Pose and stance

2/5/14

This exercise looks at various positions used in portrait sessions such as sitting, standing and leaning and by reviewing the images, I was able to gauge how effective or attractive they were.

For preparation, I bought a couple of glossy magazines (Glamour and Cosmopolitan) and revisited a couple of books. I decided on a few poses and discussed them with my daughter Alex who agreed to pose for me.

Effectiveness

I think it would work better if the stump was off centre. Could do with being narrower. Tree stump in shade so lighting was even and background uncluttered. No reflection in Alex's glasses. She found it difficult to position her right hand so that it copied the model. Breeze caused hair movement so I assumed the advert was a studio shot.  

Attractiveness

A K would be more elegant than a tree stump! In the original, the model has her mouth open. Alex refused to copy this part of the pose. This worked better in monochrome. The models do not look relaxed.

Reflection

I should have leaned Alex more and had the tree stump off centre. A less visible tree stump and a smile would be better.

Effectiveness

I liked the pose of this model. She looks very tall and thin. Arm position and v neck accentuates height of model. Alex's forearm is a few inches shorter and gates / fences found on the location were too high or too low so pose was adapted. I think this pose worked, although the fence is not the most attractive. I lit Alex in the same way as the model, and I have not yet found a way of minimising reflection on her glasses when the sun is in this position. 

Attractiveness

I like the way the hair is lit and the colours work well together. Pose is relaxed. Pose is good and would be enhanced with a more elegant fence.

Reflection

Think about adding collapsible standing stool to kit to give model extra height.

Effectiveness

Pose works. Tried angling head away from direction of body to create Z shape instead of diagonal line. Both worked. I prefer this one because it looks like the head is supposed to be in that position. 

Attractiveness 

Relaxed, body position. This was my favourite from the leaning poses I experimented with.

 Effectiveness

Alex looks confident. left hand looked better spread out than when she had a closed fist. Added more length to her arm. Positioned at lower end of steps which gives height to the image. (Improvisation as steps were shallower than advert.) Alex held magazine which complemented her clothing colours which was similar to the models bags. Use of prop added interest to photo.

Attractiveness
Not attractive as such but I think it works because steps are interesting. Alex looks moody and this is the look I was trying to create.

 Effectiveness

Angle of Alex's legs works with frame of picnic bench. Alex was not the same proportion as the actress so pose had to be adapted. Position of Alex's hands and head gave a more contemplative look to the image.

Attractiveness
The image looks natural and is suited to the surroundings.

 Effectiveness
I did not like this image until I converted it to monochrome. I felt Alex was waiting for a bus. Her face should be further round to the right and her eyes should be looking at me in order to copy the model. 

Attractiveness
I don't find this an attractive image on its own because the body language suggests anticipation and as the viewer I am left wondering what is going on.

 Effectiveness
This pose looks unnatural. It is fine in a fashion magazine to show clothing but looks odd when viewed as a pose.

Attractiveness
I do not find this attractive. It seems an awkward pose.

 Effectiveness

As a pose it has multi-uses. Alex could adopt a similar pose if flicking her hair (to add movement), walking without having one foot off the floor, keeping the body facing this way and turn her head to look at the photographer. I questioned whether the model had been photoshopped because her arm looks exceedingly long and I think it is because her shoulder is dropped. 

Attractiveness

Pose suits surroundings. Nothing unattractive about this image.

Effectiveness
The adaptation of the pose (body turned slightly) makes the pose more natural. It can be utilised to provide a more dynamic range of  images. It gives Alex an air of confidence.

Attractiveness
I don't find this attractive. It is more of a statement pose.

In conclusion, I thought this was a useful exercise because it pushed what I already do to make me consider other poses and their usefulness. It became clear that some poses were more useful than others, and all were quite feminine. When considering a pose for a male, they tended to be more front on, stark, highlighting sculptured abdomens and angles of jaws. 

Bibliography

Binder, J ((2008) Capture the portrait: how to create great digital photos, Lark Books, NY

Cosmopolitan May 2014, UK
Edwards, R. (2009). Photographing People Like a Pro: A Guide to Digital Portrait Photography. Newton Abbot: David and Charles UK

Glamour Issue 158 May 2014, UK

Williams, A (2008) 99 Portrait Photo Ideas, Angela Patchell Books, UK

http://strobist.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/lighting-101-lighting-for-glasses.html accessed 8/5/14

Focal Length

28/4/14

This was an interesting project to do. Up until this point I had been using my faithful Canon 1000D, with mediocre results. I felt it was a good time to change cameras (to my husband's Canon 5D mk2) because this was a technical exercise which would help me understand a little more about the camera and how my lens focal length results differed on a full frame camera. 

I have 2 lenses (24-105mm and 70-200mm). Up until now I had been using my 24-105mm inside the house for portraits because the distance needed between the subject and the camera was smaller and when multiplied by 1.6, the equivalent focal length became 38-168mm compared to 112-320mm. It would be an interesting exercise to review the results and see if I could improve my images by understanding what effect changing the focal length had on facial features and proportions.

Focal lengths looked at:

32mm 50mm 70mm 105mm 115mm 200mm

All images taken at 1/200 F8 ISO160

 32mm

50mm

70mm

105mm

115mm

200mm

At 32mm facial features are more caricature like (large forehead, large nose, wide eyes). the proportion of my daughter's head and body in the frame was larger when compared with 200mm. The look of this image was not flattering. 

50mm was more acceptable to me. At this length, her neck looked longer although her facial features such as her nose still looked quite large in comparison with longer lengths. 

From 70mm up to 200mm, the features became better proportioned. The shoulders became slimmer and the neck became longer, making the sitter appear taller and slimmer and the result is certainly more appealing to a teenager. 

I considered the distance I could stand away from the subject. At 32mm I felt the camera was in my subjects face, and with a stranger this could feel like I was invading their personal space.  At 200mm, I had to step back quite a long way, but my subject had space around them.  

Focal length also raises the question of truth and believability. I think it is important to represent my subject truthfully and for them to be happy that I have represented them as they see themselves.

This exercise  confirmed to me that the 70-200mm lens I own was a good choice for portraits. Although these images are unflattering, they illustrated a point and made me more aware that if I use a shorter telephoto lens indoors, I need to use it from 70mm onwards.

Review a portrait sequence

11/5/14

I set up a portrait session to experiment taking portrait photographs of Alex using a north facing window. My aim was to include head and torso and head and shoulders images and a variety of positions to look at avoiding reflection. As she was trying to revise, I initially worked around her whilst she read her book and once I knew what I wanted I asked her for her input. This was agreed before shooting as her available time was limited. 

Considerations:

• Kit - 70-200mm lens would not focus, so used wide end of 24-105mm lens
• Composition was key to this image. Area decluttered
• reflection in glasses
• shadows on face / balance of lighting
• facial expression / body language / angle of head/ position of eyes
• shutter speed fast enough to handhold camera

I started with 54 images. Using Lightroom 2, I was able to rate my images 1 = not good, 2 = acceptable, 3 = good, 4 = best single shot.

Best image

1/125 f3.5 ISO800 70mm light from north facing window

At the time of shooting, I thought I had not captured a 3/4 length shot so carried on and took a few more. I then moved to concentrating on head and shoulders which required me to engage with Alex to ask her to move her head in different directions. 

I reviewed images in camera after I had taken a small burst of photos to see if I was happy with the position of the eyes, angle of head, facial expression and general composition. If not, I directed Alex into the position I wanted to try again with.

I thought it was time to stop shooting when I lost concentration. I felt my last three images were not an improvement on what I had already taken and it was time to review my shots on my laptop.

I had more than one acceptable image. Reviewing on screen allowed me to look in more detail for the small things such as clutter, stray hair, position of clothing,  sharpness of the image, amount of contrast which I had not seen previously. I became more aware of looking for them whilst shooting following this exercise.

Eye Contact and Expression

24/4/14

I set the tripod up to make eye contact and capture the facial expressions of my daughter as I sat and talked to her. I did this exercise a couple of times - once using her head and shoulders and once using a full body in a sitting position.

All images 1/250 F4 ISO100 EFL64mm

In this image my daughter was watching something happening outside of the frame. Her eyes show clearly the direction of her gaze even as a full length shot. It adds a little action to the image.

In this image, my daughter was laughing. Her body position changed slightly - her shoulders became raised and eye contact is with me. I like this image.

My daughter was looking down which shows a more thoughtful, reflective pose. 

Reviewing the images on the back of my camera, I was concerned about the depth of field using a large aperture and wondered how much of the subjects face was in focus. I was aware that the limitation of my camera meant the focal plane was not very accurate when the focus was not in the centre. I experimented with the camera using a smaller aperture.

All images 1/14 F8 ISO100 EFL128mm

In this image, my daughter made eye contact with me with a questioning face. It was a more natural looking face and is quietly reflective or listening.

My daughter was looking straight at me and smiling. Her eyes were very visible.

In this frame, my daughter was watching something happening outside of the frame. I think it shows quite a good eye line. Her eyes do not become involved with her hair so it looks quite natural.

In this my daughter Alex  is looking out of the frame the other way. Because her hair acts as a barrier to stop her seeing in that direction, I think it looks less natural. 

In conclusion, to answer my own question, I think F8 worked as well as F4 when viewed at 100%. I don't think either detract from the image. Enough is in focus to give the image impact. However, reviewing these shots was enough to make me pick up the full frame camera we have.

On reflection, I felt that my images had captured facial expression but not gesture. 

Visiting Hardwick Hall one afternoon, my son, (who does not like having his photo taken), decided to come through a little opening in a stone building. This framed his face body and hands nicely. I was stood on tiptoes leaning into the building looking down on him which altered the perspective a little and supported the camera lens on the wall. I cropped out the ledge in the first few images. The result was more action packed and my son was pleased with the result. 

Eyes looking up at me, head tilted down - face full of mischief. Hands on outside of stonework as he was just testing out the hole.

Happy, smiley shot. Head tilted upwards so at less of an angle due to perspective. hands still on outside of stonework.

Here he starts to move inside. I like the position of the hands with no face. Legs bent to enter building. I think hands are an important part of gesture.

Face framed by hands. Head at an angle. Eyes really wide. Legs bent for action.

Hands now on inside of building. Facial expression of surprise at seeing me. Eyes still wide. Catchlights in centre of eyes. The colour of Josh's eyes has not been manipulated, but this is an image where they could be made bluer to enhance them.

 Eyes scrunched up showing wrinkles and expression. Eyes closed. 

I like the way Josh's hands remained flat throughout the shoot. This was entirely natural.

An active portrait

26/4/14

This exercise looked at an activity that the subject was interested in and capturing facial expressions displayed by them doing their activity.

I decided to use my husband for this subject because he is a very keen mountain biker and there is always activity happening in the garage with him cleaning and maintaining his bike. The garage makes a good background because it has organised kit over most walls. 

My subject was willing, and we planned the exercise for a day when he should have been home early enough from work to use a mix of daylight from the garage door and fluorescent overhead lights. He was delayed and time of day meant he had to work in the garage with the door closed. 

My main challenge was space and lighting. Using a camera mounted on a tripod, I knew by how much I could increase the ISO without getting too much noise. However, with the limited space I could only use the available lighting which either cast an overexposed spot and burnout over parts of the image and could not get the shutter speed fast enough to avoid motion blur because his hands were working fast. 

I cropped the image into a square which removed some of the burnout from the light, but it is still present on the white items and the side of my subjects face. I liked the position. I felt that by getting down to his level of kneeling I was still on a level with my subject and able to take an interest rather than standing over him. The bike wheel occupying a third of the frame gives the viewer an idea of what is happening. I concentrated on his face rather than his hands and felt that his eyeline allowed the viewer to follow his gaze to his hands.

1.5secs F8 ISO400 EFL64mm

I decided to try again, this time with my daughter doing her Food Technology  homework. 

1/10 F4 ISO400 EFL75mm

Once again, space was an issue due to kitchen cupboards. The additional challenge was uneven lighting. The weather was a mix of sunshine and cloud so the light was on and off. The light from the window overexposed the kitchen tiles at the back of the image.  

I was pleased with this image. It told me enough of what was happening by showing the look of concentration on her face.

I tried to use a reflector to reflect the light back into Alex's face which was in shadow but did not have enough hands. A flash may have worked.

Experimenting with Light

13/5/14

Using Alex as a model I took head and shoulders shots of her in different lighting conditions. My challenge is that Alex wears glasses full time and I found that with some types of lighting and body position I had reflection present in her glasses. There seem to be two schools of thought on glasses - either take them (or ask model to remove them) off or learn minimise glare by understanding the physics behind the refection. Alex's glasses are part of who she is so removing them was not an option. 

I found a diagram  on strobist which helped explain the physics behind the issue. Although I have this in my head, I have discovered through trial and error that it is not this simple! Reflection also depends on what my model is doing - reading a book or looking at her mobile phone is also a reflective surface.  

Hard midday light

Hard lighting shows shapes, textures and contours of faces, has dark contrasting shadows and I think the face needs positioning carefully to avoid shadows of glasses which detract from the features. Colours can be rich, but areas can be overexposed and harsh.

Edwards (2008) suggests that hard light is useful for "showing off muscle definition on your subject's body and for depicting character in his face by accentuating chiseled cheek bones and a strong jaw line." Until I came across this book, I had not considered that hard lighting could be useful for portrait photography, or that a photographer may use different types of lighting for men and women.

Side lighting

Side lighting minimised most shadows from the face. The contours are well defined and the skin tone looks smooth. This helps to soften the features. Alex still has a shadow of her glasses running across her face although this is not nearly as defined as above (hard daylight). This was taken in the afternoon so it is quite a warm colour.

Rim lighting

Rim lighting put Alex's face in the her own shadow. This separated her from the background with a rim of light. Her hair, hands and arm has caught highlights which adds warmth to the image and her features appear much softer than in the image above (side lighting), although they are still well defined.

This was taken in the afternoon when the sun was fairly high so the colour of the light is warm.

By angling Alex's head down and adopting a low shooting position, I have minimised the reflection from her phone but it is not perfect.

Dappled lighting

A tree lined drive provided dappled shade. The lighting is uneven with two patches of brighter skin drawing  attention to Alex's forehead and hair rather than her eyes. 

One piece of advice I discovered after taking this was that "the eyes or other important features should be placed in the brightest light." Bidner (2008) This helps the viewer connect with the highlights first.

Reflector used in shade

I positioned Alex under a shady wooden gazebo where there was not much light. As I have not had any experience with reflectors and we had a Lastolite gold reflector, I set up an experiment to see what happened when a reflector was used. Setting the camera to aperture priority and setting the aperture to f4, ISO 400 and standing in the same position, I took a control image with no reflector. The shutter speed was 1/200. Next I used the dull side of the gold reflector. Shutter speed 1/400. Finally I used the shiny side and the shutter speed increased to 1/500. This is what I expected.

no reflector

dull

The difference between using a reflector and no reflector in the shade is that Alex's eyes became brighter and the dark circles disappeared without me doing anything post processing. The dark shadows under her chin disappeared too. I was glad I took the time to experiment because I did not realise results would be this noticeable.

Alex's skin tones are soft and her features are well defined. there are no ugly shadows under her chin.

Window light

This is an area I have not experimented with much. I asked Alex to sit next to a north facing window where the light was diffused by a net curtain. This was more difficult than I anticipated because the contrast is high and half of her face is in shadow. 

I felt the light was quite flattering, and once I worked out where the best position was to avoid reflection in Alex's glasses I was happier. This was taken at ISO800 which shows some grain and has retained detail in the dark areas. I think this image could do with some additional equipment such as a reflector to balance the right side of her face and lessen shadows.

Bibliography
http://www.dpmag.com/how-to/tip-of-the-week/how-to-photograph-people-who-wear-glasses-06-18-12.html#.U3CrCPldWSo accessed 8/5/14
Williams, A (2008) 99 Portrait photo ideas, Angela Patchell Books ltd, UK

References
http://strobist.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/lighting-101-lighting-for-glasses.html accessed 8/5/14
Edwards, R (2008) Photographing people like a pro - a guide to digital portrait photography, David and Charles ltd, Ohio p86
Bidner, J (2008) Capture the portrait - how to create great digital photos, Sterling publishing, New York.p60

Thinking about location

28/4/14

This was an interesting project to consider. The brief asked me to "play the role of location hunter". It asked for six locations which were all different from each other. The more I thought, the more I came up with. 

I imagine a setting as being anywhere that sets the scene for the story or portrait which is being narrated. So if I took a photo of teenagers in concert tshirts and skinny jeans, I would not expect them to pose in a wood full of bluebells because the setting would not be right for the image I was trying to convey.

Disused Railway Bridge

I live in an old pit village which produces some great backgrounds for urban type shots.

This railway bridge is great for teenagers because of the graffiti. Half of it is in shade and half in sunlight. The shade works well. The only challenge is teenagers do not want to be photographed when school friends may be walking past or hanging out on the top of the bridge. I had wondered whether I could use the location at night with torch light to make it more exciting and appealing for my daughter. I would use a long focal length 70-200mm lens.

Need to be careful of blue sign, check grass for cleanliness, clothes to suit background, depth of field large enough to blur graffiti (check language)

Doctor's Surgery

The north facing opaque window of the doctors surgery doesn't look like much, but is actually quite effective as a background - and works better when the window has been cleaned. There is a slope between the railing and the window which a subject can stand on. The window reflects the light into the image. When the image is exposed correctly for skin, the window becomes brighter too. I have used it in the past and not included the brickwork. This is consistent in tone and being in the shade gives even lighting.

Rufford Country Park

For a more formal portrait, Rufford Abbey has steps, heavy wooden doors,stone with a warm hue,  landscaped areas, tree lined avenues, a lake to reflect light.

This faces west and I had started to experiment with this location after school.  I am waiting for a cloudy day as the sun has been in my daughter's eyes.

Check for visitors on the grass before shooting. Best to shoot early morning or late afternoon.

These bluebell woods at Rufford, (and several in Nottinghamshire) would be a good backdrop to a family or child's portrait. I envisaged a girl holding a flower or children on the log. Lighting is dappled or shady so could prove a respite from full sun.  

Check for people walking through the woods. Early morning or late afternoon has less people.

Clumber Park

Ornate bridge at Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire. There is an advert for weddings using this bridge where the bride and groom are looking over the bridge towards the church. Water would act as a reflector.

Traffic does cross the bridge. If subjects were looking at me, sun would be in their eyes in the evening so turn them round. Best in the morning. 

Hardwick Hall

Looking down over wall

Entry from the back

Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire is built from stone with a warm hue. The country park has a structure which makes for an unusual portrait setting. The stone structure can be used in a variety of ways - sitting, exploring, acting and  lighting can be full sun, dappled, shade depending on which part is used. 

There is a tunnel at the back which allows subjects to climb into the inside of the building Looking down over the stone ledge, the view captured of the subject can be one of surprise, adventure, and the viewpoint is altered  when shooting down onto the subject.

My son Josh rarely agrees to having his photograph taken. He was happy to explore and let me take photographs of him.

1/100 F4 ISO100 70mm

On reflection the background trees could be more blurred. There is an" l" shaped tree trunk in the background which is a little distracting. I used an aperture of F4 to keep the facial features as sharp as possible. My lens aperture will go as low as F2.8 and I need to look at using this more often. I had looked at the back of the building for any brightly colouresd rubbish. 

The lighting separated Josh from the trees and put his face in the shade which prevented shadows from distracting the viewer. I liked the angle of the head and position of the eyes. This was caught off guard so Josh has a big smile.