo which is basically a three-second video that you can pull stills from (or export as a video, or even a gif!). The subject needs to be running iOS 11 or later. They need to have FaceTime Live Photos enabled and they need to have their phone set to upload photos to iCloud.

Could you tell us about the charity you're raising money for? Why did you choose this charity, and how much have you raised so far?

The Trussell Trust is an NGO and charity that works to end the need for food banks in the UK. It supports a network of over 1,200 food bank centers to provide emergency food and compassionate, practical support to people in crisis, while campaigning for long-term change to the structural issues that lock people into poverty.

I think their work is more important at the moment than ever, and I’m thrilled to have raised around £1,000 for them so far.

A lot of people are postponing weddings indefinitely right now—do you think that virtual wedding photography may be something that people try in the next few months? Would you be up for shooting a wedding via FaceTime?

I can definitely see that being a thing—and yes, I’d give it a go!

Learn more about Tim's FaceTime phoot shoots and book one of your own here.