PHOTOGRAPHING PEOPLE

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PHOTOGRAPHING PEOPLE

• jocelyn fisher
• NPC member

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Overview

• Bio
• Why take photographs of people?
• What is a portrait?
• Types of portraiture
• Focus on environmental portraiture
• Subject, location, composition, background,
  clothing, and lighting
• Slideshow of my work

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My Bio

• travels in Australia, New Zealand, Europe
• photography courses travel, darkroom
• pediatric occupational therapist
• child and family photography / weddings
• birth of daughter
• started small business

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• Why do we photograph people?

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TO DOCUMENT

• Events
• Milestones
• Relationships
• Everyday life
• Beautiful moments

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TO INSPIRE

• Creativity
• Thoughts
• Emotions
• Memories

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TO COMMUNICATE

• A Story
• Feelings
• Thoughts

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What Inspires You?

• simple, clean lines
• texture, repetition, and patterns
• organic, inner beauty
• eyes
• pure emotions
• relationships
• beautiful outdoor spaces with gorgeous lighting

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Take time to reflect on how you interact with
others

• Are youreserved, outgoing, funny?
• Think about your body language, facial
  expressions, mannerisms

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• As photographers, we have a great deal of
  influence on our subjects and, hence, the final
  photographs we create.

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What is a portrait?

• A likeness of a person physical qualities and
  inner character
• Character revelation
• at least one element that reveals the subjects
  personality, attitude, unique mannerisms, or any
  other features or traits that form the individual
  nature of the person

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Types of portraiture

• Candid - subject aware
• Candid - subject unaware
• Relaxed posed
• Formal
• Group couple, small or large groups
• Corporate
• Sporting
• Environmental

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Environmental portraiture

• Taken where a person lives, works, plays
• Provides insight into the personality and
  lifestyle of your subject
• Gives context and meaning to the photo
• Provides interest and texture to the background

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YOUR SUBJECT

• People come with
• A wide range of emotions
• A unique body, mind, and spirit
• The ability to move
• The capacity to interact with others
• Natural reservations

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Spend some time getting to know your subject

• What are their interests?
• How do they interact with you?
• Do they enjoy being in front of the camera?
• Observe their mannerisms and expressions
• What is their body language telling you?
• Consider their character and personality traits

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LOCATION

• Is the location meaningful to the subject, in
  order to provide context?
• Will the environment add interest without being
  overwhelming?
• What time of day is the shoot as related to
  lighting? Will there be open shade, if outdoors?
• If the shoot is indoors, is there enough natural
  light?
• Will your subject be comfortable in this
  location?

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BACKGROUND

• Eliminate distractions
• Keep it simple and uncluttered to minimize
  competition
• Wide open apertures to blur the background
• Watch for background materials coming out of
  heads
• Use texture and repetition
• Change your angle if necessary
• Give context and meaning

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CLOTHING

• Timeless, classic
• Suited to the environment
• Casual
• Texture
• No logos
• Minimal patterns if a group shot

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LIGHTING

• Natural, ambient light window or open
  shade
• Sliding glass doors work really well
• Angle about 45 degrees to window
• Minimize or eliminate use of your flash

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Backlighting

• In front of a light source, meter for your
  subjects face in manual mode
• Gives an ethereal glow to your photograph

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LIGHTING - Catchlights

• The highlight of a light source reflected off
  the surface off the eye
• Add depth, dimension to the eyes
• Give life to the eyes in a portrait

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COMPOSITION

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Viewpoint - camera to subject angle
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Rule of thirds

• Subjects eyes in top third of the frame
• Negative space

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Fill the Frame
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Focus on one body part
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Suggestion of another person
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Play with eye contact

• Looking off-camera
• Gazing downward
• Direct eye contact with the camera

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Frame your subject within the photograph

• use windows, doorways, trees

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Props
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Depth of field
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Experiment with a range of expressions

• Consider the setting is it formal or casual
• Aim for a range of emotions

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DEVELOP YOUR OWN STYLE!!
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References

• www.photographytips.com
• www.digital-photography-school.com