For this brief we were asked to produce 6 portrait images, 4 of the images had to be of people know and 2 being strangers. We were asked to focus on experimenting with lighting, composition, form and pose. To best experiment with these, i made each portrait unique. Here are my first 4 images of people i know –
Image 1 –
In this image i wanted to experiment with depth of field and create a different style of portrait. I feel this image came out well as the depth of field makes the visuals very interesting. To experiment with what the natural pose is, i asked my subject to do the first pose that comes mind and this was the result. I then applied lighting to the background in order to remove the shadows as i did not feel they added anything to the image. Next i brought the image into Lightroom to alter and improve, i added a light blue colour correct to the image along with a vignette as i felt this would bring out the subject due to him being in the centre of the image.
Image 2 –
For my next image i wanted to catch my subject to express something that was of interest to them, my subject is involved in music so we decided a combo of headphones and his computer would best express this.
Image 3 –
Next, i went back to what the natural pose was, this time experimenting with what the natural pose would be when the subject is intoxicated, again i asked my subjects to do the first pose that comes to mind. I feel the results of this image were good along with the effects added in Lightroom which makes the image sharper resulting in it appearing better quality, i also added a subtle orange tone on soft light and brought the opacity down to bring out the subjects a lot more.
Image 4 –
Lastly i wanted to experiment with the theme of horror as i felt it would allow me to be as creative as possible, for this image i placed my subject in a dark room and used a flashlight for lighting. I adjusted the lighting on my subject to wear the lighting would not reach his eyes and make them appear blacked out, giving the image a halloween theme as if he had devil eyes. I next brought the image into Lightroom and lightened the image up as it was too dark.
When conducting some research into various portraiture imagery i noticed many of them were shot on a black background which blended well with the subject, this inspired me to shoot my own portraiture on a black background and see how well i could combine my subject into the background, along with following through the halloween effect i found that created and reshooting to achieve it the best i could.
Here are my next 2 images, these images are of people i did not know prior to taking the picture –
Image 1 –
To take my portraits of strangers, i decided i would ask around a restaurant i was at as i felt it would offer the best results as many people would be dressed up for the occasion and most likely want a picture taking of them anyway. As i was walking around i found a couple who i felt would be great for a photo. I confronted the couple and began a dialogue so they would feel comfortable and then asked if it would be okay to take a picture, i asked for the man to put his arm around his wife as it shows they are together. I then again brought the photo into Lightroom and added a sharpen effect as i felt it added much more detail to the subjects.
Image 2 –
Here is my last portrait of a stranger. For this image i used the same approach i used on the couple previously, starting a dialogue and then asking if they would like to be photographed, for this image i used my camera lighting rather then natural lighting, this brought the subject out a lot more. I then brought the image into Lightroom again and added the old polar preset as it brought out the subject even more.
References
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=photographers&espv=2&biw=1286&bih=713&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwid8pP8rcLJAhWMaxQKHdt4AC4Q_AUIBygC#tbm=isch&q=portrait
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=photographers&espv=2&biw=1286&bih=713&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwid8pP8rcLJAhWMaxQKHdt4AC4Q_AUIBygC#tbm=isch&q=portrait+black+and+white