Off to a portrait workshop in February....

Really excited as I've booked myself onto a 2 day workshop in portrait photography this February. It's going to focus on both outdoor and studio images and will build on what I've done so far in Part One. I'm really looking forward to practising the use of reflected light, camera flash work  and doing some simple studio work . Will report back after the event!

Reflection on Assignment One and the way forward...

With little or no experience of portraiture other than holiday/ event 'snapshot' type of images, I couldn't help but approach this first part of the course both apprehensive and intrigued at the same time. Though using close friends and my partner as models, I still couldn't help feeling a little wary each time I approached a portrait exercise. 

Remembering that many photographers e.g. Richard Avedon or Annie Leibowitz occasionally used 'stand ins' to set up a session in advance of the model arriving, I managed to get hold of a model standin (Fred)..The idea was to save time at a session by using Fred as a standin either as part of a previous reconnaisance or on the day before my model arrived. A good idea in principle but practicalities ie. only head and shoulders limited Fred's usefulness - a use ploy though for the exercise on light. 

'Fred'

Looking now at the seven portraits that form my first assignment, a number of things strike me.

Firstly,spending time checking out the location repays significantly though taking simple shots to gauge position and lighting does not allow for the on the day challenges so I need to always build in a little more time on the day. For example, some of my favoured spots' at the Hilsea lines were complicated by a student camera crew also filming on the same day of my intended shoot and the owners of the bastion workshops using their entrances and blocking sight lines and access with their vehicles.

Feedback from models also suggests that while they felt comfortable with what I suggested, the kind of poses and how we would approach things etc., I do need to give them a better idea of the time, i.e. their time,needed for the 'shoot'.

Using a low aperture to blur out the background doesn't always work as well as might be expected as occasionally it produces a strange background when the image is enlarged.See P773 below:

P773: F5 @ 1/125  43mm  ISO 100

Expressions and poses...my tactics for relaxing my models worked well though maybe I shouldn't approach a session so much with pre set ideas of what I wanted to capture in terms of expressions. And I perhaps need to ask folk more for their ideas for various poses - what they feel comfortable with as this did offer better images sometimes.

Images taken outside and activity or particular stances worked better than my attempt at formal interior portraits. This was partly due to finding a suitable location inside but perhaps more from lack of skill re lighting interior portraits with and without artificial lighting. I need to get to grips with using an external flash unit on and off my camera. And I also want to find myself a short course on portrait photography to strengthen my technical skills here and to explore the creative side of this kind of photography further.

So, from being very wary and not sure if I was that interested in portrait photography as a practitioner, I find that I want to know more, gain more experience, practise and develop my skills here. And my admiration of such as Jane Bown, Annie Leibowitz and other giants of portrait photography just continues to grow...

 

Assignment One

A Portrait ...

A challenging assignment? Definitely! 

Looking back at all the work that I did up to the point of setting out on this assignment, I decided that I wanted to come up with images that reflected what I'd learnt on the way, combined with interesting locations and, perhaps images that reflected something of my model. Terry, has a lovely smile but I wanted to capture other expressions ..expressions that were natural and not contrived.

How successful were these aims? Well, these are the final images that I've selected for Assignment One:

 

P 761: F5 @ 0.6 43mm  ISO 1600

P761 is taken in a tunnel at Hilsea Lines.The setting works well here - I wanted to use the natural light coming from the right and from the end of a long tunnel to light Terry's face.It shows a reflective, serious side of Terry ...a good pose despite the fact both she and I were practically freezing to death as the location proved to be a serious wind tunnel...Hot chocolate had to be administered when we arrived back home. 

P767:F5.6 @ 1/40 26mm  ISO 100

Terry is a keen reader of newspapers.I've seen her read papers while waiting for trains, in queues, shops and waiting rooms so standing outside, leaning against a wall and reading a newspaper is very much in character.

I chose this alley entrance, down at heel but visually interesting, as the location for this particular activity as I was looking for a slightly edgy background to compliment the reading of 'serious' news.I also wanted, in a sense, to 'frame' the activity so leaning between the wooden frame on the left and the vertical wooden planks on the right worked well. The sunlight proved a problem as it came from behind me creating my shadow as well as Terry's so I had to spent some time moving around to get this particular angle. Not sure that the lighting worked that well as I ended up with shadows lower down around the right arm. That said, I was pleased with the stance even if the technical side could have been better.

Below is my version of a more formal head and shoulders portrait, taken inside in our conservatory. I was looking for a plain background that would not work against the portrait - a rare location in our home. Again I wanted to work with natural light, avoid harsh shadows from the sunlight lighting up the background and Terry's face with patterns from the window frames but achieve enough shadow to add depth and character to Terry's face.
 

P762:F5.6 @ 1/400  87mm  ISO 800

I used a tripod and 'live' view on the camera. Terry is not a natural 'poser' in front of the camera but was willing to chat for a while which helped both of us relax into the session and achieve a variety of expressions..it was a toss-up between P762 above and P771 below. 

 

P771:F5.6 @ 1/320  87mm  ISO 800

P762 won out both from a practical point of view - I managed to avoid the division of background that appeared in P771 and the light planes worked better but also I felt that it was a more interesting expression.Not surprisingly perhaps, my model preferred the smiling image..

P765: F5 @ 1/30  31mm  ISO 100

I like this relaxed pose framed within the door frame...it works well.The lighting is less successful though.While the angle of the sun helps define the pose against the background, it produces a slightly overexposed right side of Terry's face resulting in less definition. 

 

P766: F4.5 @ 1/25  31mm  ISO 100

Contrast P765 with the image above (P766). I like the directness of this image which I captured almost by chance at the end of a session of images taken using the doorway into our garage. I wanted a dark background to bring out more definition for a head and shoulders image and discovered that this doorway came up trumps. We didn't have much of a window between days of heavy rain, and a further challenge here was the angle of light onto Terry's face made worse by the bright winter sunlight just at the time of day we were able to get out in the dry. At this point in the session I'd abandoned the tripod and moved in closer..perhaps the reason for the very wary look?

P769:F5.6 @ 1/40 22mm ISO 100

The light was difficult here but I've chosen to include this image as an 'activity' shot - I like the pose and the look of concentration as Terry sorts out Lego figures for a Geocache picture. The print version of this doesn't really do the image justice...more due to a calibrating difficulty with printer and screen profile.With hindsight a higher aperture would have worked better as clearer background detail would have added rather than diminished the image.


P763 below was taken just minutes into 2015 on the top of Portsdown Hill, Portsmouth. This is a favourite beauty spot for local people to see the New Year in. Apart from being very close to Mick's Monster Burger Bar in the spot car park, you can see all the fireworks across the city laid below and if the wind is in the right direction, hear the ship horns sounding the New year in.

I took my camera with me as it was a dry night and I was actually thinking ahead to the next part of the course i.e. 'People unaware '. That said, the idea for this image popped up suddenly on the hill and I just went with it. I like the direct, relaxed pose as it wasn't actually a contrived as such...am I imagining some anticipation of drinking the hot toddy in the flasks?


 

P763:F3.5 @ 1/60  18mm  ISO 400

P763 is not a technically good image - it was taken with the camera's built-in flash (with no diffuser) leaving a sharp edge to the shadow behind Terry.There was little ambient light so taking the image in the dark relied more on memory as to exactly where my model was ...so more hit or miss than a planned shot. But I do like the pose i.e. the position of the body and the direct, happy look up into the camera lens.Probably more a snapshot style than portrait.

I've only just invested in an external Speedlite and I wonder how this image would turn out using this flash in a more organised portrait session.

Assignment 1 - research

 Alternative locations for Assignment One

Thought that I would also go back to previous local  photo locations to see if they would suggest different lighting scenarios, poses or a particular theme for my model..

A Cosham underpass...

P778: F8 @ 1/15  18mm  ISO 800

P779: F8 @1/25  18mm  ISO 800

I used this underpass above for lighting and atmosphere for a couple of earlier assignments  but this time round it failed to trigger any real ideas whereas the alley below offered more scope ..the   edginess that I felt looking into the alley might be made to work for a composition.

P780: F5.6 @ 1/13  18mm ISO 100

P781: F5.6 @ 1/50 22mm ISO 100

Lighting will be a consideration but the this location could offer a plain and uncomplicated background.

Assignment 1 - research

Location hunting in the Hilsea lines 

Went off to Hilsea Lines to check out possible locations for a portrait shoot. I really like this place -the remains of a line of 18th and 19th century fortifications built to protect the northern approach of Portsea Island, part of Portsmouth city and its naval base. And luckily it has the advantage of being a short drive from home.

The Lines area a popular destination for dog walkers and walkers alike as paths twist through woodland and around overgrown bastions. I just love the over grown and sometimes derelict brickwork and how some small businesses have taken over the inside of gun casements..

P760: F5.6 @ 1/4 18mm  ISO 800

P782: F4.5 @ 1/8 31mm ISO 400

Possibilities of using light and shadow..

P783: F5 @ 1/200  43mm  ISO 400

P775: F4.5 @ 1/500  37mm ISO 400

P776: F4.5 @ 1/100  18mm ISO 400

Looking for a possible picture 'frame'.....

P777 Alternative approach ....possible useful for an action shot or looking up towards the model? Would need to consider time of day and weather to achieve the right kind of lighting for whatever pose worked.

P777: F5.6 @ 1/80  18mm  ISO 400