This exercise looks at composition and the weight of attention to place on the face of a subject.
I studied composition of the four basic scales of portrait in a few books and magazines before taking my daughter to Rufford Abbey, Nottinghamshire, where there was a little more space than my back garden.
The day had been very wet and the sun came out late afternoon, so I decided it was best to use a standing up style of portrait. The position of the camera was best suited to portrait rather than landscape for this.
I found an evergreen tree with an interesting trunk and roots, and the tree canopy provided shade from the sun. I started off using a tripod but abandoned it in favour of more natural looking images. Lighting behind subject, exposed for light skin tone, background overexposed, reflection in glasses minimal. Need to watch hair strands. Horizon intentionally not straight as I wanted to work around subject.
My camera (Canon 1000D) has a crop factor of 1.6 which means that my 70-200mm lens becomes 112-320mm.
 |
| 1/1000 F2.8 ISO400 EFL 320mm |
I think the viewer would want a face which is recognizable to them. By including the subjects hair, the outline of the face is softened. I think this balances the frames of her glasses. The proportion of the face fits within the frame. I think if the face was bigger, it could become less recognizable and features may look out of proportion. One eye would create conflict. Both eyes create a focal point.
I deliberately chose not to include hands around the face for this shot to concentrate on the shape of the subjects face.
 |
| 1/500 F2.8 ISO400 EFL124mm |
Head and shoulders
In this image the subject is still in the same position. How much of the head and shoulders should one include in this type of portrait. The idea was to lengthen the upper body, show the hair to balance the image and include a little of my daughter's new concert tshirt. She was pleased with this image.
I think it is balanced within the frame. The horizon is high enough that it does not detract from her hair and the lighting separates her from the background. A small amount of background places her away from home and the tree adds a little texture. Her eyes are still visible.
 |
| 1/750 ISO400 F2.8 EFL112mm |
This image becomes more about the whole of the subject rather than the subjects face because at this distance, the eyes are not the focal point but the whole face is.
My daughter was quite happy to have her hands in her pockets for this image. I included her shorts to lengthen her body, and because her legs are slightly at an angle it she felt she looked slimmer which pleased her. More background is visible and fortunately there was hardly anyone around when I took the photos. I left some of the tree trunk extending above the subjects head to give the tree height. This meant making my daughter appear further away but by including her arms and space around her, she looks better proportioned within the frame. Her hands become visible.
 |
| 1/750 ISO400 F2.8 EFL112mm |
Full body
I stepped further back to take this image. I used the tree roots to add some curves into the image to soften it a little. I prefer the image above. More weight is given to the whole image and position of the legs and hands. The choice of background is important at this distance.
Bibliography
Williams A (2008) 99 portrait photo ideas, Angela Patchell Books ltd, UK
