Selecting Final Images - Portraits

Below are the portraits that I have selected for my portfolio on this section of the course, which I have chosen for capturing the character of the person which I feel is very important, exposure, focusing and general composure.

For these portraits I based the idea on the work of David Bailey, who is a photographer who I heard of before any other photographer, and who’s work I have always liked, who is still today a popular photographer.

 

Eric Shutter 1/45 Aperture f 5.6 ISO 100 Metering Manual	To me this portrait of Eric is nicely composed and cropped, and shows Eric's character.  The image is catchy, with good focusing and a good depth of field, concentrating the views attention on Eric’s face, via his gesture with his hands.  Eric's eyes are sharp and I was happy that there was no reflection of the lighting in Eric's glasses, which is a common worry with portraits.  Some photographers remove the glass lenses from the glasses prior to the shoot. This image was lit using a beauty dish from the front, just above the camera position, with a white background, in much the same way as David Bailey would have taken the portrait.
Suzy Shutter 1/60 Aperture f 5.6 ISO 100 Metering Manual	I was very happy with this portrait of Suzy, with a good head and shoulder style portrait.  The image is clear and well focused, with Suzy's eyes clearly in focus with good catch lights, again with a good depth of field. I cropped this image differently to the others so that I could include Suzy's necklace with the paw print, because we know how much Suzy loves animals, she actually runs a small pet shelter, and I felt that to crop this off would do Suzy and her passion for animals an injustice. This image was lit using a beauty dish from the front, just above the camera position, with a white background, in much the same way as David Bailey would have taken the portrait.
Jim Shutter 1/45 Aperture f 5.6 ISO 100 Metering Manual	Jim is a more advanced photographer, and this pose seemed the most appropriate, with the fingers forming a frame through which we can see Jim's right eye.  This frame forms a frame within the frame of the image.  The point of focus of this image is Jim's eye, which is about centre in the frame and in clear focus, drawing the views eye to Jim's right eye.  The catch light adds more interest to the picture. This image was lit using a beauty dish from the front, just above the camera position, with a white background, in much the same way as David Bailey would have taken the portrait.
Pippa Shutter 1/45 Aperture f 5.6 ISO 100 Metering Manual	This portrait of Pippa, taken slightly to the right, shows Pippa with her sense of humour.  This style of portrait photography, where the portrait subject sits looking away from the photographer, then turns their attention to the position of the photographer is a different approach which I wanted to try.  This portrait has good focusing.  I have cropped this portrait tightly in a similar way to David Bailey. This image was lit using a beauty dish from the front, just above the camera position, with a white background, in much the same way as David Bailey would have taken the portrait.
Ruth Shutter 1/60 Aperture f 5.6 ISO 100 Metering Manual	For Ruth, I wanted a similar idea to Pippa, with Ruth looking to her left, almost over her left shoulder.  The focusing is clear with Ruth's eyes in focus, but unlike everyone else from the first portrait shoot, Ruth does not have the catch lights in her eyes, possibly due to the angle to the camera at which Ruth is facing. I wanted to capture Ruth's hair, but I was limited by the crop as to how much of Ruth's hair I could include within the portrait. This image was lit using a beauty dish from the front, just above the camera position, with a white background, in much the same way as David Bailey would have taken the portrait.
Steve D Shutter 1/60 Aperture f 6.3 ISO 100 Metering Manual	For Steve there was another approach, whereby Steve used a film back placed in front of his face and looked through the aperture.  Like the frame created with Jim's hands on his portrait, this camera back formed a frame within the frame of the portrait, with the emphasis on Steve's eyes.  This approach I thought captured Steve well.  Like Eric, Suzy and Jim, Steve's portrait was taken with the camera directly in front of Steve, pointing directly at him.  This image was lit using a beauty dish from the front, just above the camera position, with a white background, in much the same way as David Bailey would have taken the portrait.
Rebecca Shutter 1/60 Aperture f 4.5 ISO 800 Metering Spot	The portrait of Rebecca was taken at about 90 degrees to her as she posed with the lighting from the window, reflected up providing a similar effect to a fill in flash.  This portrait I feel captured Rebecca's personality.  And although I have not intended any portraits with the subject holding a camera, I felt this one worked well.  Again the focusing was good, with a shallow depth of field blurring out the background, without any post production work required to achieve this. This image was lit using a window behind Rebecca, providing a back light, but the camera’s spot metering compensated for this giving the portrait a more natural look.
Steve B Shutter 1/20 Aperture f 4.5 ISO 800 Metering Spot	This portrait of Steve is a typical portrait with the camera facing the subject and Steve looking directly back at the camera.  The focusing was good again with a shallow depth of field to isolate Steve from the white background.  The attention is drawn to Steve's eyes. This image was lit using a window to Steve’s left, which was reflected off a light coloured wall, to Steve’s right, which illuminated the right side of Steve’s face, without the use of any flash.  Sometimes I feel that the harshness of flash can sometimes ruin an image by destroying the atmosphere. Eric kindly held up a reflector to soften the light from the window, again providing a more natural look to this portrait.
James Shutter 1/30 Aperture f 5.6 ISO 100 Metering Manual	For this portrait of Jim, I wanted to get a more formal approach to the portrait, which I am happy to say that I achieved.  This I feel is a more popular and traditional style of portrait, although looking at some of the portrait photographer’s shops and stalls, more fun style portraits, like the one of Eric, seem to be more popular today.  The focusing was on Jim’s eyes and the narrow depth of field prevented anything from the background showing.  In this pose Jim stood with his right shoulder slightly nearer to me with his arms folded.  The image was lit using a beauty dish from the front, just above the camera position, with a white background, in much the same way as David Bailey would have taken the portrait.
Suzy Looking Shutter 1/60 Aperture 5.6 ISO 100 Metering Manual	For this portrait of Suzy, I wanted to capture Suzy looking away from the camera, but to a lesser degree than the portraits of Ruth and Pippa.  This angle shows more of Suzy’s hair which is one thing ladies are always very proud of. Again the focusing was on Suzy’s eyes with a wider depth of field to maintain a good depth of field to keep Suzy’s face in focus.  The catch lights in her eyes add to the interest in this image.  Also Suzy’s heart shaped ear ring adds more to the image. The portrait was lit using a beauty dish from the front, just above the camera position, with a white background, in much the same way as David Bailey would have taken the portrait.
Rebecca Looking Shutter 1/30 Aperture f 4.5 ISO 800 Metering Spot	For this one of Rebecca I wanted to take the portrait more towards the front of her, where she was hiding behind the camera. This I like because it shows Rebecca’s personality again. Like the other portrait of Rebecca, the focusing was good, with a shallow depth of field blurring out the background, without any post production work required to achieve this. This portrait was again lit using a window behind Rebecca, providing a back light, but the camera’s spot metering compensated for this giving the portrait a more natural look.

Again I would like to take the opportunity to thank all those who faced the camera from the lens side, rather than the view finder side and gave me some brilliant portraits and for their support.  After all, what is a portrait without a subject ?

I would like to have taken the portrait of Joe Fogg from our group, but he was away on the days where I could take his portrait.  Hopefully next time Joe !

As for self portraits, because someone said about not seeing my portrait, two reasons; 1)   Self portraits never look good   2)   I cannot afford a new lens

Portraits of Photographers - Part 2

Aim of the shoot

For this shoot I wanted to capture some of the other photographers from the course. Unfortunately, there were a few problems so it was a case of improvisation. But this did give me an opportunity to try some portraits in a very different lighting scenario to my previous portrait shoot.

Set Ups

For the two portraits I used ambient lighting. Although I did vary the set up for the two portraits, which included the direction of the light.

For Rebecca I shot her against natural backlighting. The set up diagram is shown below:

For Steve, we went for a more formal pose, where Steve stood with his back to a whiteboard. This set up shown below:

Steve stood near to a whiteboard, this gave a clean, uncluttered background. Eric kindly held a reflector which helped with the lighting.

Choice Of Equipment

As this was a more improvised shoot, I was very limited with the equipment available.

I used a DSLR with a 18-200mm lens, without flash, using the available light in the room. Eric kindly held a reflector to even out the light on Steve. This lens is very handy as it has a variable focal length and can be used to zoom in on someone, reducing the amount of cropping required, without standing on their toes. The lens has a wide aperture of f 4.5 which allows me to isolate the subject from their surroundings, in particular the backdrop.

Health and Safety

Because I am working with people who are modelling for this photo shoot I must make sure that at all times their safety is of prime concern. Fortunately, all my subjects are photographers themselves and are aware of the safety measures in place. Working in a classroom instead of the studio, where there is seating, although out of the way, any dangers that can arise from these can be reduced by having an assistant present, who in my case was Eric.

The usual health and safety precautions must be followed:

Environment

Fortunately, working in a college classroom which is kept clear of any obstructions, we had a clear and safe working environment.

Electricity

Because we were not using studio lighting the only danger which could affect any of us was from the Apple Mac computers in the classroom.

Heat

Because we were not using any studio lighting there was no danger from these. The only heat in the classroom was from the sun.

Flash Photography

As I chose to use the existing light, there was no flash used.

Chemicals

Because we were not in the studio, and the classrooms are kept clean and tidy, there were no chemicals in the area.

Image Selection

Because this had been a more improvised shoot than my last one I had less images to choose from, but again I wanted to capture the personality of the person, not just their portrait.

Below is a contact sheet of the portraits that I took during this session:

With such a limited selection of images to choose from, particularly in the case of Steve Bright.

Post Production of the images

As with the other portraits, I used the Black and White film filter to convert the images to monochrome, whilst maintaining control over the finished image.

These were then cropped. Although with Rebecca I could not achieve a square finished image, I was very happy with the end result. Thanks Rebecca and Steve !

From this photo shoot I came away with the following images:

Many thanks to Rebecca and Steve for their participation in these portraits, and for Eric’s assistance.

Portrait Photography

Portraits of Photographers – Part 1

For this project I wanted to capture the other photographers on the course. Unfortunately, some of the group, namely Steve B, Becky and Joe, were not in today so I will take more at a later date including a group shot of everyone.

Aim of the Shoot

My inspiration for these portraits are from some of the portraits taken by David Bailey.

Steve helped with the lighting which we decided would be similar to the type of set up that David Bailey or Irving Penn would have used:

For these portraits I used the DSLR with a 18 – 200 mm lens, as this would give me a wide range of focal lengths to play, without either standing on my subject’s toes or standing out the door. I have read that a good focal length for portraits is around the 90 mm mark. I will also be using the battery grip enables me to take the portrait orientated photographs, whilst still having access to the important controls. At first I used the camera stand, but this I found too limiting, so I chose to use the camera loose, as it should be used.

I used the infra red trigger for the flash units which gave me more portability and prevented any tripping over type accidents. The main flash was above me but there was more than enough clearance from my head.

Steve set the studio with a white background with one main light almost above me and two soft boxes to illuminate the background.

The set up is shown below:

For some of the portraits I wanted the subject to stand up, for others I wanted them to be sitting down.

 

 

Health and Safety

Because I am working with people who are modelling for this photo shoot I must make sure that at all times their safety is of prime concern.  Fortunately, all my subjects are photographers themselves and are aware of the safety measures in place in a photographic studio, where as many people, especially children and curious adults are prone to ‘what happens if I press this’ scenario, which having worked in the joinery trade, I am fully aware how dangerous a clicking of a simple button can be where the person pressing it knows nothing about the implications of doing so.  Also the dangers of multiple children, or over curious adults, where you cannot watch everyone all the time, although these dangers can be reduced by having an assistant present.

 

There is another option, with some people (none of those on the course) but a piece of 3 x 2 would not be permitted.

 

The usual health and safety precautions must be followed:

 

Environment

Fortunately, working in the college photographic studio which is kept clear of any obstructions, we had a clear and safe working environment, which is very important because, once the lights are out and we have only the modelling lights from the flash units to see by, any cables or props left lying around could cause an accident.

Electricity

Although the voltages for many lights may be lower, especially for portable lighting, you must always check that the cables are in good condition and have firm connections (to the equipment and to the mains power supply) and that nothing is overloading any sockets.

There were no liquids in the studio, so there was no concerns of any liquids coming close to any electrical appliances.

Cables

With more people in the studio there are always more concerns over tripping and falling accidents in the studio.  The lighting is fitted to a series of tracks which are fixed to the ceiling, this reduces the number of cables that are near the ground, and any slack in the cables from these lights is taken up to prevent any tripping over accidents.

 

Heat

Because of the use of flash units, which generate a lot of heat, these were only handled before any photography started, using the light from the modelling light to ascertain the lighting.   Also nothing inflammable was placed any where near any lighting equipment.  It is important with so much lighting equipment that can be triggered wirelessly that any unused equipment is switched off, both for safety and causing unwanted lighting.

Steve, who changed any fittings, prior to the start of the shoot, was careful not to catch any lighting tubes, which are very fragile whilst changing the fittings.

Chemicals

Because we are all using digital cameras, most of the chemicals involved with photography, in particular the processing and development of the finished photographs, have been removed.

Image Selection

From this photo shoot I took a number of images, where I tried to capture the personality behind the portrait, rather than just capture an image of the person.

Below are contact sheets of the images that I captured during the shoot:

 

Once I had looked at the different photographs I selected those that I felt captured the personality of the person, because to me this is what is important about any portrait.  Although photographs never do the person justice, I wanted to at least capture their personality.

Although Eric and Jim brought cameras, I wanted to capture them off duty, without a camera.

 

The Post Production

After I had selected the portraits I wanted to convert them to monochrome, using the Black and White filter from PhotoPlus X3, which is just like the filter demonstrated by Peter Clark from Adobe Photoshop CS4. This would create a similar finish to portraits by David Bailey.

My first subject was Ruth. Ruth was a little nervous at first, a common thing with all people, especially photographers. Ruth soon settled and we got some good portraits:

1/60th at f5.6 with 100 ISO

Next up was Eric, who is very relaxed on both sides of the camera, as you can see:

1/45th at f5.6 with 100 ISO

My next subject was Pippa:

1/45th at f5.6 with 100 ISO

In fact whilst taking portraits of Pippa I caught the dial and ended up with some high key portraits as well. I soon realised and corrected this ready for my next subject Suzy:

1/60th at f5.6 with 100 ISO

Like all the team, Suzy was a great subject and soon relaxed.

Next was Steve Davies, our tutor:

1/60th at f6.3 with 100 ISO

Steve brought with him is sense of humour, which is something that I wanted to capture about Steve.

Finally, for this session was Jim:

1/45th at f5.6 with 100 ISO

Who is forever the photographer.

The Final Images

Below are the final images that I have cropped, in a similar way to those portraits taken by David Bailey, as suggested by Steve Davies:

Ruth

 

Eric

 

In fact Steve Davies asked if the Burton College could use this photograph for promoting the exhibition.

Pippa

Suzy

With Suzy, I wanted to also capture her necklace, showing a paw print, because Suzy in very passionate about animals.

Steve Davies

Jim

I hope the team are happy with their portraits, please give me some feedback on these, as I said above, I will be taking some more portraits on 29 May 2010, when I am hoping for a group portrait.

A very big thank you to everyone who modelled for me today.

Peter