Needed for this class

  • Camera or cameraphone
  • A window w/daylight

Portrait Poses

There are three basic positions for someone’s head and face in a portrait.

  1. Front view
  2. 3/4 view
  3. Profile

  • Front view.
    Photographer: Celeste Sloman
  • Three-quarter view.
    Photographer: Celeste Sloman
  • Profile.
    Photographer: Nadav Kandar

Expression

For family photos a smile is a must but not so for a portrait. It is however important that your subject look comfortable. It is your job as the photographer to talk with your subject and make them feel comfortable.

Focus

When shooting a portrait, the subject’s eyes must be in focus. Full stop. period.

Generally, portraits are shot with shallow depth of field to separate the subject from the background. Be careful to have enough depth of field so that the subject’s face from what is closest to the camera to what is farthest is in focus.

  • Photographer: Philip-Lorca diCorcia
  • Photographer: Helene van Meene

If you are shooting with a cameraphone that has portrait mode, it will blur what it calculates to be the background to simulate shallow depth of field. You can also use an app such as Focos to simulate shallow depth of field.

Wide Angle Distortion

Wide Angle Distortion is created when using a wide-angle lens AND the camera is very close to the subject. The object close to the lens appears abnormally large relative to more distant objects, and distant objects appear abnormally small and hence more distant – distances are extended. 

Focal length and proximity to the camera affect how a person’s face looks in a photograph. A wide focal length and proximity between the subject and the camera create wide angle distortion and will distort a person’s features.

Photographer: Chip Simons

Think about selfie sticks. What are they for but to get the camera away from your face? This makes the photograph look more complimentary to the subject. This is really important with a cameraphone because it has a wide angle lens. The center of the lens and the sensor cannot be very far apart given the thin design of cellphones.

Inspiration

  • Photographer: Kris Nevaeh
  • Photographer: Kris Nevaeh
  • Photographer: Kris Nevaeh
  • Photographer: Kris Nevaeh
  • Photographer: Kris Nevaeh
  • Photographer: Larry Sultan
  • Photographer: Abbie Traylor-Smith
  • Photographer: Rashida Z
  • Photographer: Rashida Z

Lab Exercises

Please complete the following lab exercises, creating a post on Openlab with the category indicated to share your results.

Homework Assignment

Final Project: Shoot 1

Due: December 1, 2020, 8 am