July 2014 Portraits

[goamules]

My daughter's 16th birthday! 5x7 with Bausch & Lomb 15" Portrait Plastigmat.

[johnm]

This is the first portrait I've taken with large format. Each new step I take gets me more excited than the last, and I feel like Im learning something everytime I shoot, develop, scan, etc....
Lyndsey, delta 100, nikkor 210mm, ilford dd-x, scanned with old epson 2450. I would love criticism. Thanks!

[ecoleica]

Dr

Dr Jane Goodall

Razzle DF 900, Ilford HP5+ developed in Ilford Microphen. Scanned via a Epson V700 and a Better scanning dry mount adaptor

[the smiling gecko]

johnm, nice first outing!

your subject seems engaged and relaxed, whatever you were saying/doing helped the mood for the session - very good on your part.

for me, that background was a bit distracting.

i spend as much time looking for "the right light" as i do for "the right background" when i am looking for an outdoor place for making a portrait.

sometimes "the right light" and the "right background" don't match up...there are several of ways dealing with distracting/less than photogenic background.

one is too limit your focus, your depth of field.

with most lenses using a large lens opening will give you a acceptable (but shallow) focus on your subject while rendering the background less noticeable - usually.

the other is to - when possible - increase the distance between your subject and the background.

for me, your placement of your subject - the composition - is too close to the right side border.

for all the rules if composition sometimes it works to go with what looks/feels right.

classic portrait photography books are worth looking over to get a sense of "traditional" posing...even better are the books and exhibits of painted/drawn/sketched portraits and sculptures of yesteryear and of today.

while your subject looks relaxed, her body posture and hands look awkward. try looking at some of the resources i mentioned.

i love the combination of open shade lighting and the light slipping through the tree tops you have in this portrait...just watch out for the occasional hot spots that occur - like the one on her forearm.

i realllly did not mean to go on and on...there are so many aspects of making a fine portrait.

because i sense (meh, i
am an optimist) you are on the right path i wanted to share some the most fundamental aspects of portraiture my own
perhaps rambling and occasionally inept fashion.

i hope my critque is helpful...my comments were not meant as criticism...ok, constructive criticism : - )

meanwhile, keep up the good work.


laugh more, smile more
the smiling gecko. aka kenneth david

[johnm]

johnm, nice first outing!

your subject seems engaged and relaxed, whatever you were saying/doing helped the mood for the session - very good on your part.

for me, that background was a bit distracting.

i spend as much time looking for "the right light" as i do for "the right background" when i am looking for an outdoor place for making a portrait.

sometimes "the right light" and the "right background" don't match up...there are several of ways dealing with distracting/less than photogenic background.

one is too limit your focus, your depth of field.

with most lenses using a large lens opening will give you a acceptable (but shallow) focus on your subject while rendering the background less noticeable - usually.

the other is to - when possible - increase the distance between your subject and the background.

for me, your placement of your subject - the composition - is too close to the right side border.

for all the rules if composition sometimes it works to go with what looks/feels right.

classic portrait photography books are worth looking over to get a sense of "traditional" posing...even better are the books and exhibits of painted/drawn/sketched portraits and sculptures of yesteryear and of today.

while your subject looks relaxed, her body posture and hands look awkward. try looking at some of the resources i mentioned.

i love the combination of open shade lighting and the light slipping through the tree tops you have in this portrait...just watch out for the occasional hot spots that occur - like the one on her forearm.

i realllly did not mean to go on and on...there are so many aspects of making a fine portrait.

because i sense (meh, i
am an optimist) you are on the right path i wanted to share some the most fundamental aspects of portraiture my own
perhaps rambling and occasionally inept fashion.

i hope my critque is helpful...my comments were not meant as criticism...ok, constructive criticism : - )

meanwhile, keep up the good work.


laugh more, smile more
the smiling gecko. aka kenneth david

Thanks Gecko, I have to agree with all your points. I really appreciate the tips. There is so much to consider with large format, I get lost trying to get the right exposure or focus and then forget the composition, etc...Its been fun learning and hopefully my subject (aka wife) will let me take more pictures of her in a more controlled environment so I can take my time going over everything. I guess now I have an excuse to buy more picture books!

[Ben Syverson]

Dr

Dr Jane Goodall

Razzle DF 900, Ilford HP5+ developed in Ilford Microphen. Scanned via a Epson V700 and a Better scanning dry mount adaptor

Wow, great subject, and a fantastic shot!

[Tin Can]

When did portraits become nearly necessary to smile, often with teeth showing? It seems early portraits did not have have smiling faces. I have not done a complete study, but it seems to have become popular since the 50's.

There appears to be a marked difference in face depiction from the Civil War to post WWII. Of course we had Buster Keaton and others joking and hamming it up, but serious portraits were not smiling. Did flashbulbs and strobes create opportunity, where skylights did not? Slow speed plates and film surely made photographer's request no facial movement.

Or am I imagining things again?

[Ben Syverson]

I think when the exposure is 30 seconds or longer, it's very difficult to maintain a smile, so photographers would ask you not to. Getting your photo taken was rare and potentially expensive, so people wouldn't risk it. Or at least that's what I was told!

[Patrick13]

It's really hard to smile when an exposure takes multiple seconds and the camera is huge and intimidating and the photographer keeps yelling "OK stay still" and you've only got one shot at this because the plate will dry and it's kind of expensive

I wager that you'll find a solid, positive correlation between faster films, and later on less intimidating cameras and some index of how formal and staid portraits look. I think that you'll find that WW2 was the big sea change, for which I would blame Graflex and the lively press corps for setting the tone.

[Alessandro Bocchi]

Abano Terme (PD) Italy - Portrait of Mr. Franco Storti during an Analog Photography workshop at Utopya.

- Camera: TOYO-FIELD 45 AII L (Linhof)
- Lens: Voigtlander Heliar 210 1:4.5 in Compound shutter
- Exposure: 3 seconds at f 4.5
- Film: HARMAN FB Direct Positive Paper - 3 ASA - size 4x5"
- Developer: ILFORD PQ UNIVERSAL 1+9 - 2 minutes at 20° C
- Stop: ILFORD ILFO STOP
- Fixer: ILFORD RAPID FIXER
- Lightmeter: Gossen Lunasix 3 reading the incident light.
- Lightning: A couple of continuous light.

- Scanner: EPSON V700 and EPSON Scan 3.81
- Software: Adobe Photoshop CS4