portrait photography
Portraiture
Portrait photography or portraiture in photography is a photograph of a person or group of people that captures the personality of the subject by using effective lighting, backdrops, and poses. A portrait picture might be artistic, or it might be clinical, as part of a medical study. Frequently, portraits are commissioned for special occasions, such as weddings or school events. Portraits can serve many purposes, from usage on a personal Web site to display in the lobby of a business.
There will multiple shooting assignments within the Portrait Photography unit.
There will be multiple projects we will be completing using the portrait photos. (We may not get to all of these projects, but will be doing more than one.)
There will multiple shooting assignments within the Portrait Photography unit.
- Selfies
- Partner Portraits on a white backdrop
- Partner Portraits on a black backdrop
- Multiples of Me photos
There will be multiple projects we will be completing using the portrait photos. (We may not get to all of these projects, but will be doing more than one.)
- Edited Partner Images
- Double Exposure Portraits
- Fragmented Portraits
- Triptych
- Segmented Portraits
- 3D Stereoscopic Portraits
- Multiples of Me Project
Composition
Don't forget the rules of composition and how they can apply to portrait photography as we move forward. We will focus on 3 Rules of Composition as we take our portrait photos.
RULE OF THIRDS CENTER THE EYE FILLING THE FRAME
RULE OF THIRDS CENTER THE EYE FILLING THE FRAME
POINT OF VIEW
It’s rare for a subject to look good when being shot from below, even when you’re going for a power look. Nostrils are just not very photogenic — stick to eye-level or above.
It’s rare for a subject to look good when being shot from below, even when you’re going for a power look. Nostrils are just not very photogenic — stick to eye-level or above.
EYES
Vary where your subject is looking. Take some photos where your subject is looking directly into the camera but also have some where they are looking outside the frame.
Vary where your subject is looking. Take some photos where your subject is looking directly into the camera but also have some where they are looking outside the frame.
Be sure to also include some faceless portraits.
Lighting
High Key Lighting:
- Bright and high lights dominated by ranges of whites
- Very minimal blacks and mid-tones
- Optimistic, upbeat, youthful, light, and airy
- Mostly used in portrait, wedding, newborn and fashion photography
- Uses a lot of deep blacks, darker tones, and shadows
- Very minimal amount of whites and mid-tones
- Reduces lighting to produce images with striking contrasts
- Produces dramatic and mysterious photos
- Features a lot of shadows
HIGH KEY LOW KEY
When to Use High Key and When to Choose Low KeyHere are some examples of when you can use high key lighting and situations where low key photography are perfect:
High Key Lighting:
High Key Lighting:
- Portrait Photography: when taking photos of business professionals; for baby or newborn photography; for fashion shoots; for pre-nuptial shoots; professional or fun close-ups or shoots. Weddings, especially photos of the bride, are perfect for high key lighting.
- For professional portfolios (corporate employee profiles and model setcards)
- For nature shots
- For cinematic shots
- For advertising-related photoshoots (brochures, booklets, posters, billboards, etc.)
- Dramatic close-ups, like when you’re trying to capture emotion. A close-up of someone crying is a good example. Journalism and documentary photography would be a good example of this.
- When you’re trying to emphasize part of a subject’s face or body, for instance the subject’s blue green eyes.
- If you want your subject to look dramatic in black & white.
- When there is intense action happening, such as two people in a shouting match or two soccer players holding on to one ball.