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.

Portrait- scale and setting

22/4/14

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

Face

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

Torso

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