Digital Photo 1

Existing Light Portraiture

Objectives:

  1. Understand that light influences the mood and tone of a portrait and can be manipulated in different ways to convey different messages to viewers. Light can affect the mood of an image and help to reveal or hide information about the subject of the photo. Think of ways that you can add meaning to your portraits.
  2. Experiment with different directions and degrees of diffusion which are qualities of light to discover what best compliments your subject. Think about what message you are trying to convey and ways you can do that most effectively. Take photos from a number of angles and distances from your subject to create variety in your images.
  3. Analyze portraits and know the possibilities existing light has to offer us as photographers. Discover different ways to manipulate existing or natural light. Remember not to use studio lighting for this project! Work with your model and decide on poses that make them comfortable and make your portrait successful. Use camera controls that make sense for when and where you are shooting your photos.

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Getting started:

●Shoot at least 30 photos of your model(s) using all three degrees of diffusion: direct, diffused, and directional-diffused lighting. Please shoot 10 photos for each of these categories. Try to choose an outdoor location or environment that tells viewers something about your subject; creating an atmosphere can allow viewers to “get to know” your subject in some way. If you choose an indoor location to shoot, make sure that you are still manipulating existing natural light through a window or doorway.

●Experiment with back lighting to create a silhouette using bracketing. Bracketing means taking three different exposures of the same scene (one at a suggested meter reading, one at one stop overexposed, and one at one stop underexposed). Pleaser write down your aperture and shutter speed settings for your bracketed photos. When shooting silhouettes, try posing your model in different interesting ways to enhance the effect; for example, a profile view or with their arms in the air.

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Working with a model:

●You may need to give your model some direction during your shoot. It may help to go into it with some type of vision about what you want to create, to better assist them with posing and achieving the mood you’re going for. If you want them to wear anything in particular or do their hair or makeup a certain way before meeting with you, let them know in advance! Maintain good, open communication with the people you work with

●Consider the following: depth of field, lighting source and degree of diffusion, camera angles, posed shots vs. natural or candid shots, environment and setting, mood, etc. Remember when shooting these photos to make sure your model’s eyes are in focus. Using a shutter speed of 125 or faster will ensure there is no motion blur on your end or the model’s!

●Compositional techniques! Think about which compositional techniques will enhance your portrait the most. Try a few different ones to give yourself some options: rule of thirds, fill the frame, simplicity, leading lines, viewpoint or camera angle, pattern/ repetition, balance, positive/ negative space, framing, background, and depth/ perspective.