Portraiture by Ian Newman (March, 2019)

What am I going to cover? Different types of Portraiture –Travel, Family, Studio. Setting up the camera. Equipment. Posing the model. Post processing. Technical stuff interspersed with examples of my work.

How did I get into Portraiture?

What is a Portrait A portrait is a photograph or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality and even the mood of the person. For this reason, in photography a portrait is generally not a snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position. A portrait often shows a person looking directly at the painter or photographer, in order to most successfully engage the subject with the viewer. Wikipedia

But more than this a good portrait has an engagement between the photographer and the subject.

The equipment I use.

Camera 10

Setting up the camera Great shots can be taken with almost any camera. Take the camera off of automatic. Manual Settings: ISO 100 if possible as this will give you the highest quality image. Use a telephoto lens. Lens in the range of 50mm – 400mm Do you need Flashgun?

Setting Aperture / Shutter Speed Shutter speed 1/125 to 1/ 160 of a second. F8 – F11 recommended as this is usually the “sweet spot” Depth of field.

Using Focus points Use “Spot Focusing” and focus on the subject’s eye.

Levels - Histograms Each colour or shade has a unique number in the range 0 to 255. Zero = pure black 255 = pure white The bottom axis shows the range of brightness in the image from dark to light. Typically you’ll hear people say that the bulk of tones should be in the middle, but that’s not exactly right. A night scene of stars will have the bulk of the tones in the dark region, with a spike at the top. Same for a dark product shot on a white background. The RGB drop down allows you to make adjustments to each prime colour. (COLOURS) LEVELS ARE VERY POWERFUL

Key rules for success! Images must be pin sharp, particularly the eye! Always focus of the subject’s eye, move your camera focus point to the eye. Long lenses are good: the subject will not be natural if you are in their face! When photographing children use a telephoto lens.

Key rules for success! When taking portrait photos lessen the tension: Play some music. Talk to your model. Have fun. Your best images will almost always come later in the session. Show the subject images as you take – sharing images allows the subject to improve their poses. Takes breaks, it’s hard work being a model.

What Lens to use Focal lengths somewhere between 80mm and 135mm, produces a flattened perspective distortion where the subject fills up the frame. Wide Angle lenses - This is generally not a good look for most people. If you want to photograph a person and flatter them, simply do not use a wide angle lens, period! Zoom lenses are excellent to use as they allow you to fill the frame with the subject. However leave some space around the model, you can always crop this later if it is not required.

Lens’s

The Flash Gun Pointing the flash gun directly at the subject leads to a very harsh image. Consider bouncing the flash off the ceiling or a wall. Most flash guns allow you to manually control the power – pop a little light to improve and image. Consider the alternatives – natural light or reflectors.

Types of Portraiture

Travel Photography - people Shoot them as they are (not how you want them to be). Use a Long Lens so that you are not on top of them and inhibit them. Ask them if they mind you taking their photograph. Get down on their level. Show them your pictures. Ask them to change their pose, if that helps. Use natural light in a natural environment (for the most natural portraits). 20

Photographing Children

Photographing Children Shoot them in their natural environment, playing, engaging with their playmates etc. The single most important thing is having a rapport with the child. Use a Long Lens so that you are not on top of them and inhibit their play. Sometimes a little silliness goes a long way. Get down on their level. Long lens are helpful as little one don’t like posing. Don’t expect them to pose for you – eve drop on their play if possible. Use natural light in a natural environment (for the most natural portraits).

Studio Photography or Home Photography 40

Posing Hands - are the enemy of the photographer try to keep them out the picture. Hair - behind one shoulder, in front of the other, away from the face. Shoulders - popping a shoulder up and forward can make all the difference, raising one shoulder higher than another will add dimension and strength. Chin Out and Down - when a model pushes her chin forward and then down and is faced directly towards the camera, the jawline is extended and stronger lines have been formed.

Posing (cont’d) Review images and try to assess which worked best. • Rule of Thirds. Use of negative space. Make it obvious if you intend to break a rule.

Post Processing

What Software can you use Lightroom Elements Photoshop + Other low cost or free software

Things to concentrate on: Basics: Cropping Exposure Shadows & Highlights Contrast More Advanced: White Backgrounds Skin Tones – use the healing brush to fix - spots, moles etc. Hair Eyes - fix the whites of the eyes - Lighten the Iris. Selective sharpening – us the sharpening brush Clarity

Post Processing – Workflow. Cropping – Crop bravely, don’t snip! Colour temperature around 5800. (day light temperature 5600) Histograms Adjust Exposure, Shadows, Highlights, Contrast Skin Tones – use the healing brush to fix - spots, moles etc. Fix stray hairs. Eyes - fix the whites of the eyes - Lighten the Iris. Making White Background white. Selective sharpening – us the sharpening brush.

Creating your own Studio

Studio Photography What do you need? Basic Studio Set ups

Softboxes

Rembrandt Lighting Set up

Think Black & White