Portraiture

Portraiture

Sr. David Attenborough circa 2007

Definition & Theory

Portraiture, in photography, is a photograph of a figure which primarily captures the emotion and detail of the face, as if it's interacting with you. They're usually commissioned by schools, celebrities, weddings and businesses. 

It's a painting, photograph, sculpture or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality and even the mood of the person. Personally, I believe it to be about capturing pure emotions of an individual, the reality of a situation through the figure's face. Think about it, when a news photographer takes a photo of an unlucky individual from a war-torn country, it shows the pure upset and terror which has been caused. Portraiture sparks conversation. It changes opinions, ideologies. It gives reason to sympathise or empathise. It's the most authentic way of showing the feeling of a person.

The photo linked to the right of me shows David Attenborough, one of the most famous people to come from the UK. He has a rather solemn look, as if he's tired. At first glance though, he may seem like he's smiling. The more you look at the photo, you see how it's more as if he is concentrating or in deep thought. He's emotionally tired, not physically. He's also looking down which could connote to negativity, as if he's disappointed in something. What it is, we don't know.

Winston Churchill circa 1940s

Here is another photo, specifically of Winston Churchill from mid-war era. He is seen standing seriously, with one hand on his hip and his face slightly dipped. It's as if he's looking down on his enemies. The photographer used high exposure to capture a more significant emotion, as if to give strength to Churchill and therefore the nation. 

Amanda Lepore circa 2000s onward

Finally, this photo of Amanda Lepore is very different to the former two photos. It shows Lepore looking away from the photo, with a pose which exposes her left shoulder. This could connote to quite a glamorous look, which is confirmed by the use of significant makeup. Her eyes looking down could also connote to her putting her guard down, as if she is friendly to the viewer. Furthermore, it could be empowering women and more so trans-women, as she successfully transitioned from MTF. 

two lighting styles

midkey

lowkey

Annie Leibovitz

This artist is infamous in the photography community for her photos. She has taken pictures of everyone. Jennifer Lawrence, Adele, Mark Zuckerburg, and even Queen Elizabeth II. She was born in 1949, and is aged 69 as of October 2nd this year. She always focused on more serious photos, capturing the true emotion in people, rather than a plain smile, a façade to hide inner emotion.

Contact Sheet
AO2 Photos

Best and Worst Images

12 Best

6 Worst

The photos shown were taken in the space of two to three days, using a few people via whoever was most convenient. The best photos all focused on a mix of urban culture, as well as portraying emotion, or the lack thereof. They were taken around the Harlow area, as well as using different tones to my advantage. The best photos, for example, have a variety of high and mid-contrast shots. The two dark-toned ones taken in the studio both were purposefully taken with a conical snoot on the main light. This concentrated the light onto the face, and made the exposure much more lacking in the areas which needed to be darker. It links a lot to the photo by Leibovitz where it focuses on negative space.

Edits
AO2 

To edit my photos, I used the tonal range to get a grasp on what the photo should look like. For all photos, I began by using the brightness/contrast tool, as well as curves and exposure. While using them, I gradually adjusted the sliders/graph to match the intended meaning in the image. Furthermore, I decided to add a better feel to many photos by using the Spot Healing Brush tool, which can selectively edit, change or remove pieces I place the brush on. It's very good at removing dirt or other small discrepancies you might not want on a photo.

Final Pieces

Used around 3 people (too many camera-shy people)

Landscape

Landscape

Definition & Theory

C. Ansel Adams

What is landscape? And what is photography?

Landscape photography shows spaces within the world, sometimes vast and unending, but other times microscopic. Landscape photographs typically capture the presence of nature but can also focus on man-made features or disturbances of landscapes. For photography, photography is about picturing what you see, or more-so what you want to see. It's about portraying a scene that you've experienced, or want to experience/see

Define Landscape.

All the visible features of an area of land, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.

Pre-visualisation - this is a very important way of finding the right photo. It's all about knowing what you want to take a picture of before you take the picture.

Filter - absorbs different amounts of light

The Zone System

The zone system is a guide created by Ansel Adams which gives information on what areas of the photo are. You have Zone 0-3, which are all shadows. There are mid-tones from Zone 4-6, and then 7-10 describes the highlights of the photos.

F-Stop/Depth of Field/Tonal range

Each of these parts are vital in photography. Firstly, aperture is one of the main things we use for picturing the depth of the photo. The lower the F-Stop, the higher the blur that is in the background. For example, if you take a macro photo of a flower with F-1.8, it will blur out the entire photo except for the foreground. If you then take a photo of a massive landscape with F-22, it will take in the entire photo. To get the depth and blur of some areas, you need to find a balance between each side of the aperture. If you use it too high you'll lose the 3-D feel of the image, but if you have it too low it will blur out the majority of the photograph. 

Depth of Field is similar. Depth of Field is the entire part of the photo which is in focus. Depth of Field doesn't have a "setting", it's really just something to do with aperture. If you're doing landscape, use a high F-Stop, and vice versa. 
Finally, there's tonal range. Tonal range is about the range of different tones in the image. It "does what it says on the tin". A tonal range which you'd want, using the zone system, would be 0-10 or 0-9. Make sure to have a wide variety of tones.

Artist Research; Rut Blees Luxemburg

Rut Blees Luxemburg is a German photographer who is famous for her large variety of photos taken in and around London. She takes many of these sprawling urban landscapes at night, giving the signature feel. She was born in 1967 and still lives to this day, tutoring in the Royal College of Art, UK.

 

Contact Sheet

Best Images

Worst Images

The images shown above are all taken within a one to two day timeframe outside in the general public. The photos are all based on Ruut-Lees Luxemburg's photography style, except taken in the day. The photos are an attempt at describing the built-up feel of many metropolitan areas, with lots of older buildings and many of them which haven't seen a deep clean in a good few years. It shows the very grungy feel that the town gives off, especially in autumn. With most of the trees without any leaves, it makes it look like a very desolate place if you were to remove much of the traffic and more up to date buildings. Furthermore, the photos almost take you back to the 20th century, as many of them were made upon the creation of the New Town itself. With many still standing after a strong 60+ years. The real gist of the situation is to give off that grime-y, more dirty look that you get with places that get less funding or income.

Edits


As per usual, I edited the photos via Photoshop CC, editing them to have high contrast and a colder feeling. For the vast majority of the photos, I edited the exposure and brightness, as well as correcting the gamma and raising contrast via the adjustments and levels to create an atmosphere which links to the grunge feel. Furthermore, because of the irregular lighting from many different buildings' shadows, when editing I took into considerating specific areas which should have shadow, while others might not. So for example, I would want a shadow below an overhang to be darker, but the rest to remain bright. What I do then is CMD+I (CTRL+I) after creating a layer which is very dark. Then, I take the brush (make sure it's white), select the layer (not the mask) and then brush where I want the shadow. This gives off the darker, higher contrast feel I'm looking for. After that, I might edit the vibrance, saturation or filter to create that impression of a colder, wintry atmosphere.

Camera Settings

I used a Canon EOS 1100D with a regular lens to take the photos, which range between an aperture of F6 and F11. The ISO was between 400 and 1600, and the shutter speed was edited depending on the exposure, setting it between 1/200 and 1/800.

Final Piece