Portrait assignment

Portrait assignment

2 color or b&w 8x10 (printed on 8 1/2 x 11) with 1-2 sentence caption telling about the subject.

Due March 24

One candid in their natural environment (home or work)

One "posed" portrait

Each should give an indication of the story or character of your subject. For the posed shot, you'll want to include a prop or two to help illustrate why the reader would be interested in your subject.

Tips:

• Make small talk to put the subjects at ease.
• Try using a remote shutter release or cable release to maintain a connection with the subject.
• Lighting is key: Think about if you want high key (few shadows) or low key (moody, dark lighting), or something in between (maybe using some kind of pattern).
• If you're setting up lighting, remember the standard three point lighting setup (key-fill-backlight). The key and fill should be at about a 45 degree angle off the camera. The fill should be about 1/3-1/2 the power the key. The backlight adds a halo affect around their head.
• You can also use "glamour" or "butterfly" lighting with the light in direct line of sight of the subject and camera, raised slightly above eye level (this really only works with soft light, hard light with this method won't be flattering).
• Usually soft light is best (especially for the fill light), but also consider hard light.
• Be on the lookout for locations that have interesting lighting without having to do any setup
• Sometimes a reflector is called for to add some fill light. You can use anything from a white sheet of paper, foam core, aluminum foil, or a (real) store-bought reflector. Attach to a stand for added control.
• Avoid busy backgrounds; Use open apertures and/or telephoto lenses to blur the background (a 50mm f1.8 is a nice portrait lens)
• To make your background more out of focus, pull your subject away from it.