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STUDENTS' COURSE NOTES
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'Treesbank', Tongland Road, Kirkcudbright, DG6 4UU Phone: 01557
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PEOPLE
PHOTOGRAPHY - PORTRAITURE
Portraiture
What is the secret of good portraiture? Is it something any competent photographer
can learn? I believe that good portraiture is within the reach of anyone prepared
to learn the basic techniques.
Understanding
your subjects
Portraiture
is definitely not a mystical art form, so let's throw away all pretentious,
overblown descriptions of this fascinating branch of photography right now.
To be a good portrait photographer you must first have a sound understanding
of light and how to use it. Beyond that you simply need an interest - and
some understanding of - people.
Mediocre
portraiture is just a record of a person's features. Good portraiture is all
that PLUS an insight into that person's character and personality. If you
can capture that insight - and there are some easily-learned basic techniques
to help you find out what makes a person tick - you are well on the way to
producing fine portraits of people. After that, you need patience, an interest
in your subjects and lots and lots of practise.
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support FREE for Philip's students.
But non-students can have access to the notes for ONE YEAR for just £9.95
AVAILABLE LIGHT
Close-up
This man was a skilled 'stick dresser' - he crafted walking stick handles
from rams' horn and wood. His workshop was in his garage and was so cluttered
that there was hardly any room to move. But the light in that garage was
gorgeous; soft and directional, perfect for the close-up portrait I was
aiming for. To help reflect a little light up beneath the wide-brimmed hat,
a white newspaper was laid out of shot on the workbench in front of the
subject.
Most
people will relax more easily in front of a camera if they are able to do
something with their hands - especially someone whose job involves working
with his hands. However, this portrait was made easy by the subject's slightly
flamboyant appearance - the bushy beard, straw hat and half frame spectacles
all helped. But the intimacy of the photograph is achieved by getting the
subject to just glance up from his work to look straight into the lens.
It is no good asking someone to hold a pose like this. I let him polish
the stick handle while I focused, then when I was absolutely ready, I asked
him to look up.
You
do not need to carry expensive and cumbersome reflectors with you to reflect
light up into a person's face. A newspaper, an open book, or a sheet of
white paper or a handkerchief will work just as well if you position it
carefully for maximum effect.
camera:
Nikon F3
lens:
Nikkor 85mm
film:
Ilford FP4
exposure:
1/30sec @ f5.6
client:
The Independent
Coping with BIG egos
Smile!
Politicians
are acutely sensitive to their public image, and to get their co-operation
is often quite a test of a photographer's diplomatic skills. But it doesn't
matter whether your subject is a Prime Minister or a lavatory attendant, it
is always important to work 'together' in order to achieve a good portrait.
The subject must feel involved in the process.
You must
win your subject's confidence, and this can be achieved initially by a practised
approach to your work. In this case, Prime Minister Blair was shown Polaroids
of the pictures as we worked through the session, which involved photographing
him at home with his family, and even pictures of him getting dressed in his
bedroom.
camera:
Mamiya RZ 67
lens: Mamiya-Sekor Z 110mm
light: Bowens Traveller electronic flash with wafer
film: Fujichrome 100
exposure: 1/250sec @ f11
client: Sunday Mirror Magazine
Take a look at some
of Philip's other photographs in the GALLERY
Reactions
The response when people spot you pointing a camera at them can vary greatly.
But I have to admit, this one took me by surprise. This chap doesn't seem
to be able to work out why anyone should bother taking his photograph. But
the more he puzzled over the problem, the more pictures I took.
A long
telephoto can be a wonderful tool for picking out subjects in a crowd, but
if you are spotted, as I was here, when you have got what you want, give the
chap a big smile
camera:
Nikon FM2
lens: Nikkor
300mm
film: Ilford
HP5
exposure:
1/250sec @ f8
client:
stock
