btec photography portrait photography
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PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
What is portraiture?
“A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this reason, in photography a portrait is generally not a snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position. A portrait often shows a person looking directly at the painter or photographer, in order to most successfully engage the subject with the viewer.”
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Key aspects of portrait photography
• “Catchlights” - ‘sparkle’ in the eye. This implies innocence
• “Eye-level” - Insure the level is the same as this can create the illusion they are powerful or week.
• “Ensuring the eyes are sharp” – show emotion, talk to people looking in their eyes.
• “Contrast” – make sure the background is a clear colour or not distracting.
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Key aspects of portrait photography
• “Natural pose and communication” – doing this make sure the model feels natural and comfortable.
• “Background” – insure colours are correct and not too distracting.
• “Focal length” – use long focal length. Min 18mm lens.
• “Aperture” – use appropriate aperture to insure the image is sharp. Min f5.6 – f11
• “Composition” – eliminate head room, too much space above could have been used below (chest) use rule of thirds.
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Split Lighting
What is it? Split lighting is one of the most
basic lighting set ups used in portrait photography. A light source is placed 90 degrees from the subject, usually slightly higher than eye level and lighting one side of the face therefore leaving the other half of the face in shadow.
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Rembrandt Lighting
What is it? Rembrandt lighting is similar to split lighting, one
side of the face is light but unlike split lighting, the other half of the face is immersed with shadow with a triangle of light just under the eye.
Why is it an effective lighting method?A Rembrandt lighting set up is simple to do and can create a moody tone to the image because one half of the face is shadowed.
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Butterfly LightingWhat is it?
It is where a light is placed behind the photography, directly facing the individual, this technique insures the subject is lit all the way around the face.
Why is it an effective lighting method?
This method allows for an even lighting across the face, which can be used when producing imagery of an older individual.
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Backlighting (Rim light)
What is it?
Backlighting means the main light source is behind the subject. It is illuminating a subject from the back.
Why is it an effective lighting method?It is used by many photographers to create a certain look to the images, it creates a “halo” effect. Most of the time, facing the sun causes people to squint and creates an unflattering lighting therefore, facing people with their back to the sun creates better images.
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Hi-key lighting
What is it? Hi-Key lighting is used to create a
good mood within the image, this particular lighting method insures there are no shadows on the subject and this is particularly noticeable when the subject is a person. Hi-Key produces soft, bright and low contrast images and the lighting ratio is around 1:1. therefore, all that’s left within the image is the strong details of the subject.
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Lo-key lighting
What is it? Low key lighting creates deep
shadows around the structure of the subject where the lighting ratio is very high. It is a moody and dark lighting to create emotion or mood within the image.