Assignment 208: Principles of location photography: Theme 1: Portraits

Portraits - Shoot 3

Although I wasn't able to carry our my planned shoot this weekend I did persuade my son to pose for me (in exchange for other favours such as a taxi service!) to help me work on the feedback from Steve this week.

The feedback on my first two shoots was to:

• Try and work with natural light only 
• Take a step back and not crop so tightly on my subjects to give me space to work in post production

For my first attempt we worked in the garden - the problem with these images are the background - it was very difficult to pick an area where the background would not detract from the image to keep my images in the style of my research - but there were a couple of images that I think worked.  

I hate him smoking - but you can't live their live for them - and against my own feelings I chose this image because they capture a story about him at this point in his life - the culture of his age group.

ISO 200, f3, 1/125

This image reminds me of the one taken by David Bailey of Paul McCartney where his eyes are shut and the image has a soft tone to it.  

ISO 200, f3.2, 1/4

I then took the shoot inside to try and capture low light images without a flash.  To help me achieve this I used a tripod.  (I even got my husband to participate in this session).  This was very hard - it might have helped if I had taken these images earlier in the day when the lighting was at an optimum rather than when the light was failing.  They are not the most successful images but still they might be rescuable in post production.

He was having a nap before starting out on a four hour journey to Norwich!

ISO 200, f3.2, 1/5

A rare moment of joy - not sure what sparked it!

I also had to be careful working indoors with the tripod - I have three dogs - and it can get a bit lively at times - to make sure my equip was safe the dogs were temporarily assigned to the kitchen - or in the case of the little one's snuggled up on the settee!

ISO 200, f3, 1/6

Deep in thought.

ISO 250, f3, 1/4

What can be better than a sunday afternoon on the sofa?

Assignment 208: Location Photography - Theme 1 

Portrait Photography: Shoot 2

ISO 200, f5.6, 1/160, focal length 105mm

For my second portrait session I choose a sunny afternoon - I wanted to be able to concentrate on outdoor shots full of natural light.

I used the same equipment as the first shoot - my Nikon D70 with a fixed 105mm lens to allow me to create space between myself and the subject but still capture tight facial shots.

I used the same technique - this time capturing the images whilst chatting over a cup of coffee in the garden - soaking up the last rays of sun.

The images have all been converted to black and white, and some minor amends made:

• cropping out background detail where necessary
• adjusting contrast to gain the right tone for the black and white image

It was a great afternoon - we hadn't caught up for ages - and there was plenty of laughs to go round as you can see.

ISO 200, f3.5, 1/200, focal length 105mm

ISO 200, f3, 1/200, focal length 105mm

ISO 200, f3, 1/200, focal length 105mm

ISO 200, f3, 1/500, focal length 105mm

This little boy is one of my nephews (I have a few!) he has the blondest hair and the bluest eyes and the cheekiest smile - I couldn't decide wether to change to black and white - what do you think do they work? I think the glint in the eye and the smile retain the beauty.

He was a bit nervous of the camera - and shy of me - so it took a while for him to warm up for the camera.

ISO 200, f3, 1/80, focal length 105mm

ISO 200, f3, 1/80, focal length 105mm

ISO 200, f3, 1/100, focal length 105mm

ISO 200, f3, 1/500, focal length 105mm

ISO 200, f3.5, 1/200, focal length 105mm

 It took me a while to convince my sister that it didn't need to be a side profile!

ISO 200, f3, 1/200, focal length 105mm

Whilst this last one doesn't necessarily fit my overall portrait theme I think it came out so well - and after being married for 40 years it is nice to see such closeness.

Assignment 208:Principles of Location Photography: Theme 1: People Portraits

People Portraits: Attempt 1

My objective for Theme 1 is to capture close-up facial portraits of subjects in their own surroundings.  In my first shoot I was aiming to emulate the style of Jane Bowen and Steve Pyke.

The images were taken in colour and then converted to black & white.  

I arranged to visit my friends one Sunday afternoon - I had briefed them on my colleague course, and took my laptop so that I could show them my research blogs to give an idea of what I was trying to achieve.

I planned the visit for early afternoon when there would still be sufficient light to capture the images using natural light.  Although towards the end of the afternoon I did have to resort to flash.

Equipment:

I used my Nikon D70, with a fixed focal lens of 105mm.  This is a good lens for portrait photography - allowing me to capture skin tone and facial detail without having to get to close to the subject - allowing them room to behave naturally.  This was the first time I had used this lens in manual and I did struggle at times to get crisp images.

I also had a tripod on hand to help with stability when using lower shutter speeds to compensate for the failing light.  I had to be careful with the tripod as there was not a lot of room due to furniture, and there were a couple of dogs floating around.  

Technique:

I started the afternoon just by talking with my camera in hand.  Then I started to shoot.  All the time I was encouraging my friends to just talk - about anything - and to relax.  I found that as time progressed they became less conscious of the camera and when I was taking photo's.

The camera was operated in manual at all times.  

I tried to remember at all times the words from Jane Bowen - that a great picture is a combination of the photographer and the subject and it is about capturing a defining moment.

ISO 200, f5, 1/60, focal length 105mm

Converted to black and white:

ISO 200, f5, 1/60, focal length 105mm

ISO 200, f3, 1/40, focal length 105mm

Converted to black and white - with some attempt to lighten the shadows on the left hand side of the face.

Their daughter was totally wrapped up a problem she was having with her PC - this was the moment that it all became too much.

ISO 200, f3.5, 1/80, focal length 105mm

Converted to black and white.  I liked this photo - it reminded me of the Jane Bowen picture of Bjork - where Bjork is just peeping out from behind her hands.

ISO 200, f3.5, 1/80, focal length 105mm

I liked this photo - I was trying to capture a profile similiar to the veteran photo in my research of Steve Pyke.  A little more sharpness around the rest of the face would have been good - but the mouth and the nose are strong - and the lines around the eyes are good - and the hint of the earring in the ear help give this character.

ISO 200, f3, 1/15, focal length 105mm

There us a slight motion blur around the eyes as she moved her head at the last minute - but her smile is so natural.

ISO 200, f3.5, 1/80, focal length 105mm

Jane Bowen talked about capturing a feature that related to your subject - and that is why I liked this image with the tatoo on the wrist just showing.

I enjoyed this shoot - I found that I could make my 'models' relax through talking, and that it was possible to use the light around the house without resorting to flash.

I need to research a few more portrait photographers now, and plan to repeat my sessions to gain confidence in my use of the camera, and in finding those defining moments.