Assignment one - A Portrait

The aim of this assignment was to set up several different portrait sessions of the same person. I chose my sister, Helena as I felt that her full and active lifestyle would give me a varied set of ideas to work from. Although I have taken many photographs of Helena, she really doesn't feel comfortable posing for studio style shots so to make her feel more at ease, I shot most of the images as documentary style, active portraits.

As the theme of this project is to show the various elements of Helena's life, I felt it only right to begin with a simple, clean shot of Helena stripped of life's many hats. I set Helena against a plain, pale backdrop using natural light from a window and used a reflector for fill lighting. She wore simple clothing with hair tied up and minimal make up in order to give a more open, honest view of her face. I initially asked Helena to keep her face straight as you would for a passport photograph, however the resulting images gave a harsh appearance, which did not reflect Helena's personality. The image used was achieved by asking Helena to give just a hint of a smile, which lit up her face and brought warmth to the shot. I softened the shot by using a narrow depth of field, focusing on the eyes to draw attention to Helena’s direct gaze.

ISO: 200  TV: 1/60  AV: 1.8  FL: 50mm

The next image shows one of the biggest elements of Helena's life, yet the part I have never witnessed. Her career since leaving school, nursing has taken her through several hospital wards to her current role as a community nurse. We used an extra model for this shot to show Helena carrying out a blood pressure check. I considered the possibility of making the activity the subject by focusing on the blood pressure gauge, however the added clarity to the patient’s elbow made the image less appealing. For this reason, I chose to focus on the concentration on Helena’s face as she completed the procedure with a narrow depth of field to soften the focus on the elbow. The shot was composed in Helena’s kitchen to show her work in the community rather than a hospital set up.

I feel that this is the least successful image of the set. My original plan had been to use my older sister’s house for this shoot as she has a more old fashioned house with a lovely antique rocking chair, however it was difficult to find a time when we were all available. If nursing hadn't been such a large part of Helena's life, I think I may have omitted this image from the set.

ISO: 320  TV: 1/80  AV: 1.8  FL: 50mm

Aside from her medical career, Helena is a keen practitioner and teacher of yoga. Helena is quite able to achieve some remarkable poses, which would make quite artful images, however I felt that this image needed to represent the emotional benefits achieved through her practice. For this, I felt that sitting in the meditative lotus posture would be the most fitting. I used a narrow depth of field to separate the model from the background, enhancing the meditative practice of distancing oneself mentally from the world around us. As I was shooting, a gust of wind blew Helena’s hair giving an ethereal ambience to the image working perfectly with the nature of the shot.

ISO: 100  TV: 1/125  AV: 1.8  FL: 50mm

I chose to shoot the next image in the light of a low sun to represent the time of day in which this hobby takes place; either early morning or in the evenings after work. Lycra is not always the most flattering fabric and although Helena has a slender frame, she would still prefer the image to flatter her curves without enhancing too much. The pose I chose for this image fits with what I learned in Kat William's article in Rock and Roll Bride, about ensuring that areas we would rather look smaller be further from the lens. For this reason, I decided to ask Helena to bend forwards in order to stretch her calves; this pose directed her bottom away from the camera, making it appear smaller. I asked Helena to face slightly towards the sun to give a warm glow to her face. This has caused a slight squint, however I think I can just get away with it due to the nature of the shot. A slightly larger depth of field was used for this image to ensure that Helena was in focus with a soft background.

ISO: 100  TV: 1/160  AV: 5.0  FL: 60mm

Helena loves to get dressed up and on seeing her sparkly silver stilettoes; I felt that they perfectly summed up her party loving side. Taking advantage of the Christmas season, I decided to use the decorated tree and colourful presents as lighting and backdrop. Although some light was coming from a window to the left of the shot, a high ISO was needed; any added flash would have ruined the effect of the Christmas lights. A slight underexposure enhanced the light and shade in the shoes, legs and flooring as well as boosting the colours in the gifts behind. We tried several positions for the feet but I felt that this image had a fun element to it to match the party season.

ISO: 1600  TV: 1/80  AV: 1.8  FL: 50mm

Some of my children's favourite memories are of baking with Helena. Although a fabulous baker now, not so many years ago Helena’s baking sessions often ended in disaster, much to the amusement of my children. In true Helena style, when I started to get props out for the baking photo shoot, she insisted on actually making flapjack while I snapped away. Having learned about the active portrait, I felt that this would be a good way to put Helena at ease so let her go with it. I used a narrow depth of field in order to show the kitchen behind but not make it a major focal point. The mostly grey image is brightened with warm accents in the bowl, wallpaper and sugar as well as Helena herself.  This is sadly not the sharpest image of the day, however it shows the fun side of baking with Helena, which holds those great memories for our family.

ISO: 800  TV: 1/80  AV: 1.8  FL: 50mm

Of all of Helena's sides, the one that cannot be left out is the fact that she is a mother to two beautiful children. For this image, I asked Helena to read a book with her youngest child; the book they chose came with actions much to my delight. I used the plain backdrop of the bedroom wall and felt that the wicker heart added a nice tough to symbolise the maternal bond. A window to the right and a reflector to the left lighted the scene. As Evie is much smaller than Helena, I placed her closer to the window to ensure that both models were lit. I slightly underexposed the image to show the lights from the heart and to give a feel of a bedtime story.

ISO: 1000  TV: 1/60  AV: 4.5  FL: 40mm

On the whole, I am happy with my set of images. Some are not quite as sharp as I had hoped; however for me, the joy of capturing a moment far outweighs technical perfection. As my technique improves, so will my ability to capture those moments with improved clarity.

Posts can be viewed in full screen on my Flickr album, P&P1: A Portrait. 

Evaluation:

Demonstration of technical and visual skills

I am most pleased with the technical aspects of my first image. The window light to the right has given some interest with the reflector to the left ensuring that the whole face is well lit. Focus is on the eyes as intended and the pale, plain background helps to show the subject in a neutral setting.

I am also pleased with the composition of Yoga, Run and Mum, although I find the tree in the background in Yoga a little distracting.

My least favourite composition is Nurse as I feel that I could have chosen a better angle. I am also disappointed with the quality, both composition and focus of Baking.

Quality of outcome

I feel that all of the images clearly define the different aspects of Helena’s life. We have used costume, set and the active portrait to portray each aspect and I feel that the message is clear.

Demonstration of creativity

Although I haven’t used any studio lighting, the available light and settings used have been varied and appropriate to the activity. In developing my personal voice, I aim to create images that feel natural, showing emotion and activity to create a sense of who a person is, not just what they look like. The most successful image in showing a real moment is Mum, the shared moment enjoying their shared love of a familiar story is clearly evident in this image.

Context

My learning log shows awareness the different styles of portrait photographers, both classic and contemporary. Following advice from these photographers, I have aimed to create images which stand together alone as well as being part of a set.

A quote from Phillipe Halsman, “A true portrait should, today and a hundred years from today, be the testimony of how this person looked and what kind of human being he was.” Has been an important element in mind as I created this set of images.