April 2011 portraits

[benrains]

Really like your stuff Benrains, but as Alex said, you're let down by the creased background!

Thanks, all! The choice to choice to leave the cloth backgrounds as they were was a deliberate one. The winkles I actually kind of like, but I'm less happy with the long vertical and horizontal crease lines in the fabric from when it was folded in storage.

[benrains]

Century Studio 10A w/5x7 back
Wollensak Vesta 14"/5
Ilford HP5 Plus / Rodinal 1+50

[Ash]

Charly. 5x7

[lenser]

Thanks, all! The choice to choice to leave the cloth backgrounds as they were was a deliberate one. The winkles I actually kind of like, but I'm less happy with the long vertical and horizontal crease lines in the fabric from when it was folded in storage.

Ben, if the pleated folds are an issue. store it bunched up instead of folded. That will increase the wrinkles (maybe good or bad), but it will also eliminate folding.

That's the only way to store a muslin other than just hanging it.

[cdholden]

Rachael often arrives with her own props...

Ben,
Rachael's props all seem unrelated and a bit chaotic, yet with all of that and her interesting ink, it makes my eyes keep wandering around the photo. They can't seem to center on anything.... wait, there it is. The eyes. They remind me of Olivia Wilde.
Nice shot of a beautiful model.

[soeren]

Thanks, all! The choice to choice to leave the cloth backgrounds as they were was a deliberate one. The winkles I actually kind of like, but I'm less happy with the long vertical and horizontal crease lines in the fabric from when it was folded in storage.

For som reason I think it worked fine in the photo of Rachael (that girl is a piece of art herself are those tatooes real?) But regarding to the other portrait I agree. Is it possible to move your subjects/models/sitters a bit away from the background?
Great portraits anyway

Alex and Stephane. Beautifull portraits
Best regards

[benrains]

Rachael's props all seem unrelated and a bit chaotic, yet with all of that and her interesting ink, it makes my eyes keep wandering around the photo. They can't seem to center on anything.... wait, there it is. The eyes. They remind me of Olivia Wilde.
Nice shot of a beautiful model.

There is no underlying relation for the chosen props, apart from a kind of deliberate absurdity, although I did at least attempt to arrange everything in a pleasing composition. Rachael's sarcastic comment before I took the photo was, "Does it look avant-garde enough?" My reply was, "More like avant-yard sale." But if you put a phenomenally attractive model in just about any setting, you can make it work.

For som reason I think it worked fine in the photo of Rachael (that girl is a piece of art herself are those tatooes real?) But regarding to the other portrait I agree. Is it possible to move your subjects/models/sitters a bit away from the background?

The ink is all real, and she's a professional tattoo artist as well. I'm also ok with the background in the first image with Rachael and the third image with the other model. The second image, where there are pronounced vertical lines from crease folds I'm not very happy with the background. And yes, I can move the them further away from the backdrops (see some of my earlier work in the March and February 2011 portrait threads). In the case of the second model though, I actually had her leaning up against the backdrop and the wall behind it to steady herself. She's a bit more jittery than most, inherently energetic, and even when she's seated it's hard for her to hold still enough for the 1/2 - 1 sec long exposures.

[cdholden]

There is no underlying relation for the chosen props, apart from a kind of deliberate absurdity, although I did at least attempt to arrange everything in a pleasing composition. Rachael's sarcastic comment before I took the photo was, "Does it look avant-garde enough?" My reply was, "More like avant-yard sale." But if you put a phenomenally attractive model in just about any setting, you can make it work.

Yes, you made it work here.
In my experience, props tend to impose a theme on the image. With your "avant yard sale", it keeps the viewer (at least this one) looking for a connection. The longer the connection to the image, I think yields a better chance it has to form a pleasing opinion by the viewer.
Then again, maybe I'm just so accustomed to chaos at work, it's creeping into my artistic tastes.

Chris

[mandoman7]

The issue of props or wrinkled backgrounds should be viewed with regard to whether the image works or not. Do the props contribute to the sense of who the sitter is or what they're about? Is there a story relative to the props that is something the viewer is supposed to be translating? For the background, does hanging a wrinkled sheet contribute or detract from the overall statement that this effort represents?

A lot of times we make decisions about what's in a photograph that simply correspond to our tastes, or the equipment we have available, without regard to the how cohesive the image might be in the eyes of the viewer. We need to remember that they don't have the background information, and without that, its important to bear in mind that the images that work tend to have fewer distracting or confusing elements.

If a sitter brings props, I would shoot some with and without to see what works, because surprsises do happen (usually discussed beforehand, actually). For backgrounds, if you're serious about portraiture, you'll start a collection, starting with painter's dropcloths, and advancing to nice thick muslins. The tools of good photographers go beyond the glass and film. You don't want your message to be, "I don't want to bother with any of that", rather, you want the message to be: "I'll go to some lengths to render a quality image." Just opinions, of course...

[benrains]

The issue of props or wrinkled backgrounds should be viewed with regard to whether the image works or not. Do the props contribute to the sense of who the sitter is or what they're about? Is there a story relative to the props that is something the viewer is supposed to be translating? For the background, does hanging a wrinkled sheet contribute or detract from the overall statement that this effort represents?

Sometimes a beautiful naked tattooed lady draped in fox and coyote pelts, sitting on a fancy chair, holding a deer skull, next to a cheap reproduction of an antique map of Bermuda is just a beautiful naked tattooed lady draped in fox and coyote pelts, sitting on a fancy chair, holding a deer skull, next to a cheap reproduction of an antique map of Bermuda.