Disasters in Portrait Photography - Episode II: "Off With Their Heads!"

"Amputation" is the word used to describe a cropping error in portrait photography, and then there's this (triple amputation with a double decapitation thrown in for good measure). Where's the focus on this picture? Looks like an ad for a fertility clinic.

Disasters in Portrait Photography - Episode 1: "There's No Place Like Home ..."

After reviewing ads for photographers on a local website, I decided I would start a new series called "disasters in photography" highlighting photos that are so deliciously bad they are almost--dare I say?--good. Enjoy.

Though I hope the "badness" of these photos is readily apparent, I thought I'd throw in a serious critique in the spirit of informing rather than merely criticizing. And please know that I'm not trying to make fun of any of these poor models, who only had the misfortune of hiring a photographer of questionable skill and/or taste.

Critique: So, what is this picture about, anyway--is it a shoe ad? Did this bride get lost in the desert and then take off her shoes to recline in the shade of a rock, fending off the vultures with her bridal bouquet? The pose is awkward--the bride looks uncomfortable (not surprisingly) and the props are distracting and compete for attention with the bride herself. Other than that, it's perfect!

Great Article on Portrait Photography

Ran across this article today at the Digital Photography School: http://digital-photography-school.com/tips-for-portrait-photography. Some great tips--and photos--there. Happy shooting!

Photography as Story Telling II

In a recent post, I talked about how the best photography often tells a story: it has depth and layers of interest.

My wife Becky snapped this photo the other evening of my youngest daughter. Though a casual snapshot, it tells a story, no? (The yarn under her chin, by the way, is the hair of a doll that my older daughter, Sarah, made for her sister a few year's ago, a doll that has become Mary's greatest source of comfort in times of trouble.)

P.S. Everything turned out okay, and the tooth fairy did in fact visit that night to claim Mary's first baby tooth. A bittersweet day for Mom and Dad.

The Moon

It walks the sky
cloudless, clear
the moon alone
- Ogiwara Seisensui

The moon rose full on an exceptionally clear night earlier this week. So, I pulled out the camera and snapped this shot. 70-200mm zoom at 200mm. Tripod. Remote switch and mirror lock. Cropped.

To get the detail in the moon, you have to underexpose significantly. So, I used the spot meter, underexposed by one stop, then two, then three, etc. until I got the detail I wanted.

But that's all technical mumbo jumbo. In the end, it's just the moon. Alone.

Window Light

Ah, window light. I'm a big fan, as anyone who spends much time with my photos can tell.

Why? Because typically it offers the best kind of lighting for portraits: soft and directional, creating that Vermeer-like quality in an image: the deep reflective eyes and warm skin tones. Lovely.

This photograph required almost no post-processing because the lighting was right where it should be, to my mind anyway, and the effect--while possible to duplicate with studio lighting--is soooo easily done without studio lighting (a big plus in my book).

The subject here is positioned close to an open window, at a little more than 90 degree angle from the light (one can experiment with that), with the light either reflected or filtered by a diffuser of some kind (here, high clouds). I also positioned a reflector at camera right, to throw a little light back on the shadowed side of the face. The idea there is to keep some detail in the shadows and prevent the contrast from becoming too sharp.

So, the challenge for the day is to attempt a portrait using window light, if you haven't yet. With low light levels, you'll likely need to either adjust the ISO to a higher setting and/or brace the camera with a tripod (ideally) or against a wall or other object (less ideal, but still works).

Happy shooting!

Vampire Eyes

A plea to all aspiring portrait photographers: please do not Photoshop your subject's eyes to the point he/she looks like a little vampire. It's creepy, and it's wrong. (Not to mention kitschy--like pink flamigos and garden gnomes.)

Just sayin' ...