Portrait photography
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Portrait is one of the main genres of the photographic art. Its complexity lies in the fact that it does not imply a simple rendering of the exterior aspect, but, to a certain extent, it reveals the character, the inner emotions, and the psychology of the portrayed person.
The dictionary explains the term “portrait” as “rendering of the characteristic features of a person, as they are seen by an artist”.
It is very important that the photographed person feels comfortable in front of the camera and that he or she do not look nervously at the lens waiting for the aperture to open. Anybody needs to be prepared for a photo session. That is why you need to start your photo sessions by talking to the model openly, because such a conversation diminishes the tension, it makes the photographed person calm down and it allows him or her to keep a certain position and peaceful eyes. The resemblance to the original is the most important condition of a portrait.
In the artistic portrait, the model does not appear as a perfect copy but as a representation of some characteristic features. The reflection of personality in a portrait is determined by certain elements of the face.
If the person openly expresses real feelings, the general resemblance will be perceived even when certain elements of the face appear dark or unclear. In order to obtain such a resemblance it is sufficient to emphasize a few traits of the face with the help of optics and light, or even to limit yourself to a more expressive trait.
The hair
A feminine curly haircut can be emphasized with the help of light, according to the final purpose of the photo. In many cases, a little light on the hair can create a special effect. Thus, you can use a separate source of light that outlines only the haircut.
If your model is a hairless person it is better for you to focus on her or his face. Do not place the light too high, so that you don’t create lights and shadows on the skin above the forehead. If your model is growing rather bald, you can try an indirect lighting of contours, but it is best that you shouldn’t place the model right in front of the camera.
The ears
Although ears aren’t part of the face, you should pay special attention to them. It may happen that you have to take pictures of a flagging-eared person. In order to obtain a wonderful portrait, you can modify the position of the model as against the camera. If you turn the model 45° from the camera you will notice that the visible ear isn’t that obvious anymore, instead, it becomes a harmonious element of the portrait. The contour line of the face is continuous and the visible ear isn’t unpleasant to look at anymore, while the opposite ear isn’t visible at all.
The eyes
It is well known that eyes can express anything. They can express hostility, love, fear, terror, astonishment and many other feelings, and this happens constantly. There is no moment without the eyes expressing something; that is why it is very important that their expression be the one desired at the moment when you push the button to shoot pictures.
After you have prepared your model for the photo session you can ask him or her to look aside and then to look again in your direction before the exposure moment. During that short interval when the model changes the look direction, there is a lovely brightness in the wide open eyes. If he looks down, that gives a dramatic or sad expression to the portrait. If he looks up, that confers an interrogative shade and a touch of hope to the photo. A staring look is often the one of a lover.
Half closed eyes confer a stern countenance to the photo, and wide open eyes suggest fear or amazement. You can express many other feelings depending on how open or closed the eyes are. These details are extremely important if you want to create an expressive portrait that reflects the entire inner world of the model.
When you take pictures of a man with eyes deepened into the eye sockets you can use an entire scale of photographing angles. If the eyebrows are dark and strong you should be careful, as if you choose an incorrect angle or high station point the figure of the model becomes less expressive. Take care that both eyes be well lit by a light placed not too high, nor too strong from aside.
We must also draw your attention to the eye accessories. The glasses lenses are not a problem for photographers when lights are skillfully oriented. Glasses lenses are a simplified model of the camera lenses, namely they let the light pass through them, and the eyes of the person who wears glasses act like the camera lens, that is they are able to transform a virtual image into a real one. After you have decided to make the portrait of a person who wears glasses, follow the line of the glasses on the cheeks. Besides, as you look through the optical system of the lens, and through the glasses, it can happen that these lenses be able to form the image as well.
If you want to make the portrait of a person who wears glasses, one of the recommended methods for organizing light is to use a diffuse light coming from aside on the photographed model. For the reflection of the light fascicle, place a reflection screen on the other side of the cheek. You will get a pleasant, homogeneous, diffuse light and no spots of light or shadows will appear.
The nose
There are aquiline-nosed, straight-nosed, or snub-nosed people. After a careful examination of the model, try to imagine how the nose will look like in the photo.
If someone has a prominent nose, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to render it in the photo as it is. Human nature created the nose in many shapes and dimensions, turning it into a visible detail of the human appearance. The problem is to render this variety of types as well as possible. Obviously, you can’t tell a person with a very big or hooked nose that you can’t take his or her picture in profile; it isn’t a pleasant thing to hear.
A man with a big and straight nose should be photographed under an angle of about 45º, as the nose won’t dominate the figure. In case of a big or hooked nose, you can give up taking photos in profile, unless that person really wants to be photographed. Give him to understand gently that under such an angle the nose won’t be proportioned and it will strike the eye. If the photographed person is snub-nosed, you can render it very well from a carefully chosen angle, so that the person is placed differently in the direction of the camera and light. The frontal picture of a snub-nosed model is not recommended.
When you look through the view finder of the camera ask the model to lift his or her head slowly, always choose the angle that does not show the imperfections of the figure shapes, and never take photos from an angle where you can see the nostril holes.
The mouth
The mouth shapes can vary from a small mouth with thin lips to a big mouth with thick lips. Each one has its charm. See if the photographed person’s teeth are beautiful, but this doesn’t mean that everyone should smile. Especially when making portraits, many photographers try to get a little smile from their models, but you shouldn’t do this unless you really want that person to look friendly. A simple image offers additional elements for the revealing of the model’s mood. The main emphasis technique of the person’s features is the visual observation by turning the model’s head as against the camera. All these recommendations rely on the fact that, when photographed, a three-dimensional object (the model) is rendered in two dimensions (the photo). In the photo you should create an impression of depth by establishing the photographing angle and the appropriate light.
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4 Responses to “Portrait photography”
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April 18th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
Very helpful article.
April 19th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Thanks, I’ll post more articles in the near future; it’s jus a matter of finding the time to write them…
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:47 pm
Very informative. This site is going on my favorites for sure.
April 11th, 2009 at 5:29 am
I really liked your blog! i read 4 others that are on similar subjets, but they domt update very often, thanks.