Portraiture is one of the most beloved fields of Photography and certainly one of the most complex. On top of the technical rules, which are difficult to find even in the best of manuals, the capacity of the photographer to interact with other people also comes into play. These lessons deals with both aspects.
The various concepts will be illustrated using both famous paintings and photographs.
Topics covered:
Lighting a human face
- Presence and absence of shadows
- The five flattering lighting techniques
- Broad and short lighting
- The three shooting angles that will lead to flattering results
- The importance of the shadows/highlights ratio
- Reflectors and diffusors
- The key light and the secondary lights (fill light, rim light, and hair light) and how to reproduce them without having a photographic studio
- The use of flash in fill-in
Portrait styles
- The Hollywood style
- Environmental portraits
- Portraiting the personality
- The portrait as pure creativity
- Low key and High key portraits
The head
- Its position in relation to the camera
- Eyes
- Visual contact, methods for encouraging and maintaining a good expression in the model
- Dealing with glasses
- Best portrayal of the mouth and teeth
- Hair and hats
The body
- The correct position of the various parts of the body (shoulders, arms, legs, hands, and feet)
- Clothes and jewelry
- Props
- Sitting and standing positions
Taking a portrait of two or more people
Nude photography
Child photography