Hi,
as well as the technical issues that other people have mentioned, it's
always useful to consider who you have to please when you're taking a
portrait. Are you trying to please the sitter, her mother, her
boyfriend, yourself, the passport authority...
Usually you can't please all the people all the time, and a father
will not necessarily be pleased by a shot the boyfriend likes, and
vice versa.
Getting too close physically, as you've found, is a good way to make
the subject feel uncomfortable, which is one reason why many
photographers prefer a longer lens for this kind of close-up.
Lighting is very important, of course, but the way shadows fall on the
face is crucial to how the photo works. For instance, Arnold Newman
deliberately lit the German industrial Krupp to make him look satanic.
Is your sister happy with your photo of her? What do you think of it,
and what do you think are its faults? My guess is that this is very
much a "brother's eye view", and that she may not be pleased with it.
One useful way to practice, if your sister is happy to be your model,
is to photograph her while she's busy doing something she enjoys, or
while she's engaged in conversation with somebody else. Try and catch
different expressions; look through the viewfinder as though you were
watching a movie screen, and be aware of the the edges of the frame. Be
prepared to shoot a lot of film to get a good portrait. Also, try and
use natural lighting; don't get hung up too quickly on artifical
light, but use window light, and light from large & diffuse light sources,
which produces soft shadows.
I would recommend you to take a look at the work of the English
portraitist Jane Bown - she has recently published a wonderful book
called "Faces".
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1855857898/qid=989364414/sr=1-1/ref=sc_b_2/107-3184627-6103715
She has a very direct style. She uses an Olympus OM-1 and Tri-X exclusively,
which she generally sets at 1/60 at f/2.8, she says. She shoots by natural
light, except 'in extreme cases' where she uses a 150-watt bulb in a table
lamp. It's well worth paying attention to how she uses the natural light and
where she puts her subject in relation to it. She doesn't mention which lens
she uses, but I'd say it's probably a 50mm and a 85mm, or similar. She has
eliminated as many variables as possible and this lets her concentrate her
attention on the subject. Her technique is instinctive, and her portraits are
quite exceptional.
She in particular springs to mind because she often frames quite close up in
landscape format, as you've done. This is "against the rules", but it
can be highly effective.
A useful technical hint: if your sitter wears glasses and you don't
want the reflections or shadows getting in the way, remove the lenses.
Hope this helps.
---
Bob
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Tuesday, May 08, 2001, 8:47:05 PM, you wrote:
> http://pug.komkon.org/01may/sister.html
> This was my first portrait attempt, and I'd like to know what I could
> have done differently to produce "better" results. For instance, does
> the shallow DOF work, or should I have stopped down to include the rest
> of the hair? And what about the shadows on the face...does this detract
> from the image? I'm open to comments, critiques and criticisms, positive
> and negative, sugar-coated and harsh, as long as they are ultimately
> helpful in teaching me better technique, etc.
> Thanks in advance.
> Steve
> Rolla, MO
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