Portraiture - Lighting techniques

When you are taking portraits in the studio, you can change the way your photo is lighting. You can use either low key or high key light, with each creating different tones and a different mood in your piece. Here are some examples of Low key and high key lighting, respectively.

Low key lighting can create a sense of strength, due to lots of strong dark tones being presented. These tones can suggest masculinity and also suggest mystery, as a lot of the subject is obscured in darkness. If you use low key lighting in your photo, the photo will create an overall dark mood. 

However, High key lighting can create a sense of peace, due to emphasis of light tones. It can sometimes have connotations of femininity, as shown in the image above. High key lighting creates a sense of happiness, as he image is light in colour, and has few dark tones.

There are several pieces of equipment you can use to change the way the light works. 

One of these is a Snoot. 

A snoot is put on the end of a spotlight, and it makes the lighting beam smaller, so that you can light up a smaller area with your spotlight. This can be used for selective, low key lighting, e.g. lighting up one side of somebody's face. You can also use a honeycomb grid with a snoot.

Portraiture - Work Diary

For Portraiture, I did both a studio and public shoot. For my studio shoot, I got somebody to stand against the background and people to talk to her, while i took pictures of her expressions as she spoke. I also got somebody to do some set poses against the background. For my public shoot, I took some pictures of somebody else i took with me to do the shoot, and also used some people walking around the town.

This is my favourite image from my studio shoot.

 

I like it because it is quite close to the face so you can see the facial expression, but it also shows the shoulders so that you can see a bit more of the person in the photo. I like that a white background is used, as it means more attention is drawn to the subject of the photo. The black and white means the blacks are very dark and the light tones are very light, meaning it has a large tonal range. I also like the fact there is a shallow depth of field, as this means everything is in focus so we can see the details of the subject.

This is my least favourite image from my studio shoot.

I don't like this because the stool the person in the image's face is obscured by the stool they are holding up.  Also, i don't really like that the subject didn't quite fit on the background; you can see past the red screen that should be used as a background. Additionally, I feel that the image was not framed very well, as it has been taken not perfectly horizontally. Finally, I feel like prefer close up portraits than this full body style, as close ups show the subject's face in more detail.

This is my favourite image from my public photoshoot.

 I like this image because it has been taken with the subject leaning up against the wall, which is different to all the others. Also, the close up format means there is less background to be distracted with and attention is drawn to the subject. This image has quite a narrow depth of field, which means the background is not in focus, and therefore more attention is drawn to the subject.

This is my least favourite image from my public shoot.

I don't like the angle this is taken from as i feel it would have looked better if it was taken from at eye level of the subject. Also, it would benefit from having some background in shot so that a narrow depth of field could be achieved to drawn more attention to the subject. Finally, the image is not in focus, due to a mixture of the subject moving and camera shake. This could be prevented by using a tripod to take the photo.

In conclusion, if I were to do these photoshoots again, I would try to get more portraits from different distances, as mine were mostly close up portraits and I would like to explore full body portraits.

Portraiture - Image Bank

This is a portrait photo by Annie Leibovitz. The person in the photo is actress Jodie Foster. Whoever took this photo used an extreme close up and also vignetting, so that attention is drawn to the face, and other details are dark.

This is another portrait by Annie Leibovitz. The subject of the photo is actress Angelina Jolie. Unlike the Previous image, this appears to have not been taken in the studio. This means there is no vignetting or studio lighting. Also, this is image is taken more from a mid shot perspective rather than as a close up.

The image above is taken by Alec Soth. This is a very different type of portrait than the other two above, as it is taken far further away from the subject; you can see the man's whole body. Also, this image was not taken of a celebrity. This was taken somewhere in public, and the background is a lot less neat than in the other picture; there is lots of uneven floor and there are bits of broken wood in the background.

This Portrait is much less detailed than the previous ones. It has been taken in a studio on a white background, with no vignetting or selective lighting. It has a wide depth of field, therefore everything is on focus. It looks almost like it could be a passport photo, partly due to the blank expression of the man feature in the image. This photograph was taken by Thomas Ruff

Portraiture comparison essay

I am going to be comparing the works of Portrait Photographers Alec Soth and Thomas Ruff.

Here are some examples of Alec Soth and Thomas Ruff's work respectively

These works as typical of these photographers. They are both portraits, however, they are both taken from very different perspectives. Alec Soth often takes his portraits outside in a public place, usually with a very busy and interesting background. His portraits are taken of the entire body which is unusual for portraits as they are usually very close up. This viewpoint allows us to see more of the person, including their whole outfit and where they are standing. You can also take in what is around them too, which often contrasts to what they are wearing. For example, in the image above, the man is wearing a suit, however, his background contrasts as it shows broken pieces of wood and what appears to be a caravan. The floor he is standing appears to be very dusty and dirty, which also contrasts to his clothing. 

Thomas Ruff's portraits greatly contrast to the portraits of Alec Soth. Thomas Ruff's are always taken in a studio with a very plain background, unlike Alec Soth's which are taken in a public, and there is usually something to look at in the background. Thomas Ruff's portraits are also a lot closer to the subject, taken from the shoulders up. The background of Alec Soth's portraits is a plain colour, usually a white or grey studio background. Although there is less to see of the subject i these photos and also less to look at in the background, the close up viewpoint lets us see the subjects face in more detail. Unlike the Alec Soth's portrait, the expression of the subject is a lot more blank, much like a passport photo.

Portraiture - Straight Images

Portraiture - Definition

Portraiture is the art of creating portraits. A portrait is defined as an image of a person, usually taken of the head and shoulders. It is taken with a portrait orientation, hence the name portrait.
Portraits in Photography are usually made to express a certain emotion that the person in the photo is feeling at the time of taking the photo. They can be taken in s studio, so that you can control the conditions and get a very blank background, or they can be taken outside the studio, if you want some more interesting backgrounds and more natural lighting.