Tuesday 19 February 2013

The Portrait in Photography

An experiment with Portraiture.

What is Portraiture?
A portrait may be difficult to explain and there are many ways to create a portrait image but in essence the following generally apply.

The Face
This can include facial expressions such as frowning, grinning or smiling. Hair and personal appearance such as make-up and hair style.

Pose
Whether the person is standing, lying, sitting also the manner and attitude in which they present themselves.

Clothes
This may represent social class, sex, cultural values and fashion.

Location
This could be a studio, urban or landscape setting etc. The image may contain clear shots of the environment or it may be a case that a shallow depth of field is required to blur out any distracting objects.

Each of the above elements effects another in the overall potential for meaning. Various photographic techniques such as framing, lens, focus, depth of field, lighting, view point etc. are used as ways of controlling the four key elements and thereby communicating special information about the sitter.
By using the key elements above I've attempted to produce some portraiture of some willing volunteers. A special thanks to Jasper, Butha, Patrycja and George.






My thoughts
Despite the strong sunshine,I feel that I handled the shoot well going for a more candid style in some of my shots depending on my victims. I have no explanation why I shot in mono, I just felt it was right for the day.


Sean Wareing 2013 ©

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