what is portrait photography?
Portrait photography is a type of photography that focuses on capturing a person’s likeness, particularly their face. Typically, people’s faces are the most prominent element in these types of photographs. Other elements, such as bodies, clothing, props, and backgrounds may be visible, but the photographer usually doesn’t try to draw attention to them.
Portrait Photographers
Steve McCurry is an American photographer who is know for the picture he took in 1984 called the "Afghan Girl". Which was the cover of National Geographic. He took pictures over 30 years
for book covers,magazines and over dozens of books. McCurry's work has featured in every major magazine. Today Steve's favorite place to go abroad is to Asia for the best photography he can do.
for book covers,magazines and over dozens of books. McCurry's work has featured in every major magazine. Today Steve's favorite place to go abroad is to Asia for the best photography he can do.
Analyzing pictures
These two pictures are that have been taken are examples of portrait photography as you can see the images are more focused on the faces to show the most emotion . The picture on the left of the girl was taken in the 1980s of a refuge in Afghanistan taken by Steve McCurry ,this picture has so much emotion as her eyes stand out with glare and emotion . The second image was was take by Edward Sheriff Curtis in the 1800's of an American Indian girl, is very similar as the focus is on her eyes and on her face, and headdress.
Portrait photgraphers
Edward Sheriff Curtis is an American photographer who worked in the late 1800's focusing on American Indian culture, he lived and worked for 30 years documenting over eighty tribes. Curtis took photos of normal day to day tasks of these tribes, in a style that wasn't typical of that period. Late 19th century photography was typically studio portraiture, Curtis' work however was taken outside, with natural light, in the American landscapes of what he thought was a dying way of life.
Analyzing pictures
This image is of an Native American Indian portrait taken by Edward Sheriff Curtis, showing a man wearing his cultural headdress. Curtis wanted to capture a dying way of life, and so his photography subjects are often sad and somber. He creates this mood by the subject gaze look down in to the camera and not having direct open eye contact. The picture is over exposed and creates high contrasting detail in the subject features.
Portrait Photographer.
Paul Wolfgang is a Lancashire based contemporary photographer who documents his heritage and culture through his own surroundings and the people who live and reside in Manchester, and the North of England. He uses black and white photography to emphasize the iconic elements of the people he photographs. Wolfgang takes photographs of lots of celebrities and music icons from the north England to highlight their contributions to music and culture.
Photos Of my Photographer
Paul Wolfgang's portrait of Mark 'Bez' Berry from the Happy Mondays. In this picture you can see the photographer has taken as a portrait because the image is only focusing on the person's face. The photographer has highlighted the color and contrast of the image by making it black and white on Photoshop. By changing the images color this changes the the mood of the picture to drawn on the dark, morbid and theme. The photographer has changed the settings of the camera to make it under exposed,this draws attention to the face and the painting of a skull. Paul Wolfgang has used a straight forward perspective on when taking the picture to highlight the lack of symmetry on both sides of the face. I think He has used these techniques to show a dull and scary picture.
Plan
For my first shoot I will be putting my camera on a self timer rather then someone taking it for me. This will help take a portrait picture of myself better then someone else taking it for me.
My first shoot
My Best Picture
I believe this is my best photograph as I was trying to convey the perception of sadness and a moody atmosphere. I achieved this
by not facing the camera and not having eye contact and a downward glance , and a weakened bodily stance, although i made sure that the face was still partly visible. Although the image is bright there is a stark contrast in shadows, which i believe highlights my stance. I put the camera on a self timer and put it on a tripod.
This is my worst picture
I believe this is my worst photo as there is very little heighten emotion portrayed to make this a sad image. The background is distracting and draws the attention away from the person. The person is facing a computer and looks engaged instead of being distracted from his emotions. The hand gesture is more pensive rather than letting the head fall in angst.
The image is bright and with little shadow to create contrast, this works against my attempted sad mood. Also for this picture I put it the camera on a self timer.
The image is bright and with little shadow to create contrast, this works against my attempted sad mood. Also for this picture I put it the camera on a self timer.
Plan
In this shoot I will be taking a picture in the style of Paul Wolfgang did.
My best photo
This is my best picture because i have taken a photograph like Paul Wolfgang would i think taking in images in black and white shows great emotion and brings out the features if you you want it dull and and dark like i have done it improves the image. I have changed the camera setting to make the photo more under exposed I did this technique to make it like my photographer.
My worst photo
This is my worst picture because it is out of focus and it is too over exposed also the background does not suite the picture it needs to have a better frame. I haven't picked the correct camera settings in order for me to take a good clear picture .
comparison to photographers
There is a comparisons between these two pictures you can see the different in contrast of the colors also the picture is portrait photograph. Because you are only focusing on the face. By changing the the pictures color it has changed the mood of the photograph. The photographer has changed the camera setting so the image is under exposed.
Best picture
This picture is my best picture because it shows what photographers that I've been researching and it shows real emotion of what is happening. Also it shows the different colors to show the different change in mood. And the picture is under exposed I have also changed the camera setting so you can see the different moods in the image.
worst photo
This is my worst photo because it is out focus and you cant see what is happening in the image and there is no meaning to it the picture also is over exposed which makes the image all out of contrast. He is not showing any emotion and he's body movement is all wrong.
Evaluation
Overall For this topic I would say It was quite and easy for me and probably one of my best pages in my site. I understood the theme very well so It was easy for me to take great photos. But one thing I found tricky was the analyses for the pictures. As I had to edit my pictures and explain what I did.