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Portrait Photography
If you don't have or can't create a photo studio then you'll have to concentrate on
environmental portraiture. Show the subject and also his surroundings. These tend to
work best if you can enlarge them to at least 11x14 inches. Otherwise, the subject's
face is simply too small. Taking photos that will enlarge well is a whole art by itself.
Your allies in this endeavor will be slow film, prime (rather than zoom) lenses, a
tripod, and a larger-than-35mm camera format.
There are two elements to a photo studio for portrait photography. One is a controlled
background. You want to focus attention on your subject and avoid distracting
elements in the frame. Probably the best portraits aren't taken against a gray seamless
paper roll. On the other hand, you are unlikely to screw up and leave something
distracting in the frame if you confine yourself to using seamless paper or other
monochromatic backgrounds. You don't have to build a special room to have a
controlled background. There are all kinds of clever portable backdrops and backdrop supports that you can buy
or build (call 1-800-CALUMET and ask for a catalog). If you absolutely cannot control the background, the
standard way to cheat is to use a long fast lens, e.g., 300/2.8. Fast telephoto lenses have very little depth of field.
Your subject's eyes and nose will be sharp. Everything else that might have been distracting will be blurred into
blobs of color.
The second element of a portrait studio is controlled lighting. With lights on stands or hanging from the ceiling,
you get to pick the angle at which light will strike your subject. With umbrellas and other diffusion equipment,
you get to pick the harshness of the shadows on your subject (see my studio photography article for more detail).
There are some pretty reasonable portable flash kits consisting of a couple of lights, light stands, and umbrellas.
These cost $500-1000 and take 20 minutes or so to set up on location. If you don't have the money, time, or
muscles to bring a light package to a project then the standard way to cheat is to park your subject next to a large
window and put a white reflecting card on the other side. Make sure that you bring a tripod because you'll
probably be forced to us slow shutter speeds.
Lighting
The most flattering light for most portraits is soft and off-camera. A large north-facing
window works, as does the electronic equivalent, the softbox (light bank). The Elsa
Dorfman photo of me and Alex was taken with two large light banks, one on either side
of the camera. Note that there are essentially no shadows.
If your subject is outdoors, an overcast day is best. If the day is sunny, make sure to use
a reflector or electronic flash to fill in shadows underneath the eyes.
At right: In a New York loft, light coming from a bank of windows at left. Canon 70-
200/2.8 lens on tripod. Possibly some fill-flash but I don't think so. Fuji ISO 400 color
negative film.
Want more? See my tutorial about photographic lighting.
Lens
http://www.photo.net/portraits/intro (3 of 37)7/3/2005 2:16:41 AM