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Re: [OM] Advice on Portrait photography

Subject: Re: [OM] Advice on Portrait photography
From: clintonr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thu, 14 Nov 2002 14:13:08 -0600
The most important lessons I've learned about portraiture are:

1. Good shadows are your friend, and
2. Bad shadows are your subject's enemy.

Good shadows are those that show depth, the kind that give the subject a
living, three-dimensional appearance.

Bad shadows are those that accentuate flaws.  But remember that the definition
of "flaw" varies by subject.  For example, lines and blemishes on a male that
may portray "rugged good looks" on a female simply show "old age" (not
particularly nice or fair, but that's life).

The typical mistake of new photographers is to light as if shadows are
intrinsically bad -- as a result, they "over-light", filling every shadow.
The result is a very flat subject, that appears to have no depth or life.
This also sometimes has the effect of making the subject look "wider" --
desirable with some subjects, unflattering with others.

To the other extreme, using light from only one side for example, forms
shadows that may illustrate the life-like curvature of the subject, but at the
same time this may form unflattering shadows at every blemish and flaw.  This
also has the effect of making the subject look "narrower" -- once more,
desirable with some subjects, unflattering with others.

The art of the photographer is to carefully consider the needs and desires of
the client and balance the lighting -- how close, how diffused, from what
angles -- to achieve the best results.  That takes practice and experience --
which is what you're about to get!

Don't let it overwhelm you!  Relish your opportunity to learn!  You'll never
have a better chance to make your first mistake -- or perhaps discover an
innate ability and talent -- than today!


Albert wrote:

> I will be doing some amateur portraits in B&W for my girlfriend's friends.
>
> Film:  Fuji Acros
> Camera:  OM-1n
> Lens:  Tokina 90mm f2.5
> Environment:  My bland apartment; with white concrete walls as backdrop;
> (non reflective flat paint)
> Lighting:  Whatever I can squeeze out of the overhead compact flourecent
> lights (3x 60 watts)
> Additional Lighting:  I have a desk lamp that I will be placing on top
> of the bookshelf to give a not quite 45degree cross light on the face
> Subject:  22 year old female, 5'2" about 105lbs, asian, with very white
> skin, not very oily skin either
> Seating:  $3 dollar folding stool
>
>  From my metering; I can do f2.5 at 1/125th with no problem.  If I turn
> on the additional lighting, I can drop that to maybe f2.8 or so; if I
> put it close enough, I can buy almost two full stops, and give me f2.8 @
> 1/250th.
>
> Now I need some advice/websites to look at for how to take great B&W
> Portraits...  Thanks!
>
> I'm making an appointment with her for sometime next week; but want at
> least a week to prep.  Also, the film choice is not final, so if you
> have another recommendation, let me know. But I want a 100 speed film
> though...  I have never tried Ilford with protraits, and I am not all
> that happy with the Tmax100's I've seen..  (personal preference I guess)
>
> If you've shot with Acros for portraits, let me know.
>
> Thanks guys in advance, I'm a bit nervous.
> Albert
>
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