-Thanks,
Ms. Lewis
Portrait Photography Assignment - DUE 4/25/11
Take 30-40 portraits using the techniques described above; 10 -Lighting, 10- Rule of Thirds, and 10- Depth of field. Remember you are taking Portraits so the person or people should be the main subject of your image. Due Date: Monday 4/25/11
Have you ever felt that you have far too many "snapshots" of your family, and want a more professional-looking photograph to hang on your wall? You don't need a photo studio and a ton of expensive lighting and camera gear to take portraits. With intelligent use of your equipment, thoughtful framing and attention paid to lighting, anybody can take good portraits. Here's how.
1.Getting the lighting right - Those fortunate enough to have a photo studio can precisely control their lighting. The rest of us will have to go out and find the right light. What you're looking for is consistent and diffused or soft lighting. Direct, harsh sunlight will cause bad shadows to be casted on the subject's face. Avoid direct, harsh sunlight from any direction. Apart from a few hours of soft light in the early morning and afternoon, direct sunlight is largely unfavorable for taking portrait photos. Looking into the sunlight will cause your subject to squint, and harsh light from behind will make it more difficult to get a consistent exposure. From any other angle, it will cast harsh shadows on the face (including the horrid "raccoon eye" effect from direct overhead light has). Overcast days are best, as clouds will diffuse the sunlight but if you don’t have clouds, use the shade if you can.
2.Composition - There are many rules and techniques that deal with composition. One of the most common rules of thumb is the rule of thirds. This works under the concept that tension in the picture will bring more interest. The way that the rule of thirds is used is by splitting up the scene in the viewfinder into 9 equal parts like a tic-tac-toe board. Where the lines intersect is where points of interest in the photograph should be located. If there is a horizontal line of interest such as a horizon or edge of a table, it should be placed on the top or bottom one third line. The picture below shows the proper layout using the rule of thirds in an outdoor portrait setting.
3.Depth of Field - The most important thing to remember with portraits is that the subject is the person or people in the photograph. I recommend head and shoulder shots for the most part. It is okay to pan out a bit to let some background in, but too much background may cause a subject conflict and the viewer's eye may not be able to tell what to focus on. If you pan out to get a better picture of an action portrait and the background is too distracting there is something that can be done. Decrease the aperture setting on your camera to narrow the depth of field. This will cause the background to be out of focus while keeping the subject in focus. This technique takes a bit of practice but the effect is worth it. While a point and shoot camera usually does not allow the user to change aperture setting, this same depth of field effect can be obtained by simply moving closer to the subject. The closer the subject is to camera, the narrower the depth of field it will appear in.
