if you have a moment, i would love feedback on the photo below...
I am thinking of doing the flickr 100 Strangers project (see link), but the part that really intimidates me is the photo part! i have no experience with posed portrait photography and while i've read some basic points, i clearly am in need of practice...
anyhoo, today, the gentleman below asked me to take his picture (!)... now, I have seen him around City Hall on several occasions and I always thought he would be interesting to photograph... but I always assumed it would be a candid shot...
however, as I was sitting around watching a highschool band gathering to play in the sqaure he came and sat down beside me and asked to pose for me (with the coke can!!!)... for several reasons, I didn't feel like i could take oodles of shots from different angles in different poses...
so - when you have a willing subject and only one shot, what are the key things to keep in mind to maximize the chances of "getting it right"?
I am not one to be giving advice really, my portraits lack everything lol. Just as a person looking at this picture I will say that I would have had the coca cola lable straight and cropped the guy with the striped shirt out. Sorry I am not much help.
I have been considering doing that too... but I keep backing off because is it sooo far out of my comfort zone!!! That being said the project does intrigue me! Love this shot, but no nothing about how to "get it right"!
@tracywilliams tx Tracy... yeah, i totally missed the guy in the striped shirt (yike!)... i actually did another crop to make it just a head shot and i think it looks better, but i also wanted to convey more about this interesting character - which is why i went with this crop... his english was hard to understand, and giving him instructions about the coke can did not work ;p
@harley84 Katherine - i thought it would be hard talking to strangers, but in the last week i've struck up conversations with several and can easily see doing this more often... either i've been at "events" where there is a natural conversation starter, or i'm just taking photos and someone starts talking to me! i'm reasonably certain i could get enough info to write up for 100 strangers, and also reasonably certain i could kid them along to pose for me... totally chatted up a guy at a science fair today... he is on a university team that built a race car prototype and he desperately wanted to tell me all about it... :)
if in doubt focus on the eyes, its the part of a person we find ourselves subconciously drawn to first, utilise a narrow depth of field ,portraits pop out most when there are no background distractions, unless you are taking street photography portraits where environment plays a part. also unusual angled portraits can be very interesting.
@northy Lol, the coke can is fine, it is not the focus of the picture, it is not an advertisement for coke. I think I would maybe like to see it in black and white?
What is the first thing catching your eye with a person, that should be the thing you focus on with your picture. Could be the face, what the person is wearing, what the person is doing... or maybe the interaction with the person and the surroundings has some juxtaposition thing going on etc. Then think a bit about the light, no funky shadows ruining the pic & the exposure is what you want it to be. Compose the shot and shoot. If the background is distracting, try to have a lot of ~open space behind the subject and use low f-value to get more of a blurred background. Don't be afraid to use flash to get some sparkle in the eyes and to fill some shadows, handy when your subject is wearing a hat making the face very shadowed ...
Get a little closer, and choose a less distracting backdrop. Street portraits seem to work well when the subject is against a brick wall, it adds to the streetiness (its a word) and isn't to distracting. That is all based on me not actually having done any though :)
Talk to them. That is what puts people at ease. Once they settle down, take the picture. Connect with the eyes whenever possible but don't rule out other types of pictures. Personally, I also like to bring in more of their personalities than just a head shot, also.
There is light on his left shoulder and the top of his head, but his face is in complete shade. If you had stepped just a bit more to your right so his face was turned partially into the light source, that would've created some dimension on his face. Other than that the pose is good, cropping just to his face would lose the personality of the picture. And yes, you could probably crop just enough off the right side to remove the guy in the striped shirt.
I wanted to add; something I don't think about often enough is using the fill-in flash. On my camera it is labeled as 'backlight'. It's to fill in when the light is behind your subject and you want to lighten the front. I know, so many things to think about, right? Think of it as just part of the process of being a photographer. :-)
Focus on the eyes (or the one closest to you) every time.
I'd crop this to the bottom of the bangle on his wrist to lose all the stuff around his middle.
I'd also crop the top to just above his head and the same from the LHS to move him away fro the centre.
It would be simple to clone out the guy in the stripes.
As has been said, the light's falling from above and/or behind him and I'd guess it was taken sometime in the middle of the day as the light's very harsh.
What you needed to combat all of that and bring his face into play was a burst of fill flash.
Also, a larger aperture (smaller f.number) would have thrown the background out of focus.
Erm, like's been said, talk to him first, so you notice what is significant about him, maybe he screws his face up, maybe he runs his hands through his hair every few minutes. Why is he different. Then say can I take a picture, and walk around him/her with your eye to the viewfinder, occassionally glancing at the sun/clouds and frowning - that's what I do, i'm looking for the best angle but I make out like the sun is making it hard for me. Then get low. Certain lenses require that. In this case I would have asked him to hold the can lower if he iinsisted on posing like this, so I could crop it out later. Or had him hold it in a more realistic manner. This guys hand is a bit too elegant for me, and I don't like the high-visibility strp thing. I might have tried to shoot this guy from the side, maybe him looking straight forward holding the can in his grip as though he was drinking it, maybe leaning elbows on his knees. Just observe people in public then approach them when you've spotted something significant about them. and I'm sure you know but 50mm f.1.4 or 1.8 is your lens for this, on a max apeture.
tx! i clearly have heaps and heaps to learn... starting with the whole fill flash concept...
wish i had a willing model to practice with... (my kids are THE.MOST.UNCOOPERATIVE.MODELS.EVER!!!!!) i would probably have managed much better taking a candid of this guy because then i could have played around with settings and such... he was quite difficult to communicate with, and really, such an interesting character... i didn't feel i had much control over the situation at all...
so i've made a checklist of all the things i need to think about "on my feet" for next time i try this... tx!!!!
Tweets ahoy!
Join the Group
Pin With Me
@harley84 Katherine - i thought it would be hard talking to strangers, but in the last week i've struck up conversations with several and can easily see doing this more often... either i've been at "events" where there is a natural conversation starter, or i'm just taking photos and someone starts talking to me! i'm reasonably certain i could get enough info to write up for 100 strangers, and also reasonably certain i could kid them along to pose for me... totally chatted up a guy at a science fair today... he is on a university team that built a race car prototype and he desperately wanted to tell me all about it... :)
Will be stoked for you if you give it a go.
The eyes have it, as they say.
I've got a few pictures in this group. Hmmm ... I'll be out today and should be able to add a few more into this group. http://www.flickr.com/groups/100strangers/pool/27824281@N02/
I'd crop this to the bottom of the bangle on his wrist to lose all the stuff around his middle.
I'd also crop the top to just above his head and the same from the LHS to move him away fro the centre.
It would be simple to clone out the guy in the stripes.
As has been said, the light's falling from above and/or behind him and I'd guess it was taken sometime in the middle of the day as the light's very harsh.
What you needed to combat all of that and bring his face into play was a burst of fill flash.
Also, a larger aperture (smaller f.number) would have thrown the background out of focus.
But I know nothing, so listen to the other guys.
tx! i clearly have heaps and heaps to learn... starting with the whole fill flash concept...
wish i had a willing model to practice with... (my kids are THE.MOST.UNCOOPERATIVE.MODELS.EVER!!!!!) i would probably have managed much better taking a candid of this guy because then i could have played around with settings and such... he was quite difficult to communicate with, and really, such an interesting character... i didn't feel i had much control over the situation at all...
so i've made a checklist of all the things i need to think about "on my feet" for next time i try this... tx!!!!
models who work for the pictures, newbies are happy just to get a message.