People and Place by Tracey Field: July 2011

Assignment 1 : A Portrait

I think portraits are my favourite subject, well so far .... I have a lovely portrait book which is full of wonderful shots, some a little quirky, I am a fan of the very traditional portrait, and I like the pictures to have wrinkles etc, showing the true character of the face. I have some examples under my 'photographer ' tab. Also here I have three scanned images taken from another portraits book by Fergus Greer, The Worlds Top Photographers. I could look at this book for hours, always something new to look at.

I am also reading at the moment, Train Your Gaze by Roswell Angier.

A photographer local to me takes lovely baby portraits, he always focuses very much on the eyes, enhancing their colour, often blending eye colour with the background, www.calvert.biz/index , he makes it look easy, if only it was.
I know when photographing my nephew he constantly wriggles and when he smiles, screws all his face up so you are unable to see is eyes. My portraits follow.....

The first three shots here I am calling one, I would probably put these three together, they make more sense as a set rather than individuals. We had the giggles when I realised I could have done with being just a little taller !

I really like the green background, I think outdoor shots are my favourite, I like their natural feel.

For this second shot I have gone with Black and White, as the picture didn't have much colour anyway and I actually like the black and white effect, and I feel this improves the final outcome.

These two pictures above, I actually prefer the first one, although the deckchairs are a little distracting. The second picture has cropped them out, and I like the effect with the sun behind the subject.

I wanted this shot in black and white as the wall is quite orange, and I liked how this looked once changed.

This shot was taken indoors, using the light from the window to light the subjects face.

The last two have eye contact with the subject, who generally has his own 'photo face'.. I think he may have been practising before our sessions. I think thats why I like the first pictures as they are natural - Natural, outdoor, sunny pictures are my favourite...... In my Portraits book there is a quote by Lord Snowdon... You have to strip people of their poses and disguises..... try and capture something intimate of the subject.. This is what I want to do and more practise is required. I need to strip this model of his 'pose'. I have learnt as I progress that I mustn't rush, to take my time and hopefully improve in all aspects, not just Portraits.

Project 8. Varying the pose

Below is a selection of poses, most of them are acceptable, however I feel picture four looks like the bench is chopping the legs off, I prefer the shot once it has been cropped. The last picture is the one I like the most.

Project 7. Focal length and Character

Here I have used my zoom lens and taken pictures at 70mm, 135mm and 300mm... you can see how the lens at 300mm makes the nose look fatter and generally puffs out the face...

70mm

135mm

300mm

Project 6. Best of a Sequence

Here I have taken a sequence of photographs, hoping to select the best of the 24 or so that I have taken. It gives you the chance to pick the absolute best shot - hopefully you will have at least one !

I noticed the more time you spend with a model, the more relaxed they become. One picture I liked but the hand obscured the face too much. Another the model looked too crouched. Squatting was not a good choice as it look unbalanced and uncomfortable and the model was not at all relaxed. Folded arms looked a little formal, and crossed feet leaning back maybe a little too casual. Obviously it may be that it is one of these looks that you desire. Thats why its good to have a few choices for both you and the client, as they may prefer a different look to you. I used the tripod which worked well although I think my pictures may have been better if I were free hand... for this project it produced what was required. My reason for finishing the sequence was a combination of the model tiring and running out of poses.

Below is my final selection.

Final Selection

Project 5. Eye contact and Expression

Well my model and I got the giggles here, when I asked her for eye contact she gave me some freaky eyes which looked somewhat scary and we both ended up laughing... I have included that shot too....

EYE CONTACT

LOOKING AWAY

GIGGLES

Project 4. Active portrait

This picture here is an unplanned portrait of the model participating in his hobby. Some models do not like to sit and pose, this is an action shot, and had it had been less spontaneous then I would have selected a better background.. but sometimes you are unable to do this.

Project 3. Experiment with light.

Here we are experimenting with various lighting, using the same model and head and shoulders shot, to see the different effects.

Sunlight

Shade

Window Lighting

Project 2. Thinking about location.

Below are a selection of backgrounds which would all make excellent settings for a portrait to be taken.
They may distract from the subject, but if you wanted just the person then you would take the portraits in a studio.

And finally my chosen shot, in black and white...

Project 1. Portrait, scale and setting

Here we have four photographs, I have chosen black and white just for a change, although I have the colour shots if needed. The first of the shots is a face close up. The second is head and shoulders, the third, the torso, and lastly full figure.

I was happy with these pictures. I personally like either very close up or head and shoulders for portraits, I feel it makes them more intimate. I haven't got the eye contact in these shots, but this was the look I wanted.
With the torso shot I have kept the hands in, they are soft here and feel they would looked 'chopped off' had I not have included them in the picture.
I think here my favourite photo is number two....