Studio Portraits

In a photo studio, you are in control. YOU determine the placement of the lights, the exposure, how the person sits, what they sit on and how comfortable you make them. In short, you become a photographic god. The trick is not to act like one, but if you feel that need, at least be a benevolent one and do everything you can to make your subject comfortable.

Your assignment, should you decide to accept it -- actually you have no choice!

So in this lesson, you are going to learn finer points of studio portraiture. First we will study lighting, followed by a look at different facial shapes. Then, we review posing.

Make sure you know the basic types of portrait lighting, butterfly, loop, Rembrandt, followed by side/split lighting and rim lighting. Then remember there are lighting techniques such as broad and narrow lighting as well as clam shell. These links lead you to a Google search, so look at several. Note some links may show glamour type photos. Here is an additional link for portrait lighting tips and tutorials.

https://digital-photography-school.com/6-portrait-lighting-patterns-every-photographer-should-know/

Next look around and observe the different facial shapes of your fellow classmates. Notice that there are many different shapes, some are round, oval, or square. Here is a link to study half a dozen different facial shapes.

To make your subjects look their finest, you can use lights to influence the shape, by playing with highlights and shadows.

If a person has a wide or round face, you may want to narrow the face, so use narrow lighting. Sometimes it is called short lighting. With this type of lighting, the part of the face closest to the camera is in shadow giving a slimmer face. This tends to be the lighting most people prefer.

On the other hand, if a person has a narrow shaped face, you may want to give the appearance of a little more fullness to their portrait. This is accomplished by using broad lighting. The side of person’s face that is closest to the camera is highlighted or receives the most light, causing the face to look wider.

Click the following link to learn the difference between broad and narrow lighting.

http://www.lightingiseasy.com/lighting-is-easy-blog/broad-lighting-and-narrow-lighting

Finally, let's look at posing. Visit the Digital Photo School. The page you land on contains posing sketches of women, accompanied by sample photos.

https://digital-photography-school.com/8-posing-guides-to-inspire-your-portraiture/

There are additional links for posing men, children, couples and others.

For advanced information on posing, visit Petapixel.

Which side of your face looks better? You may here people say my left side is best. They may know or perhaps it is just a gut instinct and they could be wrong. How can you tell? Watch Joe Edelman's video. Pay special attention to the size of the eyes. The takeaway from this video is to photograph both sides of the face.

All this advice separates the grade 12 pros from the rest of the pack.

Have fun.

Assignment

Remember your pictures will be judged based on pleasant expression, posing, lighting, and if I was your parent or uncle, would I buy a copy.

Take a casual photo of each person under the diffuse light in the classroom. Store it on the computer to compare it to your studio photos.

In the studio set up your lights for each of the following lighting type (narrow, broad, butterfly, Rembrandt, side, loop, and clamshell). Add a hair light, rim light and background light.

Try adding 2 rim lights perhaps with a gel to add a colour accent to show off a person’s hair or body outline.

Take 6 photos of each group member for each lighting techniques. For each shot, use a different pose, as suggested by the posing guides.

Also try sitting, standing, leaning on one leg, looking over their shoulder and tilting the head in different directions. Remember you may have to adjust your lights each time the person moves.

Take a 5 group photos of 2 or 3 people. Use different poses. Clamshell and loop lighting work well for groups.

Don't be afraid to direct or help them pose. Take some fun shots and a several photos with unusual or wacky posing. You should have close to 100 photos. Remember to make your subjects look stunning, so experiment and have fun.

Hand in

Your 15 best shot of both female and male photos. Photoshop them to bring out their inner beauty.

Import the final photos into Photoshop CC. Make any exposure corrections and ensure there is only one catch light in each eye.

Assemble your finished portraits in a file along with the casual photo you took in the classroom for marking.

All photos will be marked on either your or my computer and involve a short discussion about your photos. I may ask about the expression, lighting, how you got such a wonderful smile or did you feel confident while taking the photo. Have fun.