Class #3 - STILL PHOTO: PORTRAITS
"Every portrait may be a photograph, but not every photograph is a portrait." -- Jamie McIntyre
"The two most important factors in portrait photography are lighting and background," -- Tim Jacobsen.
"The two most important factors in portrait photography are lighting and background," -- Tim Jacobsen.
IN CLASS EXERCISE: Edit
and discuss assignment #2.
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| Portraiture in the WaPo |
WHAT MAKES A PICTURE A PORTRAIT?
1. A portrait is of a person.
2. A portrait usually shows a face.
3. A portrait is often posed.
4. The subject is usually looking directly
into the camera.
5. The background either says something about the subject OR nothing at all.
NPR's Kainaz Amaria on "Making Portraits"
NPR's Kainaz Amaria on "Making Portraits"
HOMEWORK: Photo
Assignment #3: "May I
take your photo?" Find a friend, faculty member, athlete, coach, or some
other interesting person, and take three distinctly different posed portraits that say
something about the subject’s life, profession, major, personality, background,
etc. Images should be of the SAME
person. (35 points)
TIPS TO MAKE MORE BETTER PORTRAITS:
The two most
important factors in photographic portraiture: lighting, and background.
1. Use available light, NOT the
flash. (Unless you are using very
subtle "fill flash" outside, in bright sun, to soften harsh shadows. Window-light portraits are often
among the best, with the light from one side providing a "modeling"
effect.
2. Try the "portrait" mode on
your camera. This mode opens the
aperture (lens opening) of your camera giving you a more shallow depth-of-field,
throwing the background out of focus.
3. Get to know your subject, talk to them,
make them comfortable. The more
relaxed they are, the more natural the photo will be.
4. Takes lots of pictures, figuring the
first ones, before the subject has relaxed, will likely be rejects.
5. Compose in the camera, not just to
follow the rule of thirds, but to eliminate distracting background
elements. Look at everything in the frame, not just your
subject.
6. If you have a wide-angle or telephoto
option, try it. The wide-angle
lens may allow you to better capture "environmental" portraits,
showing the subject in his/her surroundings. A telephoto or zoom lens can foreshorten an image, making
the perspective more pleasing, and again throwing backgrounds out of
focus.
7. Give them a prop! If you subject is a football player,
give him a football. If she's a
scientist, have her peer into a
microscope, if she's a photographer, let her hold her favorite camera.
8. Get down low and shoot up, or get high
and shoot down. Anything aside
from holding the camera 5'6" off the ground usually results in a better
image
9. "The eyes are the window to the
soul." Take at least one
close-up of the eyes.
10. Try a self-portrait -- use a mirror or self-timer.
11. Shoot a series. Sometimes the same photo with three
different variations of expression can convey what a single photo cannot.
12. If the background is NOT related to
your subject, than do you best to neutralize it. Shoot in a way that doesn't show it, or keep it out of
focus. Remember it's okay to move
your subject into the best angle or light.
GRADING CRITERIA:
1. Did you submit three distinctly different photos of the same
person?
2. Do the photos make effective use of
natural, existing light?
3. Do your portraits tell us something
about subject; reveal something about their background, circumstances, job, or
interests?
4. Does the composition of your portraits
follow the "rule-of-thirds"? or if not, do you break the rule in
a deliberate, effective way?
5. Is it clear that your subject was
posed? That is, are they looking at the camera, as if they know their picture
is being taken?
6. Have you captioned the picture
according to the AP photo style guide?
7. Did you post your portraits before
class, and clearly labeled with your name and assignment #3.?
7-6 Yeses = A (95/90%)
5-4 Yeses = B (85%-80%)
3-2 Yeses = C (75%-70%)
1-1 Yeses = D (65%)
0-0 Yeses = F (50% (Assuming an assignment was posted)
SAMPLE ASSIGNMENT:
7-6 Yeses = A (95/90%)
5-4 Yeses = B (85%-80%)
3-2 Yeses = C (75%-70%)
1-1 Yeses = D (65%)
0-0 Yeses = F (50% (Assuming an assignment was posted)
READING/RESOURCES:
On the web: Digital Photography School Tips for making better portraits
The A-Z of Creative Photography; Window Portraits, Environmental Portraits
EXAMPLES:
National Portrait Gallery Exhibition: Enter the exhibition
Six photographers who, by working on assignment for publications such as the New Yorker, Esquire, and the New York Times Magazine, bring their distinctive “take” on contemporary portraiture to a broad audience.
On the web: Digital Photography School Tips for making better portraits
The A-Z of Creative Photography; Window Portraits, Environmental Portraits
EXAMPLES:
National Portrait Gallery Exhibition: Enter the exhibition
Six photographers who, by working on assignment for publications such as the New Yorker, Esquire, and the New York Times Magazine, bring their distinctive “take” on contemporary portraiture to a broad audience.
