Advanced Portrait Study Assignment Part A: Left, Right, Front...
Your next assignment is another exercise in portrait photography and this time we are testing a theory that a persons left side of their face shows more emotion that the right side of the face, and that viewers find the left side more aesthetically pleasing. Read through the 2 links below. Take your portraits and write a 2-3 paragraph summary about your findings. Do you agree with the theory proposed? If not why? What are your personal findings and thoughts?
 |
Does the left side of the face show more emotion?
|
Links for reading:
Assignment Details:
- Pick 1 person (doesn't have to be the same model from part B) and create 3 portraits of them each showing their face from the right, the left and straight on.
- Take multiple shots (like a professional) and choose your best example to show the left, side and front portraits
- Post your 3 images to our flickr page when complete, post processing is encouraged to enhance your portraits, try B&W, cross-processing or basic color enhancement.
- Write a 2-3 paragraph summary of your findings. Do you agree with the theory proposed? If not why? What are your personal findings and thoughts on this theory? Post this summary on one of your images when they are shared to our flickr group.
 |
Left
|
 |
Front
|
 |
Right
|
Advanced Portrait Study Assignment Part B:
This assignment is an advanced study in portrait photography. You will have to find a volunteer to model for you. Your task is to take a series of portraits as outlined below. The challenge with this project is to coach your model to position themselves in a way that shows their best look. A standard roll of film has 36 exposures. Take at least 2 rolls worth of film, or roughly 70 photos over the course of this challenge, create a Contact Sheet and choose your final 7 images from them.
This assignment is an advanced study in portrait photography. You will have to find a volunteer to model for you. Your task is to take a series of portraits as outlined below. The challenge with this project is to coach your model to position themselves in a way that shows their best look. A standard roll of film has 36 exposures. Take at least 2 rolls worth of film, or roughly 70 photos over the course of this challenge, create a Contact Sheet and choose your final 7 images from them.
Your client (who is a famous model, celebrity, or actor, or millionaire executive, okay maybe they are just your best friend, but let's pretend for now they are a VIP) has just hired you to shoot a series of portraits for an upcoming magazine ad/article/brochure/book/event/etc. Your job is to get them to open up and show their best side to your camera. You must coach them, break them out of their comfort zone and follow your directions to show their best look.
Required Reading:
- Find a volunteer to act as your model. You will be shooting many shots so they must be committed. This entire series should ideally utilize a single model as your subject for quality in contrasting and comparing the results of your work.
- Shoot a series of images for each of the techniques listed below. Upon completion you should have over 70 images to choose your final 7 from.
- Final deliverables: Contact Sheet and 7 final images posted to our flickr group with post-image enhancement.
1) Alter Your Perspective:
A photographers instinct is to shoot at eye level, try an extreme angle from different sides. Try to position yourself around the subject, not vice versa. Try multiple angles and take a shot or two from each one.
 |
Photo by striatic
|
2) Looking Off Camera/Off Frame:
Have your subject framed at different distances and looking off camera. Have your model focus on something unseen or seen, off in the distance or closeup. This helps create an air of mystique. Shoot multiple shots from different distances.
 |
Photo by monicutza80
|
3) Looking Within The Frame:
Have your subject looking at something within the frame. Consider what they are looking at. If it is a snack they might seem hungry. If it is a cell phone that is ringing perhaps they look annoyed.
 |
Photo by paulbence
|
4) Experiment With Lighting:
Try shooting indoors with no lights except our studio lights. Try looking for a single light source, or anywhere with deep shadow or shadows that can cast a pattern on the models face. Try light sources from the front, back, sides. Shoot multiple images.
5) Get Your Subject Out Of Their Comfort Zone:
Ask your model to get out of their comfort zone by doing something active such as jumping, spinning, dancing, riding a bike, sprinting, stretching, doing kung-fu etc. Shoot as many action shots as you can, make sure to adjust your exposure settings to reduce motion blur. Make sure they are doing something they may not normally do.
6) The Candid:
Ask your model to go about their business and pretend you aren't there. Follow them around, shoot images and try to capture those natural moments.
 |
Photo captured by Christopher Rye
|
7) Get A Smile:
While you are taking pictures, at any time, tell a joke and try to make your model laugh a genuine laugh. If you time it just right and anticipate their laughter you can snap a shot at the right time.
8) Make A Contact Sheet Of All Images:
A contact sheet is a great way to view all your images at once. That way your client can see all the images easily and pick the best ones.
Have fun!
- Mr.W
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.