Portrait Practice

Upon our return to CIT for the semester, we were set a group task to take 3 portraits based on various scenarios given to us by Geoff. My group consisted of Amy, Stephen, Ginette and myself. We only had access to the props etc available in the studio and we had to make do with what we could find to suit the scenario
We took it in turns to act as model, assistant and photographer. Here are our results.

Scenario 1 (wording isn't exact as I don't have the paper slip we were given)
You are taking the portrait of the newly appointed PM. The image needs to give the impression of strength and compassion, and the ability to move forward.



For this portrait, we wanted to have it be quite light, clean and corporate. We tried to ensure that the model sat upright with shoulders back and had a determined but friendly look on her face. We lit the portrait using 3 lights, one to fill the face, a hair light from behind, and one more for the background. A reflector was used to further fill the shadow side of her face. Overall we agreed we were happy with the outcome, with the only changes we would make concerned things that we had no control over such as clothing, hair styling etc.

Scenario 2
You are taking a portrait of a married couple for their wedding anniversary.




For this portrait, we intially tried to pose the couple laying down, but this presented problems with the male's head appearing too small, so we opted for an up close side by side shot. We lit the background using a blue gel over the light to give it a blue tint, and then lit the models with frontal light to illuminate the faces, and a hair light to the top right. During the discussions within the our group later on we decided we could of had the models looking at each other instead of the camera to give it a more intimate appeal, and perhaps the angle was a bit plain. Overall though we were reasonably happy and came away with a few good points for future reference.

Scenario 3
You are to take a low-key portrait using a single tungsten light with a contemplative mood.



For this portrait, we felt to capture a "contemplative mood" that we should have the portait feel a little mysterious. Having the models face not front on, the predominantly black background with an unknown streak of light in the background (this is the door to the studio) both allow for the low-key requirement, and to add the sense of mystery we were seeking. The original photograph had a slightly excessive amount of negative space to the left of the models head which was mentioned during the final discussions with the class so here it has been cropped in for a more pleasing composition.