Camera Settings and equipment for portraiture:
- Lens – What camera lenses you choose when photographing people can completely change the look of your images, and the person (none is right or wrong, but knowing the effect each lens will have on your image will allow you to make the appropriate choice for the look you wish to achieve)
- Zoom Lenses / Telephoto Lenses isolate and compress perspective (subject will appear isolated, or separated from the background)
- Wide-angle lenses have an inclusive effect and enhance perspective (they make objects appear farther away, adding a feeling of depth)
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ZOOM LENS (75-300mm)
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WIDE ANGLE LENS (10-28mm)
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- Aperture – between f/2 and f/4 for a single subject (get the background out of focus) or f/5.6-f/8 for groups.
- Shutter speed – at least 1/60th handheld, or 1/15th if you subject is still and your camera is mounted on a tripod (and you're not photographing kids!)
- Remember: Lower shutter speed = more light but your subject may be blurry / higher shutter speed = less light but possibly a sharper subject
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SETTINGS: ISO 400 | f/4.5 | SS 1/125
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SETTINGS: ISO 200 | f/1.4 |SS 1/30
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- ISO – use 100-400 if possible (for richer clarity), increasing the ISO allows for faster shutter speeds (stopped motion), and decreasing it allows for slower shutter speeds (blurred motion)
- Remember: Lower ISO = less light sensitive (better for bright outdoor lighting)/ Higher ISO = more light sensitive (better for low indoor lighting)
- Tripod – use one when you and the subject aren’t moving (allows for more precise framing)
- White balance – choose the appropriate preset for the lighting conditions or do a custom balance.
https://www.digitalphotomentor.com/how-to-choose-right-lens/
https://clickitupanotch.com/shooting-in-manual-the-basics/
https://clickitupanotch.com/natural-light-mistakes/
NATURAL LIGHT
Whether it’s indoors or out, natural light photography offers an unparalleled beauty that is difficult to replicate.
Whether it’s indoors or out, natural light photography offers an unparalleled beauty that is difficult to replicate.
Indoor Natural Light Portrait
This is a portrait of someone taken indoors using only non-electric sources of light (a fireplace, candles, the sun, etc). People can be arranged near a window. Tripods can be used for self-portrait mode.
Outdoor Available Light Portrait
These are portraits taken on location using available light and backgrounds, which are often referred to as environmental portraits. What the photographer gives up in control they get back in authenticity (seeing a subject in their own environment). The photoshoot may be candid, in which the subject is not aware you're taking a photo (or does not appear to be aware).
Environmental Portrait
An environmental portrait is a photograph of a person executed in the subject's usual environment, such as in their home, and typically illuminates the subject's life and surroundings.
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHERS
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Digital:
Irving Penn Naoko Wowsugi Annie Leibovitz Andy Gotts Steve McCurry Cynthia Henebry Dina Goldstein Herb Ritts Chang W. Lee Steven Casanova Dominique Munoz Mark Seliger Dan Winters Douglas Kirkland Carrie Mae Weems Martin Parr Jeff Wall |
Film:
Diane Arbus Richard Avedon Henri Cartier-Bresson Julia Margaret Cameron Mary Ellen Mark Lewis Caroll Harry Callahan Edward Curtis Philippe Halsman Frank Horvat Antonin Kratochvil Dorothea Lange Irving Penn Doug Dubois Alec Soth Yousuf Karsh Danny Lyon |
Angus McBean Alfred Steiglitz Robert Frank Gordon Parks Walker Evans Garry Winogrand Lee Friedlander Henri Cartier-Bresson Vivian Maier Helen Levitt Research Links The Best Portrait Photographers to Inspire You |
ARTIFICIAL LIGHT
Indoor Traditional Studio Portraits
Studio Portraits give the photographer more control over the placement of light, objects and subject. Light and posture can be used creatively to show mood, attitude, energy and emotion.
A Studio Portrait is a photograph of a person or group of people that captures the personality of the subject by using effective lighting, backdrops, and poses inside the photographer's studio.
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What is a softbox?
A softbox emulates the soft, directional lighting usually produced by natural window light. It softens and diffuses the lighting from the attached light source by transmitting the light through a diffusion panel. When placed close to a subject, it produces very soft, yet directional light. A softbox controls the shape and direction of light more than an umbrella and prevents more light-spill from occurring. Softboxes, since they are generally rectangular, also have the advantage of being able to produce natural-looking light by mimicking the shape of a window. a softbox will produce a wider, flatter, and more even type of light that lessens the intensity of shadow edges and has less directionality than umbrella light
What is an umbrella?
The umbrella provides a broad and soft light source that closely emulates outdoor lighting. Unlike softboxes, which give you directional control, umbrellas produce a more unrestricted type of lighting that will pretty much go everywhere. You need to point the outside part of the umbrella at your subject so that the light passes through the translucent material, making it much softer. Unlike the reflective umbrella, the light produced with the shoot-through is slightly easier to control. An umbrella’s curved shape will produce light with more apparent directionality and more pop to the edges of the shadows.
A softbox emulates the soft, directional lighting usually produced by natural window light. It softens and diffuses the lighting from the attached light source by transmitting the light through a diffusion panel. When placed close to a subject, it produces very soft, yet directional light. A softbox controls the shape and direction of light more than an umbrella and prevents more light-spill from occurring. Softboxes, since they are generally rectangular, also have the advantage of being able to produce natural-looking light by mimicking the shape of a window. a softbox will produce a wider, flatter, and more even type of light that lessens the intensity of shadow edges and has less directionality than umbrella light
What is an umbrella?
The umbrella provides a broad and soft light source that closely emulates outdoor lighting. Unlike softboxes, which give you directional control, umbrellas produce a more unrestricted type of lighting that will pretty much go everywhere. You need to point the outside part of the umbrella at your subject so that the light passes through the translucent material, making it much softer. Unlike the reflective umbrella, the light produced with the shoot-through is slightly easier to control. An umbrella’s curved shape will produce light with more apparent directionality and more pop to the edges of the shadows.
REASEARCH TOPIC: Key light vs Fill light
Self Portraits
A portrait where you are both the subject and the photographer is a self portrait. A tripod is used to stabilize the camera in conjunction with the camera's self-timer. It's okay to use a mirror if it is used artistically, but please avoid holding the camera at arm's length, this isn't instagram! Pay careful attention to lighting and composition.
Cindy Sherman, 1980's
Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich
Faceless Portraits
Portraits do not have always be of the head and shoulders. In some cases, hands, hair, clothing, posture, or other aspects of a subject can tell us as much or more than their face can. Without the face, it's easier to for us to place ourselves, our friends, or our family members into the image, into the story. It leaves room for interpretation and keeps the image mysterious enough for me to want to look harder and longer.
