Tamara and I were walking back from the pharmacy when we saw these men standing by the famous Beatles crossing.

Seeing the red hats, my mind went to ‘repetition’ and I thought it would make a photograph. This is all happening quickly and then I saw the skirts and so I put the camera to my eye and started shooting.

It was not until I opened the file in Photoshop that I saw that the man on the right in the last shot was looking at me. And with a broad smile, and with reflective glasses.

So that’s the shot.

But who are they? I googled the skirts/trousers and it came back “men’s red and black ombre wide-leg trousers, styled similarly to traditional Malay samping over trousers.”. So maybe just maybe there are Malaysian.

In case you are wondering about the stickers on the metal post, this is the Beatles zebra crossing just yards from Abbey Road studios.

The wall in front of the studios is covered in graffiti, so the stickers by the crossing are part of the scene.

When we ran our ecard service, we were always on the lookout for mannequins we could photograph to use for the Almost Human category in the image library.

To bring a mannequin’s face to life I would add catchlights. A dot of white with a brush in Photoshop would do it.

So what are catchlights?

They are the small, bright reflections you see in a subject’s eyes when light hits them. They mirror the light source – a window, the sun, a studio lamp. And given how tiny they are in the total area of the subject, they make a lot of difference in how we perceive a face.

Without catchlights, eyes look flat, dull, lifeless.

Catchlights add depth, energy, and that indefinable presence.

We might not consciously notice them, but we would feel their absence.

The placement and size of a catchlight influences the mood. A large, soft reflection feels gentle and inviting, while a small, sharp one feels intense or dramatic.

Digressing for a moment, I listened to a dog photographer talk about photographing dogs with flash. She said that with breeds have bulging eyes it is important to make sure the catchlight is cut off by the upper lid otherwise the dog will appear manic.

Here are a couple of images to which I added catchlights with Photoshop.

In the second one, notice how the expression is different between the two, depending on where the catchlights are.

By the counter in the shop in the basement of the Courtauld Gallery is a Photo Booth.

This is not just any old Photo Booth, this one allows you to create an image of yourself in one of several artists’ styles.

I chose Cezanne, and then followed the on-screen instructions, not sure what would be in the end.

Here is the booth, which is in full view of the shop floor, so no privacy at all. Once you have decided your style, you are invited to pay (£4) and then look at the camera – the circle above the big rectangle, for which I had to duck down.

I was still not sure what the end product would be.

The print is 1500 x 100mm on firm glossy card, with the word COURTAULD on the lower part of the card, which I editied out for this article. I also put my email address into the machine and it sent me an image of the print. So now I had the print version and a downloadable version.

The hat and the jacket are inventions of the system because I was wearing neither. Overall I think it is Cezanne-like and another one to add to the list of places I have been – like the one at CHEEEZ.