Evaluation

Evaluation 

Throughout the research for this assignment it became clear there is no right or wrong way to approach portraits. There is one clear constant from the best photographers, once they have a great understanding of the basics they allow the space for real creation with their subjects and surroundings. Their conviction to their own beliefs standing them apart from others; whether their creative style is simple or grand.

Easily the first half of the time in the studio has been spent trying to get a good handle on the basics. The new camera and its feel with the added difficulties of focusing in the dark compared to a DSLR.  I felt in a controlled environment the only thing stopping me from getting the results I wanted to see would be getting over my own shortcomings. At first it appeared the technical side of new equipment and work flow but I soon realised once we started shooting there was more I needed to include. My personality and manor whilst in role as portrait photographer would have as much of an impact on the end results as how to set up the lights.

During that first half I was aiming to make my subjects as bright as their backgrounds were dark; standing under one key light with a totally black background. Always drawing the eye from out of the surrounding darkness and back into the centre where they were placed and illuminated without any distraction. I liked this dramatic look so tried it at a Gym shoot with some friend bodybuilders of mine. The results helped me realise this was a very masculine look maybe better suited for other applications than this assignment.

With mixed results from the first two studio shoots, the turning point came when I read about Avedon’s Windsor portrait and how he tricked them into letting their guard down for just a second to reveal their true selves.  A similar explanation is presented from Platon on his experiences shooting different world leaders.  The exceptional images came during a moment of singularity between photographer and subject. One small moment of common ground reached, not by general direction, but from a few inquisitive words.

So for shoots three and four I added another light for the background which balanced out the overall contrast. It also got away from this look of being stood in the dark which I didn't think added much for the style of portraits I was going for. I talked to the subjects more and tried to help them relax, searching to see if I could get my own moment which I recognised as them showing their real side and not just that of an unwilling model.

The final three images show this in a positive way.  They show the genuine pleasure from the conversation we were having which was mostly about thinking happy thoughts. And if you do will it show up enough to look convincing through the camera.

I have had a print space sample pack for nearly six months so had a good idea which from a few I would choose for this kind of image. I chose the Fuji matt C type over the others with more processed finishes on this occasion as I didn't want the shine to detract away from the high contrast finish I had applied. A kind of processed but still natural looking skin tone with some blemishes left. I'm happy with the finished results, they reflect how I feel about portraiture right now and have given me some good ideas to try out next.

Final Three Images That Went To Print...

Gym Session

Taking the principles of the studio into a Gym to see if I could get good results following 2 body builders around as they trained. I like the look and it helped me decide that it wasn't right for our assignment being too masculine and harsh for what I was trying to put across.

David LaChapelle

Its all about over the top production and styling when you go for a portrait with David. He has done his lion share of celebrity portraits over the years. At the other end of the rainbow from Platon, he doesn't know the meaning of the word conservative. The subjects seem to be just going along for the ride as his team go into overdrive to produce outlandish but temporary  art installations. I like his work and I think it definitely has its place among the many types of portraiture there is. I just couldn't really relate much of it in practical terms to our assignment,maybe when we do something around fashion...

Mad

As

A

Fish

Interesting watch 

Portrait of a photographer 2002

Unfortunate Christmas card for the Kardashians..

Studio Session 3

I would love to say that I took each of my subjects into the studio 1 at a time to try out the Avedon "I killed a dog on the way over here" technique. But alas it simply wasn't practical.

Instead I engaged each in a conversation and explained that I was trying to capture emotion or reaction rather than just a still of their face and body.

That is of course only after I had told one of them the story whilst the others listened..

It turns out being an animal lover and told about ones death,even if it is just a story will quite literally wipe the smile off your face. 

 It set the tone as we continued keeping the conversation on similar theme slowly taking shots and keeping them engaged until another moment of displeasure was apparent..

I cant remember what it was that i said to get such a look,probably best not to know now.

And finally,the man that cannot be moved. Not that he is hard faced really,he just doesn't give much away and is even more cautious when in front of the camera. Of everyone who had their portraits done,I think he is the most consistently dead pan.

Unsung heroes of the studio..

Im not talking about the big camera stands or the gravity defying light pantographs..

Introducing what every studio shoot should include.

1.The Light Meter

This will,when used with the studio lighting tell you what settings on your camera to use in order to get correct exposure.

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*Other brands are available

2.The Grey Card

This is used as a reference to go back to in post production to determine the correct white balance for you images

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Look at it,in all its 18% greyness

Capture One

Capture One is a piece of photographic software used to manage,manipulate and export image files. We are using this on macs in the studio linked up to a tethering cable to a Phase One digital back on the Hassleblad camera.

Made by the same company that produces the Phase One back it works in a very similar way to which Lightroom does,but originally designed only for medium format camera RAW files.

So,rather than go through all of the features that its capable of doing I thought it would make more sense to just go through a simple work flow.

Capture One

After its all opened up and running open up a new session and create a new folder for that. It will keep all the associated files together including the un changed RAW files,a trash can and any layer adjustment files.

All of the processing you do with Capture One is non destructive to the original RAW files to put into it,in the same way as when you use a negative to make prints. You always have the original to go back to if and when you need to.

All the lighting will be set up and camera with digital back will be ready to go so next thing to do is take a couple of test shots. These are imported in Capture One via Fire Wire or USB cable direct from the Phase One camera back unit. This technique is called tethering,as in you are tethering the images direct into the mac rather than shooting and saving to a memory card and loading them up later.

Then you can adjust the look of the test shots to somewhere near where you want them to look post shoot and apply that to each shot as it is taken. As each image comes up on the screen it takes a just a second to apply. It could be anything you like from a white balance or colour cast change to just slight tweaks to the contrast levels. Even though each image will now be set like this in Capture One,the RAW files are still unchanged and all or any of the changes can be reversed or changed more as much as you like.

The time advantage to doing this for a large number of images is obvious. Another advantage is when you add in the use of the WiFi connection to display this on portable devices in real time on an app(Android and Apple)  to either clients or others working with you so they can see the image with adjustments seconds after its taken. They can even rate the images out of 5 stars for editing later on.

That is all good then you have finished your shoot and you need to go through and pick your best ones out to make final adjustments to. The start system of grading ive just mentioned works fine here to get down your best and not so sure of . A few 4 and 5 stars later you can remove the rest from the catalog if you like or out right delete them (its what I would go with as you know your never going to need them again for what they are)

The final adjustments needed next would depend on image by image and there are hundreds of different options to choose from,some im sure will never be used by anyone most of the time. Like the keystone warping levers,but they are there is you needed them! More likely be the odd bit of highlights or spot removal rather than the heavy manipulation,this is where the similarities veer much more along the Lightroom path that Photoshop.

Once you are happy with your images you just need to export them using what they call recipes. Each image can be exported in a multitude of ways to create the TIFF,JPEG,PNG etc you need. All you have to do is tell it where you want them and what specifications you want them to. These can be done like everything else in batches and don't affect the RAW files in any way.

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