On the day of the shoot.
First things first. The all important HAIR and MAKE UP!! I had organised for my model (for ease, my model's name is Dawn so this is what I shall be calling her from now on in the blog rather than 'model') to come over to my house for me to do her hair and make up prior to the shoot commencing to save on time. I had previously sorted out all clothing and accessories and had them ready to go.
We got to college early to set up the lighting and for Dawn to get herself comfortable and for me to give her a quick tour of the studio and do's and dont's for Health and Safety. I made her aware of low hanging lights and trailing leads. Steve helped me set up the 1st lighting set (as mentioned in a previous blog I had already grouped the pictures into different lighting scenarios to save on time). For a few of my pictures I needed Dawn raised off the ground as they were low level shots and this would make it easier to get the right angle. A platform was constructed from a wooden board and two wooden blocks. Dawn was advised on how to get on and off the platform safely. I had brought a white sheet from home to use as a cover to create the ruffled effect on the photograph. The pictures I had researched I had printed to show Dawn what I wanted from her in the form of stances and positioning as well as describe to her, this I thought would make positioning easier, I was able to place the images in front of her on the floor so she could get the right posse and then I was able to direct and guide her to get the posse just right for what I wanted.
Lighting set 1 images
The lighting that I used for this image consisted of;
-Two
Bowens lights with soft box attachments at the back facing the studio wall one either side set on their highest setting.
-One Bowens light with a key light reflector attachment to the right of Dawn set on a medium setting
-One Bowens light with a grid diffuser attachment in front and slightly to Dawn's left set on a medium setting.
Lighting set 2 images
-One Bowens light with a barn door attachment in front of Dawn set to high setting
-One Bowens light with grid diffuser attachment on Dawns right side set on a low setting
Lighting set 3 images
-One Bowens light with grid diffuser attachment on medium setting.
Equipment list
-Canon 5D
-Link cable
-Camera stand
-Total of 4 Bowens lights
-Grid diffuser
-Barn door
-Key light reflector
-Soft box x2
-Platform
-White box used as seat
-White sheets
-Black blanket
The session went really well and I was pleased with the outcome. Considering I was really limited to time and had many costume changes and three different lighting sets I managed to get most of the photographs I wanted done. Dawn was really easy to move and position. She was incredibly natural in front of the camera and totally at ease, this made my job much easier and took less time to get the shots done, it also made me feel more comfortable and less nervous.
Unfortunately for my second photo shoot I found out the other week that the guy I was using for the shots had accepted a job in Leeds and moved a couple of days later. Not giving enough time to do the photographs. I had done all research and was ready to do the photo shoot but due to the unfortunate
circumstances couldn't get it done. Thankfully all
prepped and ready to go on the other two shoots and should have plenty of photos to choose from for my final 12!
Techniques, materials and resources used for portrait photography 1.1
There are many different formats and techniques that can be applied to portrait photography.
Framing is a technique where by you draw attention to one element of an image by framing it with another element of the image. This gives an image depth and draws the eye to a point of interest in the image.
You could do it by placing your subject in a window or doorway, have them look through a small gap or even use their hands around their face.
Shooting with a wide angle lens attached to your camera can help create some memorable shots when you’re doing portrait photography.
At very wide focal lengths you can create some wonderful distortion. Using these focal lengths will enlarge parts of the face or body that are on the edge of the frame more than what is in the centre.
It can also give a wide open and dramatic impact when your subject is in an impressive setting.
The person in your portrait is the main point of interest – however sometimes when you place them into different contexts with different backgrounds you can dramatically alter the mood in a shot.
Having parts of a portrait in focus draws attention on certain parts of the face or body, or a completely unfocused portrait can add a dreamy effect and make a picture quite abstract.
Black and white portraits can be just as dramatic as colour. By adding a shot of colour can draw attention to certain parts of the photo.
"When we shoot in color, we do not depart from what we see everyday, so our eye expects certain details in order to fill out the image. Black and white photography gives us the opportunity to diverge from this norm, and in a way view reality as an abstraction."
Equipment I have at home and what is avaliable to me at college 1.1
I have at home the Canon 450d camera which comes with the standard 18-55mm lens.
At college there is a wide range of lenses avaliable to use along with higher quality cameras. There is a studio which contains a wide range of backdrops, studio lights, reflectors and soft box.
Canon 450d
This is the camera which I have started out with, the basic entry level canon 450d. For specification details click on the image.
I don't really have any experience of digital SLR's, the only cameras I have used previously are point and shoot digital and film SLR's.
I don't have an opinion on my camera yet as I haven't really used it enough to comment other than I find it fairly easy to use and understand.
Standard 50mm lens
What makes this lens ideal for portriture is its angle-of-view is the closest to our own eyes and the easiest to use to get the most natural looking shots. You can even visualise shots without putting the camera to your eye. This doesn’t mean this lens is boring compared to the extremes that a telephoto or wide-angle will give. On the contrary, it’s just a lens that works well and keeps your photography simple. It is also ideal, as long as you remember not to get too close to your subject, which will lead to unflattering distortion to your sitters face. It works especially well with full-length portraits, but you can get some very nice head and shoulder shots.
70-200mm Lens
The telephoto lens allows you to take tightly composed pictures of subjects where it is impractical to get any closer and to use a wider lens, therefore they are useful for candid photography, this lens is small, lightweight and unobtrusive.
Short telephoto focal lengths are widely used in portraiture for their unnatural, non standard view makes objects at different distances appear closer together than they are in reality. Using a wide angle lens for head and shoulder close ups makes people's noses and other facial features more prominent - while a slight telephoto focal length flattens the features a touch, to give a more flattering result.
Telephotos are also useful in portraiture because when used with largish apertures, it is easy to throw a background out of focus thus drawing the viewers attention to certain parts of the scene.
