Portrait Photography Evaluation
I began the Specialist Location Assignment by choosing a topic that would
demonstrate my strengths and skills gained during the level 3 photography
diploma. During the course I have
enjoyed many aspects of photography however i've taken a particular interest in Portrait Photography.
I designed
a brief that displays a variety of photo-shoots taken over the last four weeks,
the Images show different photographic styles, ages and locations. The final
outcome was to produce a portrait booklet A4 size which would be shown to
potential clients. Unfortunately some Images have my name cropped off which was a small fault when the images came back from print.
Shoot 1 Female Studio
Portrait
I began researching various portrait photography and became inspired by Images produced by Porcelain
Portraits. This style of photography stands out and creatively captures family portraits within a fun environment. Before Photographing the first model I tried to adapt a similar style and technique to Images produced by Porcelain Portraits. I used various camera angles and focused on facial detail, especially when photographing children.
The results of the first photo-shoot were positive, and there were 90
photographs taken over a two and a half hour session. The client was
photographed standing on a white backdrop wearing a variety of different
clothing. The most successful Photograph was taken of the client sitting on a chair looking towards the camera, she looks relaxed and natural. The least favourite Image
was taken of the client wearing a blue dress. She looked nervous during
these photographs and it was difficult to capture a relaxed pose, however
towards the end of the photo-shoot the
client began to pose more confidently and I was able to produce some good
photographs. If I was to re-shoot the model I would have used different coloured backdrops eg black to create an interesting atmosphere. I would have also used a variety of different props eg positioning the model posing on a vintage style chaise longue.
Shoot 2
Unfortunately I was unable to get permission to use the premises of St.Marks Church and the model was unable to attend, so I will be including just one location shoot which will be the Christening.
Shoot 3 Family
Before I began Photographing each of the families I studied
some of the Images taken by Porcelain Portraits. I adapted a similar style to my own work
by taking close up photography of the childs face to capture detail.The childs face has been airbrushed which has been included in my own work.
I was able to capture lots of facial detail, his eyes are in focus and I have captured him laughing.
I enjoyed photographing two different families for this part
of the assignment the first series of Images were taken of two children a boy
aged six months and a girl aged four. The photoshoot was challenging but highly rewarding. The young
girl did not want to be photographed this particular day so various tactics
were used to capture some good Images. Various puppets and toys were also used
during the shoot to photograph the baby laughing and I was pleased with
the final Images. If I was given the
chance to photograph this again then I would have spent more time Photographing
the mother playing with her children as the Images I took of her them didn’t
capture a fun happy atmosphere. The Images of the mother and children didn’t
portray a relaxed atmosphere.
The second series of
Photography was taken of a couple and their new-born baby boy. The shoot was
quite stressful and I found it challenging positioning a six week old baby in
various pose ideas as he was unable to support his own neck. I also didn’t get
the opportunity to photograph the baby sleeping as he wouldn’t sleep during any
of the session, so some of my sleep pose ideas were abandoned. However after I had edited the Images I
realised that I had captured some interesting shots and I was pleased with the
outcome. When I presented the disc to the family I received very positive
feedback.
Shoot 4 Christening/
Location Shoot
For the
Christening shoot I arrived at the church before the guests, this was to
capture people on arrival. I studied different Images taken by Arpi Pap Christening Photographer to broaden my ideas during the day. Some of the Photographs taken by Arpi Pap used depth of field and capture moments of the church ceremony in a creative style. I have used a similar style by positioning the camera from a distance focusing into the subject, however in my photograph I used the childs father as the main subject and the Image was taken during the gathering after ceremony.
I have included some Photoshop skills during the Christening Location shoot similar to an Image I studied in the research and planning. Photographer Lindsey Goddard has used a childs face in black and white and colour around her headband.
The Christening Location Shoot was paid work and I charged £60 for the day and will be presenting 50 Images to the customer fully edited. If I was given the oportunity to photograph the Christening again I would have taken more photographs during the church service to capture more of the ceremony.
Shoot 5 Corporation/Business Shoot
As part of the photography portrait booklet I wanted to
include a variety of models so I included a corporate shoot. I had also used
mainly female models for the booklet so I chose to use a male model also. The
client contacted me and asked if I would do some photography of him for a
website for his business. A total of 50
photographs were taken during the shoot but the client had a specific look he wanted to portray in his headshot.
The headshot would be used on a website for a Property Investment Management Business. The client was not satisfied at the end of his shoot so I offered to do a re-shoot and i asked him to find a photograph of his disired look.
The next day I photographed the client again and he was extremely happy with the outcome. I edited the final Images and applied a white backdrop, I used the blemish removal
tool as the clients skin was blotchy in areas.