Behind the Scenes | Petri Damstén

For a photo idea, I require a prop gun equipped with a silencer. Luckily, I have an airsoft pistol that appeared sufficiently realistic in photos. However, in order to complete the illusion, I needed to fabricate a silencer. I made it from a PVC pipe, 3D printed parts, a machine screw, and some glue.

I found myself in need of a protective cap for one of my flashes. Rather than waiting for one to arrive from China, I decided to take matters into my own hands and design and 3D print one myself. Not only was it a quicker solution, but it also allowed me to customize the design...

I’m stuck with this room concept and I’m good with that. I did it in “The Dark Room” series and for this new series “Peculiar Events” I’m doing it again. In contrast to my previous approach, where I used photoshopped room, I have built a real 1:6 scale room for this series. As a hobbyist,...

I was searching for a solution to bring a large top light into my home studio, which has a normal room height and a relatively low ceiling. I discovered that using the inner diffuser of a 200x140cm reflector mounted on two C stands would do the trick. The C stands were also used to hold...

Top light in home studio

As the final task of the year for my photography, I updated my portfolio and created a video showcasing my Photoshop edits from 2022, including lighting diagrams. I tend to watch these edit videos through myself to identify any mistakes I may have made and use them as a learning opportunity for myself too. I...

For the final image from this shoot, I chose to go with a black and white portrait. I wanted to try something a bit more traditional and classic, in contrast to the more stylized and artistic portraits we had done earlier. Despite the change in approach, I wanted to make sure that the darkness and...

Portrait in Darkness

I wanted to really highlight the beard in this image, and I thought that using a headshot pose similar to the one from the Peaky Blinders poster would be the perfect way to do it. I believe that keeping the eyes hidden adds an element of drama and mystery to the image. By concealing this...

This leather apron was originally intended for grilling, but it also worked well as a welder’s apron, giving off some intense “welder from hell” vibes. I’ve used these welder glasses before, and they work great with a beard. With just these two simple props, I was able to create a really interesting, creative, and gritty...

I’ve had this leather jacket for a while, but I haven’t worn it in a long time. I’m glad I didn’t get rid of it, because it ended up being perfect for this pilot-themed image. These motorcycle goggles really completed the look. They fogged up easily, but it actually looked so good that I enhanced...

My friend had grown a nice beard so I asked him to visit my home studio. Here’s the first image from the shoot. I named the picture after the best Christmas movie ever made. I also asked chatGPT what it would say about the image. My friend and I stumbled upon an eerie photograph of...

My son and his classmates had schoolwork to make a fair stand to sell something. They wanted to sell naughty cookies, Xmas calendars and such and “hired” me as their graphic designer and photographer. So Xmas-themed ad we did.

Bunch of guys renting a cottage once in a while to hang out together. I got a job taking a group portrait. There was a nice place outside to take one. The wind was so cold that we didn’t want to be there more than was absolutely necessary. The photographer might have been under the...

– “I can photograph you with the green Škoda for this series.”– “No, I prefer the electric bike.”– “Well, that’s fine as well.”That was the conversation with my wife to get her to be part of the “How I Move” series. I wanted the water behind the bike to be smoother. It was simple enough,...

How I Move – Sari

Another image pair for the “How I Move” series. Horses are a bit trickier to photograph in this style. While he was a good sport there is always a little movement between frames like it would with humans too. Takes a bit longer in post and have to use different techniques for layer blending but...

How I Move – Henna

Something a bit more conceptual for the last image from the self-portrait day shoot. The crown and the tophat are mine, but I made the tophat look like a hat from the mad hatter in photoshop.

Fool for a king

The idea of the makeup came after taking this image. I just thought that it needed some extra. I found joker makeup images that I took in 2013. I then added that makeup to this image, and it looked much more like my kind of image.

I have seen these portraits with a clear grid reflection on sunglasses. When I found these big round black sunglasses, I decided to give it a try. The image immediately reminded me of a fly, so naming the image was easy. I rarely make monochrome images, but I think it suited this one well. It...

I took one passport photo, and since my home studio was open, I took some self-portraits. One thing I tested was how this 110mm lens looks wide open. It is incredibly sharp, even in f/2. The second thing I tested was the automatic eye detection for self-portraits. It worked well in smaller apertures, but it...

I was going to continue the “How I Move” series earlier, but the pandemic got in the way. But I think now is a good time to continue this project. For a first new pair of images I photographing Kari and his Triumph. If you want to join in the series there is more info...

How I Move – Kari

A bit of different style of images this time. These were taken in Vuorilampi, Kuopio, Finland. Great place for a walk in the forest and some photographs.

Outdoor portraits