Photography 1: P & P, Proj 2 - Thinking About Location

Project 2: Thinking about location.

For this project I played the role of location hunter.  I sought out 6 different settings or backgrounds that could be used effectively for either a whole body or torso portrait.  I took into account the space available for positioning the camera using a longish focal length lens and the lighting.  I looked for tonal and textural simplicity from edge to edge.  I took reference photos of each of the locations without people.  Finally, I chose one of the locations and returned with a portrait subject and photographed them.  The images are shown below:

5763.jpg; F11; 1/350s

5767.jpg; F11; 1/125s

5773.jpg; F11; 1/180s

5776.jpg; F11; 1/350s

5780.jpg; F11; 1/90s

5788.jpg; F13; 1/60s

Below is the final portrait of the subject at the chosen location:

5764.jpg; F11; F1/350s

What have I learned from this project?

It is important when travelling around with a camera to keep an eye open for suitable portrait locations.  When a suitable location is identified a reference photo should be taken and a note made of the location.

Photography 1: P & P, Proj 1 - Portrait, Scale & Setting

Project 1: Portrait, scale and setting.

For this project the objective was to find an interesting and attractive setting.  In the chosen setting I took a series of portraits of a subject.  The first portrait was taken of the subject's face, cropped in close.  The second was of the subject's head and shoulders.  The third was of the torso, taking into account arms and hands.  The final was of the full figure, head to toe.  The resulting images are shown below:

5793.jpg; F13; 1/250s

In this close-up shot of the subject the sun is quite bright and this has caused the eyes to be slightly obscured.  It would be better if the portrait had been taken in more subdued lighting so that the eyes would be more relaxed and more visible.  The photograph was taken using a long focal length lens, (about 90mm) in order to flatten the subject's features.

5794.jpg; F13; 1/250s

This portrait of the head and shoulders of the subject reveals more of the background.  The background is quite plain and therefore does not overwhelm the photograph.  The subject's clothing, such as the scarf are more noticeable in this portrait.

5764.jpg; F11; 1/350s

This portrait of the torso of the subject includes more of the background.  I chose a plain stone wall and distant sea scape as the background because they have little detail to distract the viewer's eye.  I asked the subject to fold their hands together so that they did not catch the viewer's eye.

5854.jpg; F9.5; 1/45s

For this portrait of the full figure of the subject I chose to have the subject seated.  This pose has put more emphasis on the upper part of the body.  The face remains the main focus of the portrait.  The hands are folded as before so they do not catch the viewer's eye.

What have I learned from this project?

When creating a portrait it is best to use subdued lighting where possible so that the eyes can be given more prominence.

Take care to choose a plain background for the composition so that the viewer's eye remains focussed on the subject.