I was skeptical when this subject told me she wanted to pose for one of her senior pictures in a prom dress she had bought on eBay. But when she came out of the dressing room, I could see that this had potential. We took several poses but we liked this one best. Sitting and looking very relaxed and natural, she is surround by the ample pink folds of the gown.
I am always a little nervous when my subjects say they have a prop, though props (like this hot pink prom dress) often add something important. In addition, it helps reflect that subject's personality.
Canon 1DII 1/125s f/7.1 ISO100 40mm
This photo was taken just across from the famous Pike Street Market and just down from the famous "Original Starbucks Store." The sound of the guitar caught my ear but the three young listeners caught my eye. I was on the move so I didn't have much time but I did take three or four photos of this group. But this ended up being the best, even though you can't see the faces of the children. But that's probably OK since showing candid photos of children can get a photographer into trouble sometimes.
My mother-in-law is one of the most amazing women I know. When we travel, she can outpace the best of us. She is smart, witty and curious. I'm saying all of this not because she sees this blog (I doubt she'd like this photo), but because it is true.
I just finished teaching a short course at night called "Intro To Digital Photography." I had a great group, though I've discovered that trying to translate the process of conceiving, taking and processing a digital photo isn't easy. But teaching photography has been good for me because it has helped me objectify my hobby and break it down. My conclusion is this: taking and making a good photo is a very complex process.
This is another one of my early experiments in portraiture. Regan had come along on a photo shoot to provide company for a friend of hers I was photographing (whose pictures I can't find :-( ).
In the process of organizing my photo collection (400,000+!) I came across some of my first portrait sessions. This happens to be of a girl named Ellie and is one of my favorite portraits. I was shooting film in those days and then developing it in my makeshift darkroom. Once the negatives were ready, I used a high resolution film scanner and Photoshop to process the pictures.
We spent a few hours in a Japanese pre-school when we visited my son Brian in Japan a few years ago. I found this when I was looking for something that I might be able to post in the "Look At Me" series. I love this photo because it just "happened." There was no staging or coaching involved. I stopped and she looked up at me with a curiosity I saw everywhere in the children in this school. Of course her beautiful big, dark eyes help make this photo.
Getting a decent portrait of one person is hard enough. Photographing two people increases the challenge. Not only do you have to hope that they both look good/happy/whatever when you snap the picture but there are technical considerations. The two biggest are lighting and focus. In the studio I generally use two light sources to light the faces, though you can tell from the highlights in the eyes that the main light is to my right. Since eyes need to be sharply in focus, I coach the subjects to try to have their eyes on the same plane relative to the camera. I also use a high f-stop (8 or 11), which helps the depth of field.
I have helped take photographs for the Watertown High School yearbook for many years. In last year's edition I did a series of photos for the beginning of each section in the book. This one was for the "Academics" section. Nice skeleton. I'm told that it's not "real" but made from plastic.
Before I begin a portrait session, I will often ask if the subject has any ideas about where and how they want to be photographed. Often they tell me that they'll trust me to figure something out. But sometimes they come up with impractical ideas: "I've always thought it would be cool to be photographed on a camel in front of the Great Pyramid." Or "How about a portrait of me water-skiing in my cap and gown?" Right.
This is a good example of what portrait photographers call Rembrandt lighting. In simple terms, the main light comes from from above eye level and from the side. This results in one side of the face being fairly bright and a splash of light highlighting the cheek bone. This lighting thins and flatters the face, although Jessica's classic good looks needed little flattery.