>>>MClass I. Part 1. 1) Preparations.

[Yuri Pautov]

MClass I. Portraits in Natural Light
Part 1.
1) Preparations.

As you already know, the subject of our class is 'Natural light portrait'.
One can read in books that the main purpose of taking portrait shots is to
1) show the character, or
2) to create a character.
In my case (I mean my women's portraits), it is showing or creating a Beauty.

We all know that 'photography' word itself means 'light writing' (BTW it was for discovery of photons that Albert Einstein received his Nobel Prize, not for his famous theory of relativity), so we will talk about the light.

The word 'Portrait' comes from the old French verb 'portraire' – to portray, to picture…

So we will also talk about what we need to picture – compositions, backgrounds, foregrounds…
And, definitely, we will be talking about models!
Preparations include:
a) Inspecting all gears that we need:
1) camera
2) tripod (for some shots)

3) remote (for some shots) – but if you don't have remote, you can use camera's timer
4) reflector (for some shots)
And, of course, afterwards,
5) computer, photo editing software (I use Adobe PhotoShop)
b) Finding a person to photograph.
c) Choosing time
d) Choosing place
e) Choosing dress

 

[Yuri Pautov]

MClass I. Portraits in Natural Light.
Part 1
Preparations. Choosing Place.

I try to pay much attention to the backgrounds. That is why when I drive my car, or walk along the streets, I always look for interesting backgrounds. Interesting colors of the wall and interesting texture of the door may attract my attention. Interesting building, or a part of a building. I make a ‘frame’ in my mind and look through this frame, zooming and stepping aside, imagining my model standing here or there, sitting or bending forward. I keep all these places in my mind. And I always try to work up the route of our photo session.

If we make indoor shots, our background readiness will be useful too. You’ll not waste your time looking for a place to shoot.

Please, pay attention to the light. The background that you have found in the morning may not work in the evening.

Choosing the background, try to find the one without horizontal vertical lines, especially if those lines will be at model’s head level.
Here are some examples.
1. Ballerina portrait with theatre indoors background



2. Colorful background



3. “Dark” background



4 Wood



5 Arch



6 Street



So, the task for your homework will be choosing “A background for a portrait”. Look around and take some shots of such places. Tell us why did you choose them. Who will be photographed using these backgrounds?
(Man/woman young/old and so on)

HOMEWORK: make some shots of Backgrounds for your future portraits. Indoors and outdoors.
As usual, I am waiting for your questions.

--
Spasibo,
Yuri
http://pautov.viplast.ru

 

[megajam02]

Yuri,

This is not a question, but a thank you. I have typically been a person more interested in landscapes and action photos, primarily because I didn't know how to achieve the beautiful results in portraits that you so often do.

This series of lessons is a Godsend for me. Thank you for taking your time to do this. You can bet I'll be waiting intently for each lesson and studing each one thoroughly.

Thanks again.
--
Chris in SC
Sony DSC-H2 w/ VCL-DH1758
http://jcbenterprises.smugmug.com

 

[twclead]

Yuri, I echo Chris's sentiments. People shots have always been my Achilles heel and I'm looking forward to the discussions that will grow from your unselfish efforts.

Thank You,

Dale
--
Happiness is a Barbershop Quartet

 

[twclead]

MClass I. Portraits in Natural Light.
Part 1
Preparations. Choosing Place.

So, the task for your homework will be choosing “A background for a
portrait”. Look around and take some shots of such places. Tell us
why did you choose them. Who will be photographed using these
backgrounds?

HOMEWORK: make some shots of Backgrounds for your future portraits.
Indoors and outdoors.
As usual, I am waiting for your questions.

This is very interesting. I had never considered preparing in advance for a background. All the "people" shots I'd done in the past were spontaneous. Since I don't use and have never considered using "models" would you recommend taking these shots for later insertion into a composite image of your subject?

All of my models will be people I know such as family or friends that happen to be in a social environment with me at the moment. Can I apply these lessons to photo oppertunities that arrise under those circumstances or do you recommend becoming more dedicated to portraiture as a style?

I fear most people in the forum are like me. We take shots of everything and are not dedicated to one format. Your generous offer to help us achieve an increased skill level in one of the styles is extremely welcome news.

Dale

Spasibo,
Yuri
http://pautov.viplast.ru

--
Happiness is a Barbershop Quartet

 

[Jerry Vacl]

R1 @f/5.6 no pp. I wish I could have got the leaves more OOF, but had I moved my daughter further away from them, distracting elements (side of the house, end of the fence with the leaves) would have come into the background.

What can you do when you have no, or limited choice of background (mother wanted pictures NOW before daughter goes off to the prom)?

Yuri, I really like your #3 b&w shot, very classic.

Also, thank you very much for your efforts, I feel Dale (twclead) said it best.



Cheers,
Jerry

 

[Yuri Pautov]

This is very interesting. I had never considered preparing in advance
for a background. All the "people" shots I'd done in the past were
spontaneous. Since I don't use and have never considered using
"models" would you recommend taking these shots for later insertion
into a composite image of your subject?

Dale! Dont be afraid!
Just do this homework.

Think that it will be useful not only for portraits shooting, because the aim is to start paying much more attention to the background of you photograph.
Just imagine: Flower. Animal. Landscape. Each of these photos has backgrounds.

All of my models will be people I know such as family or friends that
happen to be in a social environment with me at the moment. Can I
apply these lessons to photo oppertunities that arrise under those
circumstances or do you recommend becoming more dedicated to
portraiture as a style?

Again, Dale, I hope you'll start taking good portraits.

I fear most people in the forum are like me. We take shots of
everything and are not dedicated to one format. Your generous offer
to help us achieve an increased skill level in one of the styles is
extremely welcome news.

If you'll visit my site, you'll find that I dont take only portraits.
Besides, I am learning myself. Every day. Day after day...

Spasibo,
Yuri
http://pautov.viplast.ru

 

[Yuri Pautov]

First of all, thank you for taking part in my MClass.
I will be glad if you'll do your homework thoroughly.

Yes, portraits - is a great endless theme and that is why we must not digress and go step by step.
(Again, sorry for my English)
So, we are talking here about preparing you backgrounds BEFORE taking photos.

You MUST HAVE SOME in your house or near it. You will be ready for taking photos of people, and if you'll be asked, you'll just say:"OK, lets do it here"

R1 @f/5.6 no pp. I wish I could have got the leaves more OOF, but
had I moved my daughter further away from them, distracting elements
(side of the house, end of the fence with the leaves) would have come
into the background.

Note: we are talking only about the background of your photo.

I find you background as a good one. Still, try to avoid LINES going from/into the model's head. If possible. While looking into your viewfinder, FIRST try to disengage yourself from colors, textures, leaving only forms and lines of the background.

Human eyes first find most curved parts of lines.

So, this bright branch at the left top of the photo with its curve (changing from nose line reiteration to horizontal line) attracts too much attention. Because of: 1) curvature and 2) brightness

You may take a photo from another point of shooting (higher, lower). FIRST FIND PROPER BACKGROUND and only THEN - start work with you model.

What can you do when you have no, or limited choice of background
(mother wanted pictures NOW before daughter goes off to the prom)?

Learn to find proper background in a moment. It is not that hard! Just learn to see!

Spasibo,
Yuri
http://pautov.viplast.ru

 

[Yehuda Katz]

If you could move back a few steps and use more zoom, AND/OR if you could use a wider aperture - these would help. In R1 you can use f-2.8.
You can also blur the background in photoshop. Photographers do it sometimes.
Yehuda

I wish I could have got the leaves more OOF,

 

[twclead]

I hope I'm not getting out of context here. My question has to do with backgrounds when you wish to show the location such as when on a vacation.

What guidelines should you look for if you want a portrait but also want the area to hold equal importance? Here is an example I took while on vacation in Hawaii. I wanted to show the area but also wanted to have a good composition with regard to the people. My comp didn't come out as I would have liked espcecially since I was in the picture.

Dale



--
Happiness is a Barbershop Quartet

 

[Kattslackey]

You might have used a lower ISO, opened up to f:2.8 and perhaps 1/1000" or what ever. I would pick the aperture first then shutter speed to get proper exposure. Be careful about too much zoom it will distort features. The rule of thumb is 2x the normal focal length for the camera. 35mm - 100mm lens.

Too close and you exaggerate the features and too far you flatten them.
--
marion aka OTD one of those Duc Klub people.

 

[busch]

I wanted the background and surroundings to show her work. Didn't have much time to position things or people.



--
Busch

Take the scenic route! Life is too short to do otherwise.

http://www.pbase.com/busch

 

[Jerry Vacl]

If you could move back a few steps and use more zoom, AND/OR if you
could use a wider aperture - these would help. In R1 you can use
f-2.8.
You can also blur the background in photoshop. Photographers do it
sometimes.
Yehuda

problem is if I backed up any further I would have been standing in the wife's flower garden (and got shot, but not with a camera).

I couldn't zoom out any more as I was maxed out @ 72mm (120mm equivalent) already.

The R1's dof, especially at close range, is VERY shallow (see my photo & reply to Marion for specific details).

I think adjusting the background in post processing would be the most practical.

Cheers,
Jerry

 

[Jerry Vacl]

You might have used a lower ISO, opened up to f:2.8 and perhaps
1/1000" or what ever. I would pick the aperture first then shutter
speed to get proper exposure. Be careful about too much zoom it will
distort features. The rule of thumb is 2x the normal focal length
for the camera. 35mm - 100mm lens.

Too close and you exaggerate the features and too far you flatten them.
--
marion aka OTD

...suggestions. Problem is I couldn't do most of them, except for two.

From my experience with the R1 at such close a distance, I felt I didn't want to use an aperture wider than f/5.6. If you look at the original photo, her left eye is sharp but the eyelashes and hair above her right eye are already oof. That's a pretty skinny dof.

After choosing the aperture, I worked backwards and kept adjusting the ISO (200) until I got a shutter speed that I felt comfortable handholding the R1, 1/100 sec., for the first shot.

I also had the zoom maxed out at 120mm ( 35mm equivalent).

The only way that I can see getting the background more blurry (excluding the pp option) while keeping the same facial size in the viewfinder would have been for both my daughter and myself to move away from the leaves, but I had very limited leeway on the backside. In the original shot the leaves would have been between 1 and 2 feet behind my daughter's head.

Tried a different strategy for the second shot. I placed her so that any background was at least 50 feet away, took the shot vertically and as tight as I could get it, to crop out as much distracting background as possible. The only camera changes were a slight drop in shutter speed to 1/80, same f/5.6 and ISO 200 but backed the zoom to 95mm (35mm equivalent).

As you can see with this one too, even at f/5.6, the eyes and glasses are sharp but the earrings are already oof. Both shots are straight out of the R1, no pp.



Cheers,
Jerry

 

[Jerry Vacl]

Human eyes first find most curved parts of lines.
So, this bright branch at the left top of the photo with its curve
(changing from nose line reiteration to horizontal line) attracts
too much attention. Because of: 1) curvature and 2) brightness

Spasibo,
Yuri

...with your statement about curved lines, would you consider your last three examples as good examples of a portrait?

Cheers,
Jerry

 

[Yuri Pautov]

Human eyes first find most curved parts of lines.
So, this bright branch at the left top of the photo with its curve
(changing from nose line reiteration to horizontal line) attracts
too much attention. Because of: 1) curvature and 2) brightness

Spasibo,
Yuri

...with your statement about curved lines, would you consider your
last three examples as good examples of a portrait?
Cheers,
Jerry

Not good, but very good

These photos were placed here to show you DIFFERENT backgrounds, but not the SUPER-PUPER background samples

The last one has ZOOM effect and curves just underline it.

1. 5 has so called 'series' or 'rows' - one of the interesting things in photography.

Do you see this repetition of curves (bridge and hood). Like a Bactrian camel?

1. 4 has 'homogeneous collection' and these dark 'brooks' between the wood cuts, also lead us to the model.

(If talking about critique I'd write some about #1 with 'line' going through the head)

In other words, Jerry, there is a difference:
curves LEADING viewer's eyes TO the main subject
and
curves that TAKE AWAY viewer's look

hope you understand me.

And some more things.
I don't say: "Do, like I do!"
And the aim of our MClass is not to catch your teacher
Just to become better photographers (including me)
Sometimes infraction of photographic laws bring brilliant results.

I like your second photo's background!.

Spasibo,
Yuri
http://pautov.viplast.ru

 

[Yuri Pautov]

I try to keep our homework in perfect order:

The task was:

"HOMEWORK: make some shots of Backgrounds for your future portraits. Indoors and outdoors.

Tell us why did you choose them. Who will be photographed using these backgrounds?
(Man/woman young/old and so on) "

Please, DON'T post the photos you've made before.
Do your homework.
Try to go STEP BY STEP
I understand how hard it is, but....
I ask you: please!

Spasibo,
Yuri
http://pautov.viplast.ru

 

[Yuri Pautov]

...

Choosing a background is a very important part in preparations for portrait photo session.

Keeping some ‘true’ backgrounds around you in mind will help you a lot in taking portraits. These will be ‘tried’ places. Because the mistakes you’ll make (with horizontal lines of a picture’s frame hanging on a wall and coming off the head, for example) will correct your collection of backgrounds.

Simple background is always needed. Simple background will never take away

attention of your photo’s viewer. Simple background is so to say ‘the support’ of the main subject in the photograph. Your Model, or the Hero of the portrait.

Your background may be a part of a wall. With its texture, its color. Or an old metal or wooden door. Dark space. For example, your garage without lights, when looking into it in a dull day. Blurred perspective. And so on.

We remember the rule of ‘taking white on black and black on white’. That is why try to have several different simple backgrounds.

Adding details to the background may have several purposes. Background’s lines (elements of landscape or interior) may ‘lead’ viewer’s look to your model. This is a secret of your composition. And it is important to disengage yourself from the content. Leaving only lines and forms in your mind.

Details may also say something about the profession of the portrait’s hero. About his surrounding. They create a mood. Blue sea, flowers in a vase, old building for example.

Background is a matter of taste. Your taste.
In other words, background may become your ‘corporate identity’.
And so, we will continue our homework called ‘Backgrounds’.

I’ll be glad to see several backgrounds chosen by you with trend from simple to the more complicated ones.

Again it will be fine to read your comments. Why. Who will be a Hero of a portrait with this background? Young, old, male, female and so on… Whom do you see with this background?

Strange, but paying much attention to the background may help you in choosing your model!
Creating a pose. Choosing a dress.
Your background makes you 'see' your model!

So, its your turn.

To be continued,
Yuri

 

[Yuri Pautov]

I will also 'play the game'.

I took my camera and made some shots not far from the place where I work - SPARTAK multiplex (6 hall cinema, cafe, two coffee houses, bowling, billiards and so on..), choosing backgrounds.

1 Indoors. I will use it in a sunny day. Maybe with a reflector. I choose several parts for standing and sitting on a stairs model. Wall’s texture is original, so I will put my model not far from it and won’t blur my background much using DOF. I can make close-up portrait as well as full-length one. Age doesn’t matter.



2 Outdoors. These mirror windows can become original background! Must be careful with all these vertical lines.



3 This small building has several solid colored parts. I can make half-length portrait of models with bright or dark hair.



4 These door and stairs are interesting for full-length photo. Can play with DOF, using the street perspective of model on a stairs. Also interesting gray background.



5 The street lamp with blurred street background is interesting. Such a street detail…



6 This building is interesting itself, but could also be a wonderful background for a long legged blonde… Especially with ground point of shooting.



7 This building of an old factory is also interesting due to its perspective, detail’s repetition.
It may be good for close-up and full-length portraits also.



Yuri

 

[Yuri Pautov]

Yes, surely, it shows us military surroundings!

Still could you be so kind to take part in our HOMEWORK 1?

--
Spasibo,
Yuri