Portraiture

Portraiture has always been one of my favorite genres of photography

Portraiture is a conversation - a collaboration - between the photographer and the person being photographed. In an instant I try to not only capture a stunning image of the subject but to also capture something of the subject's personality or mood. In nearly all cases the subject is not someone who is very familiar with photography or used to being blinded by the flashes.

The Decision

Very often the best portrait is taken by chance. The image to the left was taken in the middle of a shoot after I realized that I had a pink hat that matched the little girls dress. She, however was not at all sure about the suitability of the hat and was looking at her mother for approval.

The good part of shooting in a studio setting is that everything remains relatively static. As I was walking back to my camera I happened to glace over my shoulder and on seeing the interaction triggered the camera.

Child with ball

Natural light portraiture can be especially challenging as you have very little control over the light. Shadows can be controlled with the use of reflectors and scrims.

You can also carefully select the location for the portrait. To take the image to the left I placed the baby on the grass almost at the apex of two white walls. The sunlight reflecting off the white walls softened the shadows.

Baltimore Man

I usually try to capture something of the personality of my subject or their environment and if possible both.

in this image I feel i have managed to capture something of the young man's personality as well as his environment. Baltimore is reflected in his sunglases.

Sax Man

Another available light portrait..

I photographed this musician in the early morning light at the end of a pier. There was a slight early morning mist giving a very soft light.

Cherise

This is a very pensive mood portrait.

I used a single direct light slightly behind the model and a reflector to fill in the shadow area.

Time Tracks

Sometimes the model's life is etched in her face.

I took this photograph while presenting a portrait workshop. This lady had lived and worked on a farm her whole life. She was a wonderful subject for portraiture.

Bianca

Classic portrait of a little girl.

Bianca

Classic portrait of a little girl. This time with props.

Fantacy Face

This portrait is the result of an intensive makeup workshop.

This workshop was organized specifically to teach photographers about makeup. The lighting setup for this was complex - two stacked soft boxes, two spots, one hair light, a 5600 K strip light on the floor and the model was placed in the apex of two blue reflector screens.

Beaunette

Some times the model has to be good at sitting very still for quite a while.

The only light source for this portrait was a single incandecent bulb. The model had to sit still for this 25 second exposure.