glenn rand (glennrand.com)dl.booktolearn.com/ebooks2/art/photography/... · different approaches to...

GlennRand(glennrand.com)

TimMeyer(meyerphoto.com)

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ISBN978-1-937538-57-6

2ndEdition2014

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Rand,Glenn.

Theportrait:understandingportraitphotography/GlennRand,TimMeyer.—2ndedition.

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Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.

ISBN978-1-937538-57-6(softcover:alk.paper)

1.Portraitphotography.I.Meyer,Tim(TimothyIgnatius)II.Title.

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TableofContentsIntroduction

1AVeryBriefHistoryofPhotographicPortraiture

Styles

2LightDynamicsandthePortrait

LD…LightDynamics

SpecularorDiffuse

Intensity

Direction

3LightingSourcesandEquipment

CreatingLight

ContinuousLight

AmbientLight

WindowLight

StrobeLightSources

PowerRequirements

4LightModification

ModificationOptics

BasicReflectorsandDomes

SoftLightModifiers

HardLightModifiers

ModifyingIntensity

5ExposureandMetering

BasicDaylightExposure

UnmeteredElectronicFlashExposure

LightMetersandBasicMetering

SubstitutionMetering

TonalPlacement

TestingforExposure

SpeedTestingDigitalPhotography

6LightingRatios

LightingRatios

7LightingPatternsontheHumanFace

PlanesoftheFace

Approach

LightingDirection

OnAxisLighting

3/4or45-45Lighting

Splitor90°Lighting

LightingPatterns

8LightingSetups

OneLight

TwoLights

ThreeLights

FourLights

Clamshells

FormFill

WalkingtheLight

Accents

GlamourLighting

9Backgrounds

SeamlessBackgrounds

PaintedBackgrounds

Post-ProductionBackgrounds

ConstructedIndoorandOutdoorSettings

FoundBackgrounds

10MixedAmbientandElectronicFlashLightingandExposure

OutdoorLightingandExposure

BacklitOutdoorSituations

ExpandedRangeSituations

Indoor/OutdoorSituations

11PortraitCompositionalBasics

Balance

Similarity

Juxtaposition

TextureandPattern

Volume

Symbolism,Content,andMeaning

12Posing

PosingBasics

PhysicalPosing

HeadPlacementandRotation

13FacialAnalysis

AnalyzingtheFace

AfterAnalysis

RoundFace

LongandTriangular-ShapedFaces

FlatFaces

Expression

14RelatingtotheSubject

Confidence

Comfort

Fulfillment

IntroductionThemostdifficultthingformeisaportrait.Youhavetotryandputyourcamerabetweentheskinofapersonandhisshirt.

HENRICARTIER-BRESSON

©TimMeyer

Aswestartthissecondedition,itisclearthatsomethingsinphotographictechnologyhavechanged,butthecorecomponentsofgoodportraitphotographyremainthesame.Portraitphotographyisnotaboutyou,yourcameras,oryourlenses;itisaboutthesubject.Themostappealingaspectofportraitphotographyisitsabilitytoconveytoothersthepersoncapturedbytheportrait.Theportrait’sgreatgifthasalwaysbeenpresentinglikenessesforotherstorecognizeandremember.

Mostdictionariesdefineaportraitasapersonallikeness,particularlyapainting,drawing,orphotographoftheface.Usingthisdefinitionasabasistomakeportraits,weneedtofocusourabilitiesoncreatinganimagethatisrecognizable.Thissimplestatementsummarizesthedrivingforcebehindthisbookandourapproachtomakingportraitphotographsaslikenessesofsubjects.Itdoesnotmeanthatwerejectorwillnotaddressotherconcepts,butthatweseeportraitureasaconsciousact.Thisdiffersfromdocumentaryandeventphotography,whichtrytoshowthesituation,includingthepeople,astheyexistwithoutbeinginfluencedbythephotographer.Portraitureinvolvescontrollingsetting,pose,andlightingeffects.

Thelanguageofportraitureinvolvesmorethantechnique.Themeaningofaportraitis

derivedfromwhattheimagecommunicatesaboutthesubject.Thedifferencebetweenagoodportraitandadriver’slicensephotoliesinwhatiscommunicatedaboutthepersoninthepicture.Techniqueprovidesthetoolsthatmakethecommunicationpossible.But,aswithanyotherlanguage,portraituredoesnotcommunicateunlessthespeaker(theportraitist)hassomethingtosay.

Inthissecondedition,weonceagainpresentacompletesystemofportraitureandlighting,andhowtheseideasareusedbothinthestudioandonlocation.Further,wedescribehowacarefulanalysisofthesubjectandtheirposeformsthebasisofgoodportraiture.Ourintentionisnottoeliminatepersonalstyle,butrathertodemonstratethatstylealonedoesnotmakegoodportraiture—justasthelatestcameradoesnotguaranteeagoodphotograph.

Forourapproachtoportraitphotography,twoareasofconsiderationoverrideallothers:lightingandposing.Thesetwoareasofcontenthavebeenexpandedinthisedition.Wefirmlybelievethatthekeystosuccessfulportraitphotographyarehowphotographerscontrolthelightingandhowtheyworkwiththesitter.Wewilladdresssomeofthetechnologicalimprovementsinphotography,butonlytosupporttheotherportionsofbook.

Aseducators,webelievethatthereismoretomakinggreatimagesthanthetechnicalportionsoftheprocess.First,wewillgointolightandlightingastoolstomaketheimages.Next,wedemonstratehowthecombinationofthesetting,thepose,andthephotographer’sskillinrelatingtothesittercanleadtosuccessasaportraitist.Whileweshowspecificexamplesoflightingsetups,thesearenotunbreakablerules,butratherapplicationsoftoolsthatindicatepotentialsolutions.

D.O.HillandR.Adamson(FromthecollectionofDavidRuderman)

Weapproachthetechnicalsideofportraiturewithaconceptcalled“LD,”or“LightDynamics.”WedefineLDasthoseaspectsandattributesoflightthatmakeitauseabletooltocreateportraits.Itisthedynamicsoflightthatgiveusthecontroltosolvepotentialproblems,whetherbyemployingspecularordiffuselight,changingthedirectionoflight,controllinglightratios,andmuchmore.

Further,webelievethatthereismuchtolearnfromthedevelopmentofportraiturethroughthecenturies.Thehistoryofportraitsincludesnotonlythewayphotographershavetakenportraits,butalsohowpaintersandsculptorshaverepresentedpeoplethroughtheirmedia.Wewillbrieflyaddressthehistoryofportraitphotographytoshowhowdifferentapproachestoportraiturerecyclethroughtime.

Thiswillleadustothesecondpartofthebook:workingwiththesittertomakethebestportrait.Wedescribehowtoanalyzeeachportraitsituationintermsoftheparticularitiesofthesitter,thesetting,andthepotentiallightingoptions.Topicsincludecomposition,

facialanalysis,relatingtothesubject,andfinally,personalstyle.Inboththetechnicalandaestheticsectionsofthebook,weprovideyou—theprofessional,seriousamateur,orstudent—withtheabilitytomakeyourstatementsthroughportraiture.

Often,verysuccessfulportraitphotographershavedevelopedastyleoraworkingmethodthattheyuseconsistently.However,justbecauseonephotographerdoesgreatportraitswithaparticularapproachdoesnotnecessarilymeanthatyourneedswillbemetbythatapproach.Ourintentisnottosaywhatthestyleorapproachtoyourportraitureshouldbe,butrathertoofferoptionsandencourageyoutomakegoodportraitsbasedonyourcreativityandvision.Thatbringsusbacktothecentralideamentionedabove:portraitureisabouttheinteractionbetweenpeople:thesubjectandthephotographer.Asuccessfulportraitisproofthattheskillsofthephotographermettheneedsofthesubject.

Youwillnoticeasyoureadthisbookthatwedonotconcentrateoncameras.Whetherthecameraisfilm-basedordigitaldoesnotaffecttheportraitasmuchaslighting,understandingtheface,andhowtheportraitistrelatestothesubject.Whileexposure,imagestructure,thenumberofpixels,andthesizeofthegrainaffectthelookoftheprint,theessenceofaportraitisthesubject,notthecapturetechnology.

Inourdiscussionoflightingtheportrait,weusetwointerrelatedbutdifferentapproaches.Glenncomesatlightingfromamoretechnicalside,whileTimdiscusseshowlightaffectsandhelpsyouunderstandthesubject.Together,wemergeLD,theLightDynamic,withthesubjecttocreatetheportrait.Thispresentsboththeinputandoutputoflightingintheportraitsetting.

Thelookofthebookwouldbelessinterestingwereitnotforthemanyfinephotographerswhograciouslycontributedtheirinspiringimages.Wealsowishtothankthemanufacturesanddistributorswhoprovidedequipmentforillustrationsanddemonstrations.Manyofourcolleagues,students,andprofessionalassociatesgenerouslycontributedtheirinsightsandexperiences.Finally,wewishtothankourfamilieswhohavesupportedusthroughoutthisproject.

1AVeryBriefHistoryofPhotographicPortraiture

InthisportraitfromBehindPhotographs,TimMantaonimadeportraitsoffamousphotographerswithoneoftheirbest-knownimages.SteveMcCurrymadetheportraitofTheAfghanGirlin1984;Mantaonishothisportraitin2002.BothoftheseportraitswereusedonthecoverofNationalGeographicmagazine.Aspartoftheproject,Mantaoniaskedthephotographerstowritetheircommentsaboutthephotographontheborderoftheimage.©TimMantaoni(Courtesyoftheartist)

Peshawar,Pakistan,1984.“Ilookedforthisgirlfor17yearsandfinallyfoundherin2002.HernameisSharbatGula.”—SteveMcCurry

Whenweenteradiscussionofthehistoryofportraiture,weneedtounderstandthatwearelookingnotonlyatwhathascomebefore,butalsoattrendsthatwillbeusedagain.Anexaminationofportraitureoverthepast2,000yearsshowsmanyideasthatarestillusedinphotographicportraiture.Wearenotsayingthattheportraitureofthepastiswhatweshoulddo,butratherthattheideasandapproachesimportantthroughouthistoryarestillfindingcurrencytoday.

ItmustalsobenotedthatourapproachtoportraitureisthroughWesterneyes.Theapproachesofothersocietiesarecertainlyvalid,butourhistorictrailwindsitswayfromEgyptthroughEuropetotheAmericas.

Fromprehistorictimes,humankindhasusedpicturestodescribe,communicate,remember,andcelebrate.Theportraitwasanaturalextensionoftheseuses.Associeties

developed,importantindividualssoonbecamethesubjectsofpictures.Historicalportraitureisrepletewithchangesinstyleandtechniqueassocietalconventionsdictatedhowpeoplewouldbeportrayed.Duringmanyperiods,portraitswereidealizedtoconveytheimportanceratherthantherealityoftheperson.

Ouronlyknowledgeofportraitureinantiquitycomesfromthearchaeologicalrecord.SculptureandbronzestatuesareamongthebestrecordsofWesternportraitureinthepre-Romanera.Thisrecordindicatesthatonlytheeliteupperorrulingclasshadportraitscommissioned.SomeoftheearliestknownportraitsdatefromthefirstcenturyBC.Theywerefuneraryportraits,createdbytheEgyptiansoftheFayumdistrict.Knownas“mummyportraits,”theywereusedtorememberthedeceasedandthuswerepaintedwithcaretocreatethebestpossiblelikeness.Theartistsusedlighttocreatedimensionintheseportraits,displayinganadvancedunderstandingofshadowingaswellasspecularanddiffusehighlights.

ManyportraitswereproducedinEuropeduringthemedievalperiod,buttheirrelevancetophotographicportraitureismoreideologicalthanpractical.Formuchofthisperiod,thechurchdominatedportraiture,andlikenessesassociatedtheportrayedindividualswithGodorthechurchratherthanconveyingtheirpersonas.Sincethechurchservedasthepreeminentsupporterofthearts,itsdictumsdeterminedagreatdealofthecontentandthusmedievalportraituretendedtowardecclesiasticsubjects.

Dr.MunrobyD.O.HillandR.Adamson(FromthecollectionofDavidRuderman)

Rembrandt’sstudiohadarowofwindowsonthenorthsideoftheroomthatprovidedconsistentdiffuselight.Withthesubjectsituatedneartheeastwall,thelightwouldcomedownatasteepanglefromthesubject’srightside.Awhiteclothhangingabovetheeasternmostwindowcreatedoverheadsoftlight.Helikelyclosedthelowershuttersonmanyofthewindowstocontrolthedirectionandoverallintensityofthelight.Aftercontrollingthelightonthesubject,Rembrandtplacedhiseaselinthecenterofthestudiotochoosethepointofview.Thedarknessortoneofthepaintingswasachoiceoftherenderingofthescene.(IllustrationbyGlennRand)

WeoftenconsidertheRenaissanceastheheightofphotorealisticportraitpainting.Thisperiodbroughttheuseofperspective,light,andshadowtocreateadramaticsenseofdepthandform.Mostimportantfromourpointofview,theuseoflighteffectsinpaintingwaspronouncedandcontinuesontoday.Inaddition,theRenaissancepaintersbroughtgreatcrafttoportraiture,makingthequalityoftheskinimportant.

LeonardodaVinci(1452–1519)andotherRenaissancepaintersusedaconceptcalled“sfumato”thatcreatedsoftnessintheirportraits.Sfumatocomesfromtheoverlayofvarnishesandtransparentoilpaintsusedtosoftenthecolortransitionsinfacialtones.

Anonymousdaguerreotypeincase(FromthecollectionofGlennRand)

Whilehighlightsandshadowsproducedafeelingofvolumeinthepaintings,sfumatosoftenedtheskintonestomakethemappearmorenaturalandpleasant.Todaywecanseetheseeffectsinphotography,assomeportraitstudioshavenorthlightwindowsandoftenusesoftboxestocreatesoftlighting.

TherearefourmajorfactorsinRembrandtvanRijn’s(1606–1669)paintingsthatareimportantincontemporaryphotographicportraiture.Firstandmostobviousisthelighting,knownas“Rembrandtlighting,”whichproducesasmalltriangularhighlightontheshadowsideoftheface.Thepositionofthelightingallowsformoretextureintheimagebecausethelightstrikesthesubjectatashallowangle.Next,Rembrandtoftenchoseabodypositionthatturnedthefaceslightlyawayfromthelightsource.Thisiscalled“broadlighting”inportraiture.Third,whilenotdirectlyusingabacklight,heemployedselectivebackgroundlightingeffectstogivehisportraitsbothdepthandcontour.Healsovignettedhisimagestoprovidemorevisualcenteringonthesubjects.

Last,inhisstudioRembrandtdrapedalargewhiteclothacrosstheceilingandattachedittothetopoftheprimewindowusedforlightingthesubject.This,alongwithaseriesofsmallwindows,directedfilllighttohissubjects,ensuringthatthedetailsontheshadowsideofthesubjectwereclearlyvisible.

AnothertechniquefromtheRenaissancemastersischiaroscuro,whichreferstoalight-darkcontrastthatproducesvolumeinthesubject.OftenconfusedwithRembrandtlighting,chiaroscuroisanangularlightthatcreatesthesenseofvolumethroughshadows.

Whilemostpeoplethinkofportraitsastwo-dimensionalrepresentations,sculptureswereoftenusedtorepresentthelikenessesofpeople.GianLorenzoBernini(1598–1680)utilizedmarbletocreateportraits.Thethree-dimensionalnatureofsculpturebringslifetothesestablepiecesofpolishedstone.

TechnologyalsobecamepartofpaintingduringthelateRenaissance.Whileopticprojectionswerecommonknowledge,atthistimethereisevidencethatthecameraobscuraandmirrorswereusedtoproducethepaintings.Theuseofopticaltoolsfor

paintingcanberegardedasaprecursortophotography.

In1839,portraiturechangedfromtheportrayalofrealitytotheactualcaptureofreality.Inthatyear,bothLouisJacquesMandéDaguerre(1787–1851)andWilliamHenryFoxTalbot(1800–1877)introducedtheirprocessesforphotography:thedaguerreotype,amercury/silveramalgamonapolishedmetalplate;andthecalotype(Talbotype),asaltsilverpapernegativeprocess.Afterseeingthedaguerreotypeprocess,thepainterPauldelaRoche(1797–1856)said,“Fromtoday,paintingisdead.”Whilehewaswrong,partsoftheworldofpaintingdidchange—andnonemorethanportraiture.Portraitsthattookmanyhoursofsittingandmanymorehoursofpaintingbecamemuchfasterandeasierwiththeadventofphotography.

Atthebeginningofphotography,theinsensitivityofthematerialsnecessitatedbrightlightsettingsandmuchlongersittingtimesthantoday.InScotland,theartistDavidOctaviusHill(anestablishedpainter)andRobertHillAdamson(acameraoperator)producedearlyportraitsusingthecalotypeprocess.Atthesametime,AlbertSouthworthandJosiahHaweslicensedandusedthedaguerreotypeprocessintheUnitedStates.Thesepairsofartistandtechnicianspoketothecomplexityofthenewphotographicprocesses—thebeginningsofasupportsystemtomakesuccessfulportraits.

Anonymousambrotype—Mrs.Caldwell(FromthecollectionofGlennRand)

Inthe1850s,Nadar(GaspardFélixTournachon)becameoneofthebignamesinportraiture.Partofthereasonfornotorietycouldbebecausehehadhisnameinlargeredlettersdisplayedacrossthefrontofhisstudio.Nadarwassopopularthatotherportraitistssoughttoembellishtheirreputationsbyusinghisname.

Soon,highlysensitizedmaterialsreducedexposuretimesdownfrom30minuteswith

earlydaguerreotypestoamatterofseconds.Withthecollodionprocess,photographytookagreatleapandintroducedamoreaccessibleformfortheindividual.OneoftheprominentportraitistswhoemergedduringthistimewasJuliaMargaretCameron(1815–1879).Herportraitssetthestandardformovingtoadescriptivemethodthatmixedthelikenesswithemotioncapturedinthesitter.ThestorygoesthatwhenshetookherfamousportraitofherfriendSirJohnHerschel,sheaskedthathewashhishairbutnotcombitsothatshecouldportrayhimthewaysheenvisionedhim.

Anonymoustintypes(FromthecollectionofGlennRand)

Anonymouscabinetphotograph,JennyAtkins,Kiev,Ukraine,ca.1900(FromthecollectionofGlennRand)

Asthecollodionprocessbecameprominent,portraitistsincreasedinnumber.Twopracticestheyemployedwerewidespread:ambrotype-basedprocesses(ambrotypesandtintypes)andcardphotographs(cartes-de-visteandcabinetcards).Ambrotypesarelightlyexposedglassplatesthatuseablackbackingtoallowsilverfromthedevelopednegativetoreflectthelight.Thereflectedlightbecomesthehighlightedareasoftheimage,andtheblackbackingbecomestheshadows.Theordinarypresentationofambrotypeswasthesameasdaguerreotypes,insmallpaddedcases,whichmadeportraitsaccessiblebutstillcostly.

Thelesscostlytintypeignitedaboomofphotography.Moreruggedthananambrotype,thetintypeusesthesameconceptwiththedarksurfaceofthetinfunctioningastheblackbacking.TintypesgainedpopularitystartingatthetimeoftheUnitedStates’sCivilWarandcontinuedintotheearly20thcentury.Thereweresomanytintypeportraitstudiosthatpriceswentdowntoapennyanimage.Theseportraitstudiosforthemasseshavetheircounterpartstodayinschoolphotographersandhigh-volumeportraitoutletswiththeirstandardlightingandposes.Cabinetphotographs,alongwiththerelatedcartes-de-viste,werealsoimportanttothegrowthofportraitphotography.Thesewerecardsandsetsofcardsmadeinastudio,whichwassetupwithstandardpaintedbackgroundsandprops.

Ta-Tamiche,Walapai,1907byEdwardS.Curtis

(FromthecollectionofGlennRand)

Prof.AdolfHengeler,1910byFrankEugene(1865–1936)(FromthecollectionofGlennRand)

Alsoatthistime,paintersstartedusingphotographytoaidintheirportrayalofthehumanformandinthecreationofportraits.EugeneDelacroixusedaphotographofJeanLouisMarieEugèneDurieutocreatehisfamouspaintingOdalisque.FranzVinLenbachhadphotographersfromaroundEuropemakeimagesthathewouldthenconvertintopaintedportraits.InFrance,AnthonySamuelAdam-SalomonusedconsistentlightingmimickingtheRenaissancethathassincebeencalledRembrandtlighting.FranzHanfstaenglalsobeganretouchingnegativesduringthisperiod.

Asphotographictechnologyprogressed,particularlywiththeintroductionofdryplates,photographerswereabletomoveawayfromthestaidportraiturethatlongexposuresrequired.Thisalsoallowedthemtoleavetheconfinesofthestudioand/ortheportabledarkroom.Withthisfreedomcamebothanexpansionofthesettingsforportraitsandwiderapproachestousingportraiture.WhileMatthewBrady(1823–1896)hadastudio,manyofhismostpowerfulportraitsweremadeonthebattlefield.Atthebeginningofthe20thcentury,EdwardS.Curtis(1868–1952)andAugustSander(1876–1964)usedtheirportraitskillstoproduceethnographicstudies.CurtistraveledthroughouttheUnitedStates,producingmanyportraitsofNativeAmericansalongwithotherdocumentaryimages.SanderlefthisportraitstudiotodocumentthepeopleofWesterwald,near

Cologne,Germany.Heusedthesameskillsandapproachesfromhisportraitstudioforthisprojectthathecontinuedthroughtherestofhisworkinglife.Inthe1960sand1970s,IrvingPenn(1917–2009)traveledaroundtheworldwithatranslucentwhitetent,creatingaportablestudiotomakehisethnographicportraitsthatbecame“WorldsinaSmallRoom.”Theworkofthesephotographersandmanyothersexpandedthevernacularaswellastheapplicationsofportraiture.

Fromtheadventofphotography,“learned”societiesandprofessionalorganizationswereestablishedthatbecameimportanttothedevelopmentofportraiture.AmongthemaretheRoyalPhotographicSociety(1853),theProfessionalPhotographersofAmerica(PPA,1880),andmorerecently,theBFF,orBundFreischaffenderFoto-Designer(GermanProfessionalPhotographyAssociation,1969).Thesegroupsandothers,suchastoday’sWeddingandPortraitPhotographersInternational(WPPI),theSocietyforWeddingandPortraitPhotographers(SWPP),andArbeitskreisPorträtPhotograhieInternational(APPI),offerconferencesandeducationalworkshopsthatestablishstandards,sharestyles,debateaesthetics,andbestowcertifications.Manynonmembersmimicthestylesfrompractitionerswithinthesesocieties.

Asphotographymaturedinbothtechnologyandaesthetics,portraiturechangedaswell.Onetrendthatemergedinthelate19thcenturywaspictorialism.ThisphotographicmovementwasfatheredbyindividualswholefttheformalsocietiestoformtheBrotherhoodoftheLinkedRingandlaterthePhoto-Secession.Thesegroupsattractedsomeoftheluminariesofphotography,includingAlfredStieglitz(1864–1946),EdwardSteichen(1879–1973),andClarenceWhite(1871–1925).Acriticalattitudetowardsoft,romantic,andimpressionisticphotographspermeatedthismovement,withportraitsreturningtothedark,tightlyfocusedimagesreminiscentofearliertimesinportraiture.ThroughpublicationssuchasCameraWork,portraitsweregivenanequalfootingwithotherphotographicart.Theeffectwastogivephotographersmorefreedomtoapproachportraiture,whichresultedinchangestosettings,lighting,andtheoverallapproachtothesubjects.AprimeexampleisEdwardWeston(1886–1958),whooriginallyhadastudiobutwhomademanyofhisiconicportraitsinnaturallightfromanglesthatchallengedtraditionalapproachestotheportrait.

Threephotographers,whowereactivewellintothe20thcentury,hadagreatimpactonthedirectionofportraiture.FirstwasSirCecilBeaton(1904–1980),whobecametheportraitisttoBritishroyalsandcelebrities.Hemovedawayfromthestudiointotheenvironmentsofhissubjects.Whileheworkedinasitter’senvironment,forthemostpartheusedformalposes.Beatonmovedwiththedevelopingtechnologies,adoptingthelatestphotographictoolsavailabletohim.

ThesecondofthesethreemajorportraitistswasYousufKarsh(1908–2002).KarshmovedtoOttawa,Canada,andopenedastudiothere.Thoughknownforhisstudioportraits,healsoproducedphotographsonlocation.OneofhismostfamousimagesisofSirWinstonChurchillinhiswartimeoffice.Karshusedaspecificlightingratiothatbecamepartofhisstyle.Throughouthiscareer,hewasknownforhislarge-format(8x10inch)black-and-whitephotographs.

Thelastofthethreegreatmid-centuryportraitistswasArnoldNewman(1918–2006).Startinginthe1960s,hebecameknownforenvironmentalportraiture.Whileheproduced

manyofhisimagesoutsidethestudio,hedidnotaccepttheenvironmentasitexisted.Instead,herearrangedobjectsandlightingtoproduceanimagethatdealtwiththesitter’spersonaaswellastheirlikeness.

©JudyHost(Courtesyoftheartist)

AprimeexampleishisportraitofAlfriedKruppforLIFEmagazine.Throughhisuseoflighting,NewmancommunicatedhisfeelingsaboutKrupp,aNaziarmsmanufacturer.

CrossingthisperiodwastheworkofGeorgeHurrell(1904–1992).HurrellwenttoworkinHollywoodandmadephotographsofmoviestars.Heusedspecularlighting,chiaroscuro,andtenebrism(strongspotlighting)tocreatea“heroic”style,theoppositeofthemorenaturalapproachofKarsh.Hurrellandothercelebrityportraitistshadagreatdealofimpactonhowportraituregrewvisually.

Severalschoolsopenedtotrainphotographersthatfeaturedstrongportraitcoursework,includingBrooksInstituteandRochesterInstituteofTechnology.However,educationwasnotthesolepurviewofinstitutionsofhighereducation;forexample,thePPA’sWinonaSchoolofPhotographyofferedcoursesbyluminariessuchasJoeZeltsman.Otherestablishedphotographers,likeMonteZucker,FrankCricchio,andWilliamMcIntosh,sharedtheirideasaboutposing,lighting,andrunningaprofitablebusinessthroughworkshopsandconferences.ZeltsmanpromotedasetofstandardsforposingandCricchioadvancedthewaysportraitistsapproachedtheirlighting,whileMcIntoshwaswellknownforhisbusinesspracticesandelaborateformallocationportraiture.

Duringthelatterpartofthe20thcenturyintheUnitedStates,manyworkingprofessionalportraitistsaffectedthelookofthefield.PhilipCharisincorporatedthestylesofRembrandt,JohnSingerSargent,andSirJoshuaReynolds.LeonKennamermovedhisportraitureoutofthestudioandintonaturalsettings,combiningtheuseofnaturallightwiththeuseoflightshapers.JoyceWilsonrejectedthestaidregulationsoftheformalphotographicsocietiestopersonalizeherapproach,makingportraitsthatshesawasartisticratherthanformulaic.

Inthisportrait,theuseoftheinsertedfaceintheupper-rightcornerbalancestheimagethroughsimilarityofformtoaddvisualweightandinteresttotherightsideoftheimage,opposingthedramaticarmpositionsofthesubjectattheleftthird©ArthurRainville(Courtesyoftheartist)

©JuliaSparksAndrada(Courtesyoftheartist)

Thesharingofimagesthroughpublishinghasbeenimportanttothedevelopmentofportraitphotography.MagazineslikeProfessionalPhotographerandRangefinderintheUnitedStatesandProfessionalImagemakerinEuropehavebroughtimagestolargenumbersofphotographersandhaveencouragedthesharingofstyleandtechnique.

Todaywefindthatportraitpaintersborrowfromtheworldofphotographicarts.ThemakeupideasofcommercialphotographerssuchasDouglasDublerandtheposingconceptsofAnnieLiebovitzdrivesomecontemporaryapproachestoportraiture.Furthermore,theartworldisabsorbingdiverseapproachestoportraiture,asseenintheprojectsofBettinaFlitner.AsJoyceWilsonsaidofthehistoryofphotographicportraiture,“Therewillalwaysbesomethingnew.”

YojhiYamamoto©ElinorCarucci(Courtesyoftheartist)

StylesThehistoryofportraitphotographyisagoodstartingpointtoviewthewaysinwhichtheseimagesareused.Roughlyspeaking,therearetwoapproachesutilizedinchoosingtomakeportraits:forcommercialpurposesandforfineart.Beyondtheissueofreliablygettingpaidforaportrait,theonlydifferencebetweencommercialandfineartportraitureiswhethertheportraitismadefortheclientorforself-assignment.Beyondthatdistinction,allthetools,controls,andapproachesarethesame.

Whilethephotographercontrolsbothformalandinformalportraits,acandidportraitisanimagethatisnotcapturedinadeliberateway.Whiletheintentofacandidportraitisthesameasotherportraits—tocapturealikenessofthesubject—themethodisaboutphotographingthesubjectnaturallywithoutanyposing,styling,oradjustingofthesetting.Thisusuallymeansthatartificiallighting(otherthanon-cameraflash)isnotusedandthatthephotographer,ineffect,“steals”amomentofthesubject’slife.

AlexeyBrodovitch©BenedictJ.Fernandez(Courtesyoftheartist)

ArtBuckwaldinParis,1961©DouglasKirkland(Courtesyoftheartist)

Anenvironmentalportraitdiffersfromacandidportraitinthatthephotographercontrolsboththesubjectandenvironment.Theenvironmentalportraitistselectsthesettingfortheportraitaswellascontrollingposing,lighting,andstylingoftheimage.Theconcernwithanenvironmentalportraitisasmuchwiththesettingaswiththesubject,becausetheintentistousethelocationtoenhancetheviewer’sunderstandingofthesubject.

Ethnographicportraitureisaboutthesubject’scultural,national,orethnicidentity.Theseportraitsmayrelyonanyapproach,buttheendresultismoreaboutthecircumstancesofthesubject’slifethantheirlikeness.Forthesereasons,thesubject’sattirecanbeaveryimportantelementintheportrait.

Toacertainextent,bothcommercialandfineartportraiturearewithoutdifferences.ApublicationmightuseaportraitbyDouglasKirklandforcommercialpurposes,andthe

sameportraitsinagallerymightbeviewedprimarilyasfineart.Dependingontheenduse,commercialandfineartapplicationsmaywishtouseanytypeorstyleofportrait.Thisisagoodpointtoclosethisbriefoverviewofphotographicportraiture.Intheend,portraitsarealwaysaboutthesubjects,theirlikenesses,theirpersonalities,andtheirlives.

TuaregBilal©DouglasDubler(Courtesyoftheartist)

2LightDynamicsandthePortrait

JoyceWilsonsaidofthisimage,“Ihadjustfinishedwiththeassignmentwhenthelightfromthesettingsuncaughtmyeye.Withtheatmosphereandthegirl’sdress,therewasthefeelingofafairytale.Butitwasthelightthatcaughtmyattention.Tomaintainthevision,Ineededtocapturetheflare.”©JoyceWilson(Courtesyoftheartist)

LD…LightDynamicsTheapproachwehavechosenistodealwithLD,orlightdynamics,ratherthanpresentsinglesolutionsormethodstomakespecificportraits.Takingthispointofviewallowsustodiscussboththephysicalrealitiesoflightanditseffectsonthesubject.Italsoremovesusfromasimple“ThisisthewayIdoit”methodologytoadiscussionofhowtosolvelightingproblemsregardlessofwhichsideofthelightingequationtheycomefrom.Theproblemswefindwillnotalwaysfitwithinsimplepatterns.Throughlightdynamics,webuildanunderstandingofourprimarytool,thelightanditseffects,andhowitmakessuccessfulphotographspossible.

Forportraiture,thekeyissueisthatthewaythelightinteractswiththesubject’shair,clothing,andskindeterminesthesuccessoftheportrait.Itwillbeseeninthetextureorlackoftextureontheskin,thevolumeandformoftheface,andtheseparationofthevariousareasofthepicture.Therefore,weseecontrolofthelightdynamicsasthewaytomakegoodportraits.Theotheraspectsofgoodportraiture—pose,expression,andenvironment—willbedealtwithlaterinthebook.

Lightdynamicsarewhatmakeportraitspossible.Thishasalwaysbeentruewithpainting,anditistruenowwithdigitalportraiture.Photographersaswellaspaintersuselighttomakeportraitscomealiveandhaveformandvolumethroughtheadditionofhighlightsandshadows.Whilelightdynamicsenlivenportraits,weseldomseethelightsourceitself.Whenlightisvisibleinaportrait,wegenerallyseelightthatisscattered,reflectedbysmallparticlesintheair(dust,humidity,etc.),oremanatedbyanincidentsource.Thesetypesofeffectsarelikelytobeusedforaccents.Inmostsituations,weseesimplytheeffectsofthelightinthesubject’shighlightsandshadows.

Therearefourlightdynamicsthatdefinethequalityofthelightusedinportraiture:

1. Highlightsandshadows2. Intensity3. Directionofthelight4. Colorbias

Whetherwecreatethelightqualityourselvesorfindthelightinanaturalsetting,thesefourfactorscontrolthelightusedtomakeaportrait.

Whilethelightingexamplesinthischaptershowthedynamicsofshadowsverywell,theycannottrulyshowthecomplexityofhighlights.Highlightdynamicsaredifficulttoseewhenreproducedontheprintedpagebecauseofthelimitedrangethattheprintingprocessisabletogenerate.Also,weputmoreemphasisonshadowsearlyinthebookbecausetheyarethedeterminingfactorsindefiningtheshapesandfeaturesintheportrait.

Thelightdynamiccanbeseeninthetransitionsbetweenthelitandshadowedareasoftheportrait.ThisistheLightDynamicEdge(LDEdge).

SpecularorDiffuse

Ofthefourlightdynamicsaffectingthelookoflightinanimage,themostimportantisthehighlights/shadowsdynamicthatmakeupaportraitphotograph.Tobegin,weanalyzethequalityoflightintermsofitsspecularordiffusenature.Wethinkofspecularanddiffuselightasoppositeendsofaspectrum.Attheoneendisanexceptionallyspecularlight,apointsource.Attheotherendisverydiffuselight,likeathickovercastsky.Alongthisspectrumwedescribethecharacterofthehighlightsandshadowsandthe“LightDynamicEdge”(LDEdge)betweenthehighlightsandshadows.Wealsodescribespecularlightashard,crisp,orharshanddiffuselightassmooth,soft,orbroad.Howtheselightdynamicsinteractwiththeskin,hair,andshapeofthefacecontrolthelookoftheportrait.

TheLDEdgedeterminesthefeeloftheportraitanddefinesthevolumeandshapeofthefaceawayfromthecontour.Thespecular/diffusedynamicaffectsthelightratiooftheportraitbecauseoftheamountoffillintheshadows.Thisparticularissuewillbedealtwithindetailinchapter5.

Whetherapointsourcelight,focusedlight,collimatedlight,orlightmodifier,specularlightoccurswhenlightstrikesthesubjectwithfewornoangulardifferencesorcrossinglightrays.Thelightemanatesfromapointsource,fromfaraway,orinparallelrays.Thecharacteristicsofthislightproducesmall,intensehighlightsonthesurfaceandwell-defined,darkshadows.

Wecancreatespecularlightingwithabarebulboranyfocusedlightusinglensesorafocusingmirrorandeithercontinuouslightorelectronicflash.Thespecularhighlight,orhotspot,fallsofftotheshadowrelativelyquicklyonatexturedsurface.ThislightingcreatesadistinctLDEdgethatdefinesthesurfaceshapewhereitdividestheilluminatedsurfacefromtheshadow.Themorespecularthelight,thesharperandbetterdefinedtheLDEdge.Itmustbesaidthatwhenlightactsonasurface,itmightcreateacomplexhighlightcontainingvariousamountsofspecularlightmixedwithdiffusedhighlights.Thisissuewillbeaddressedlaterinthebook.

BecausetheshadowscreatedbyaspecularlightaredarkwithacrispLDEdge,theycanbecomevisuallyimportantpartsoftheportrait.Withmostportraits,theLDEdgeisnotseenonthebackgroundorotherobjects,butifashadowfromaspecularlightappearsonnearbysurfaces,itwillbewelldefined.Inthatcase,theclosertheshadow-catchingsurfaceistothecastingpartofthesubject,thesharperthecastshadow.

Withspecularlighting,thelightdynamicshowswiththedarkandcrispshadowsandthewell-definedLDEdge

Adiffuselightdynamicexistswhenthelightproducesnumerousanglesofilluminationonthesubject.Lightcanbediffusedfromasourcethatisscatteredbyadiffuserpanelorreflectedfromalargesurfacesuchasanumbrella.Someatmosphericconditions,suchasovercastskiesorfog,naturallycreatediffuselight.Diffuselightreachesaroundedges,spreadsouthighlights,andallowslightintoshadows,therebysofteningtheportraitandreducingthecontrast.Thelightonthesubjectdisplaysopenshadowsthatdecreasethedarknessandenlargethehighlights.Withlargerhighlights,thefall-offtotheshadowwillbesmoothandgradual,withalessdistinctLDEdge.Justasdiffuseandspecularlightareonoppositeendsofaspectrum,diffuselighteffectsarethereverseofspecularlighteffectswithalowerlightingratio.

Withdiffuselighting,thelightdynamicshowswiththeopenandsoftshadowsandtheweaklydefinedLDEdge

Thediffusequalityoflightisacombinationofthesizeofthelightandthedistanceofthediffusingmediumfromthesubject.ThelargestlightsourceavailabletoaphotographeronEarthisthesun;itisaspecularsourceonacleardaybecauseitissofaraway.Onlywhenconditionsscatterthelight,suchasanovercastsky,doessunlightbecomediffuse.Alargesoftboxclosetothesubjectcreatesdiffuselight,butthatsamelightbecomesspecularthefurtherawayitisfromthesubject.

©JoyceWilson(Courtesyoftheartist)

Becausetheskywasclear,thesuncaststrong,specularshadows©TimMeyer

Asthelightsource,asmallsoftbox,ismovedfrom29inchesto58inchesandfinallyto118inches,theLDEdgebecomesmoredefinedandtheshadowbecomesdarker

Iftheintensityanddirectionofthelightareconstant,specularlightappearsmoreharshandshowsofftexturebetterthandiffuselight.Diffuselightproducesasofterlookwithmoredetailintheshadowareas.Skintexturesinaportraitlooksmootherindiffuselight,whileskindefectsaremorenoticeableinspecularlight.

Wecanalsousetheterms“diffuse”and“specular”todiscusssurfacesandreflections.Inaportrait,aspecularsurfacemightbeshiny,suchasoiledorwetskin.Thissurfacewillreflecthotspotsfromlightingequipmentwithverylittlelightvisibleonotherareasofthesubject.Evenwithadiffuselight,aspecularsurfacewillhavecrisperreflections.Ontheotherhand,adiffusesurfacespreadsthelightenergyoveralargerareaandcreatessofthighlights.Powderedskinisanexampleofadiffusedsurface,andunderspecularlightitsLDEdgewillbewelldefined.Effectsontheskinareoftencomplex,mixingvaryingamountsofdiffuseandspecularlight.Theseeffectscanbecontrolledbyvariouslightsandmodifiersandwillbediscussedlaterinthebook.

Toconcludethisdiscussion,thequalityoflightthatcanbeusedforportraitspossessescomplexcapabilities.Dependingontheavailablelightingequipment,highlightandshadowcharacteristicscanbemodifiedfromdiffusetospecular.

Inthisportrait,thesubject’sskinshowsaspecularcharacteristic.Thehighlightsshowthisqualityeventhoughtheskylightusedfortheportraitisdiffuse.©MatthewScottDrake(Courtesyoftheartist)

Thetwodetailsshowtheeffectofmovingthelightfrom29inchesto58inchesfromthesubject.Thelighthasapproximatelytwostopslessintensityattwicethedistance.

IntensityNext,wewilldiscusshowlightintensityaffectsthequalityoflight.First,theintensityofthelightestablishesthekeylight(mainlight)andexposurefortheportrait.Theintensityofthefill,usedtolightentheshadowsanddeterminealightingratio,isthesecondlightdynamic.

Intensityisnotdeterminedbythespecular/diffusedynamicofthelight.Thoughtheintensityofalightingunitdecreasesasthelightgoesthroughadiffuserscreen,oncethelightisscattered,itsintensityiscontrolledbythedistancefromthesubject.Thecloserthelight,thegreatertheintensity.TheInverseSquareLawpredictsthatifwemovethelighttwiceasfarfromthesubject,thelight’sintensitywillbeonequarter,ortwostops,lessthantheoriginalintensity.Thislawalsoworksintheoppositedirection:ifyoumovethelightonehalfthedistancetowardthesubject,theintensitywillbefourtimes,ortwostops,morethantheoriginalintensity.Thisholdstrueforanopenbulbonthelightbeam’saxisorabarebulblight.Wewillreturntothissubjectindiscussinglightmodification.

Onefactorthataffectstheintensityofthelightisthesizeandformofthebeamfromthelightsource.Otherthanapointsourcelight,thebeamstructurehasthreemainparts:thecentralbeam,thefieldareawherelightilluminateswithoutalossofonestoplessintensity,andthefalloffthatgoesfromaboutthreestopslessintensitytonoillumination.Thecentralbeamisconcentratedaroundthelight’saxis.Itmaybespreadwidelyasafloodlight,bemoreconstrainedinacollimatedform,orbesomewherebetweentheseextremes.

Direction

Therearethreedirectionaldynamicsthataffectportraitphotography:

1. Axisoftheface2. Axisofthecamera3. Axisofthekeylight

Theinteractionoftheseaxesdefinesthedynamicsoftheportrait.Theaxisofthefaceisperpendicularfromtheeyes.Theaxisofthecameraisthelinealongthecenterpointidentifiedintheviewfinder.Theaxisofthekeylightisthelinedefiningthecentralbeam.Thekeylightisthelightthatcreatesthedominantshadowsandhighlightsandisusedtosetthebaseexposure.

Forthisbeginningdiscussion,wewillassumethatthecameraisinafixedlocationwithoutchangingtheaxis,sincethecameradistanceandangledonotaffectlightdynamics.Whiletheaxisofthecameracanbeconsideredsteady,theaxisofthefaceismovableanddefinedbyposing,whichwillbedealtwithinitsownchapter.Onceagain,wewillsimplifythisdiscussionbytakinga”mug-shot”approachsowecanconcentrateonthereallightdynamicfoundintheaxisofthekeylight.Asthekeylight’saxischangesinrelationtotheface’saxis,mostchangeswilloccurinthelightingeffects.

Thedirectionalcomponentofthelightdynamicaffectsthelocationofshadowsandhighlights.Asthelightaxiscomesclosertobeingperpendiculartothecameraaxisortheface’saxis,thelightseemsharsherwithdramatic,elongatedshadows.Asthekeylight’saxisalignswiththecamera’saxis,thelightflattensouttheface’sperceiveddepthanddiminishestexture.Inaddition,asthelight’sdirectionmovesinrelationtothesubjectandcamera,thehighlightswillmove,particularlywithroundedforms.Whileinportraitphotographywediscusstheeffectsofthelight’saxisinrelationtotheaxisoftheface,thecamera’saxisdetermineshowthetexture,shape,andvolumewillbeseen.Asthelight’sdirectionmovestowheretheLDEdgeisclearlyseen,thevolumeiseasiertosee(unlessthemainlight’saxisisperpendiculartothecameraaxis).

TheLightDynamicDome

The“lightdynamicdome”(LDDome)providesamethodforshowingtheeffectsofmovingthekeylight’saxisinrelationtotheface’saxis.Itshowsthelightdynamicascontrolledbythedirectionofthelight.Theforeground/backgroundcontrastestablishesthecontouroftheportraitwhilethepositioningoftheLDEdgeandthediffuse/specularqualityofthelightcontrolstheformandvolumewithintheface.TheLDEdgeappearsat90°fromthelightaxisonaroundedsurface;thus,itisvisibleinsomeformfromalllightpositionsotherthanbehindthesubjectorifthelightisblocked.

0-0Orasneartothecameraaxisaspossible.Acameraflashproducesthiseffect.Thelightissterileanddiminishestexture;itdoesnothaveanLDEdgetoassistinseeingvolume,shape,ordepth.Withon-cameraflash,whenthereisaslightaxisdifferencebetweenthecameraandthelight,theshadowisthrownbackintothescene.Itwilllandonasurfacebehindandcreateadarkareaaroundtheedgeofthefaceifthebackgroundistooclosetothesubject.

Withthecamerapositionandthepointofviewestablished,movingthelightcontrolstheLDEdgeandtheshadow/highlightcreationintheportrait.Thelightdynamicsproducedbytheinteractionofthekeylightandfaceaxescreateemphasisaswellasvolumeanddepth.Tobetterunderstandthesedynamics,weimagineadomethatisequidistantoverthesubject.Wethenmovelighttodifferentpositionsaroundthedometoseetheeffectsontheface.Inthisexample,weuse11differentlocationsonhalfofthedome,withandwithoutafilllight.Thepositionswechosearethemostcommonforportraiture.Wealsousewordscommontoportraitphotographyintheaccompanyingcaptions.Weuseonlyhalfofthedomesincetheotherhalfwillproducesimilarresults,onlywiththeshadowsandLDEdgeprojectingintheoppositedirection.Wehavealsodonethisdemonstrationwithoutfilltoshowthelightdynamicofeachposition.

ColorWhenwediscusscolorinlight,twomajorconsiderationsneedtobeaddressed:themakeupofcolorsandthebiasestheyhaveasweuselightinacolorcaptureenvironment.

Inphotography,weuse“lightprimaries”forcolormixing.Thismeansthatthebasisofallcolorsthatwecancaptureorseearecomponentsofred,green,andblue(RGB).Whilethereareotherwaystomixcolors,usingRGBisthemostaccuratechoice.Basedonthissystem,wefindthattheproportionofred,green,andbluedefinesallcolorsoflightthatmakeupanyparticularhue.Forexample,orangeismadeupprimarilyofredwithlessgreentomakeitbecomemoreyellow;ifthetoneislighterthanthemostsaturatedorange,

italsocontainssomeblue.Tofurtherthisexample,thecomputermixtureforthisorangemightbe240red,150green,and80blue.

0-45Horizontalfeaturesonthefacesuchastheeyebrows,lips,andchincreateLDEdges.Highlightsareprominentontheforehead,cheeks,andnose.Thereisagoodshadowfromthechin’sedge.

0-70Thislighttendstoexaggerateshape,dependingonthecontoursoftheface.Thebolderthefacialfeatures,thestrongertheshadows.Texturesonfrontalsurfacesareheightened.

45-0Thislightisgoodforfaceswithstrongverticalplanarchanges.Textureonfront-facingsurfacesisimprovedwhenthesurfacegoesawayfromthelight.DepthisshownthroughtheshadowsandtheLDEdgeonthecheekawayfromthelight.Ifthenoseislargeormisshapen,itsshadowmaybecomeproblematic.The45-0positionisnotanattractiveangleforportraiture.Itcastshorizontalshadowsacrosstheface,whichareconsideredunflattering.

45-45Oftenreferredtoas¾oropen45lighting,thisisoneofthemostcommonkeylightpositionsinportraiture.Itisexcellentforshowingtheshapeofnonplanarobjectsandgreaterdepthinthesubject.TheLDEdgeisnotonthemeridian(thecenter)oftheface,sooff-setLDEdgesbetweendifferentplanesaddtothedepthoftheportrait.Thislight

positionalsocreatesimportanthighlightsthataddtotheperceiveddepthoftheimage,particularlythehighlightsontheforehead,nose,chin,andbothcheeks.

45-70Thislightisdramaticwithstrong,boldshadowsandstronghighlights.Withthislighting,theLDEdgeislessimportantthanthehighlightsfordevelopingdepthintheimage.Thislightisnotnormallyconsideredagoodchoiceforportraitureduetothedeepshadowsobscuringtheeyes.

90-0Thislightpositionshowstextureonverticalsurfacesalignedwiththelight.ThedominantfeatureistheLDEdgethroughthemeridianoftheface,whichbisectsitintolightandshadow.

90-45Thisisthemostcommonlocationforsplitlightingwhenthefaceisonaxiswiththecamera.ItsdominantfeatureistheLDEdgethroughthemeridianoftheface,whichbisectsitintolightandshadow.Inthishigher45°position,itproducesamorefavorablelightforportraiture.

90-70Whilenotacommonlightingposition,90-70showstheeffectofahighlightfromtheside

120-0Thislightaccentuatestheshapeofthefacethroughhighlights.Thecameracanbecomeaproblemasthelightmovestotherear,andboththedirectlightandbrightreflectionscanenterdirectlyintothecamera’slens.Thiscomesclosetoemulatingtheeffectofsideoredgelightsinportraiture.Usedtoseparatethesubjectfromthebackgroundandtoaccentuateform,edgelightsarecommonlyusedinclassicalportraitureandwereasignaturestyleofartistslikeYousufKarsh.

120-70Thislightiscommonlyusedfora“hairlight”inportraiture.Aswithotherrearquadrantlighting,thissetupisbasedoncreatingeffectsthroughhighlights.

Thesunlateinthedaytakesonareddish,warmtone©TimMeyer

Whenwemixcolorsinthisway,wecanenvisionacirclewithRGBequallyspacedaroundtheouteredge.Withinthatcircle,wecanlocateanylight-generatedhue.Forthepurposesofthisbook,wedealonlywiththecolorsaroundtheoutsideedge(fullysaturatedcolors).Ifwemixredandblue,weachievemagenta;withblueandgreen,wecreatecyan;andwithredandgreen,wemakeyellow.Thesesixcolorsmakeuptheprimary(RGB)andsecondary(CMY)colorsoflight.

Thesecondarycolorsarethecomplementsoftheprimaries.Ifwelookatthecolorcircle,alsoknownasthecolorwheel,werecognizethatacrossthecirclefromanycolorisitscomplement.Thismeansthatacrossthecolorwheelfromorangeisitscomplement,abluishgreen.Iffullysaturated,complementarycolorsaremixed,theyresultinwhitelight.Complementarycolorsthatarenotfullysaturatedmixtomakeneutrals(grays).Therefore,ifthelightsourceisyellowishincolor(incandescentlight),abluefilterorshiftingthewhitebalancetowardblueneutralizesthecolorbias.

Thiseffecthappenswithreflectionsaswell.Whenlightisreflectedfromacoloredmaterial,ittakesonthecolorofthatreflectingmaterial.Whenacoloredreflectorisused,itactslikeacoloredlight;iteitheraddsacolortothesubjectormutesthecolorofthesubjectifthecolorofthereflectoristhesubject’scomplement.Forexample,agreenreflectorwillgrayoutorreducetherednessofwhateverpartofaportraitreceivesthelightcomingfromthereflector.

Spectralenergydistributionsofdaylight,northlight,andtungstenlight.Thecolorbiasofeachlightsourcecanbeseenwherethegraphishigher.Middaydaylighthasaslightlybluebias,northlighthasastrongbluebias,andtungstenlighthasastrongreddishbias.

Alllighthassomecolorbias.Sunriseandsunsetarereddishincolor,whileshadedlightonthenorthsideofabuildingisbluish.Matchingfilmandusingwhitebalanceorcorrectingfilterscanneutralizecolorbias,orcoloredlightcanbeaddedtotheimageforeffect.

Oneofthemainwayswespeakaboutcolorinlightisbasedonitscolortemperature.Withoutgoingintoahighlytechnicaldiscussion,letuslayoutwhathappenstothecolorbiasoflightasitstemperaturechanges.Asanenergysourcebecomeshotter,itscolorchangesfromredtoblue.Wefirstseethecolorasred-orange(sunrise/sunset),thenasyellowish(e.g.,tungstenlight),thenasbluishwhite(e.g.,clearskyorelectronicflash),andfinallyasblue(e.g.,overcastsky).AscientistwoulddescribethesecolorbiasesintermsofKelvins,butforthepurposesofphotography,wecansimplysaythatthecolorismovingtowardblueortowardred.Thiscolorbiasisimportantfortruecolorrepresentationscreatedbythelightsourceandnotrelatedtofilteredormanipulatedcolor.

Colortemperaturecanalsobeseeninspectralenergydistribution;thatis,theamountofdifferentcolorswithinthespectrumthatcanbeseenasabias.Thespectralenergydistributionformiddaysunnylightshowsaslightlycyanbias,thenorthskyshowsahighlybluecolorshift,andaclearskyshowsthereddishcolorshiftoftungstenlight.Eventhoughitsspectralenergydistributionisdifferent,electronicflashhasacolortemperaturesimilartodaytimesunlight.

Weseethebiasorotheraspectsofthelightasthereflectionofthelight’scolor.Colorbiasisreflectedmoreinthemidtonesthaninanyotherarea.Inadditiontothecolorbias,thelightwillalsoreflectnearbycolorsintotheportraitiftheyarenotcontrolled.Forexample,aportraittakenongrassmayreflectgreenintotheshadowsofthesubject.Also,materialsthatreflecthighlevelsofultravioletenergy,suchasthosewashedincolorbrighteners,reflecthigheramountsofblue.

Autowhitebalancecaneliminatethecolorbiasindigitalcamerasandfilterscanbeusedforadjustingthecolorbiaswhenusingfilm.However,acolorbiasmayoccasionallybedesirable,suchasinanimageatsunset.

Whilethetechnicalaspectsofcolorimpacthowlightisseeninaportrait,theperceptualandemotionalaspectsmeanthemosttousasportraitphotographers.Thesewillbediscussedinmoredepthinchapter10.

3LightingSourcesandEquipment

©TimMeyer

CreatingLightWeneedlighttomakephotographs.LikethepaintersoftheRenaissance,wecreatethelightingenvironmentinawaythatallowsustoenvisionandcapturetheportrait.Todothis,weneedtounderstandhowtocontrollight.Wewilldealwiththistopicinthischapter,discussinglightandlightingequipment,andinthenextchapter,wherewewilldiscussthemodificationoflighting.

Discussinglightasenergyisthemostaccuratewaytoapproachthissubject.Light,regardlessoftype,ispartoftheelectromagneticspectrum(EMS).Whenthereisareleaseofenergy,thereisthepotentialthatpartofitwillbereleasedasvisiblelight.Alllightthatisusedinphotographyinvolvesanenergyrelease,whetheritisthesun,continuouslight,orelectronicflash.

Wewillbeginbyintroducingincandescentandambientlight,includingsunlight,andthenconcentratemoreonelectronicflashsinceitissoprominentinphotographicportraiture.Wetakethisapproachtolightingbecausealllight,regardlessofhowitisgenerated,actsthesame.Therefore,thecontrolsweusewithelectronicflasharethesameasthoseusedforsunlightorincandescentlight.

ContinuousLightWhilenotheavilyusedincontemporaryportraiture,somephotographersdorelyon

continuouslightingequipment.Mostcommonareincandescentlights,butsoonwemayseemoresolid-statelight-emittingdiode(LED)systems.Theadvantageofcontinuouslightingisthatthereisnodifferencebetweenthelightseenbeforetheshutterisactivatedandthelightpresentforcapture.

Incandescentlightistheeasiesttypetounderstandfromagenerationstandpoint.Itiscreatedfromheat,andtheheatistheenergysourcethatreleasesthelight.Thesun,fire,candles,andlightbulbscreatelightinthismanner.Tounderstandhowthisworks,lookatacommonlightbulb.Thebulbisconstructedofaglassenvelopefilledwithaninertgasandatungstenfilament,whichisadoublywoundfinewire.Thisconstructionhasaverysmallcrosssectionwithalargersurfacearea.Whenelectricitypassesthroughthefilament,itheatsupandglows.Asthefilamentgetshotter,itscolorchangesfromawarmredtoabrightyellow.

Incandescentlightsareusedbothaslightingforportraitsandasintegratedmodelinglightsforelectronicflash.Forprimarylights,therearetwotypesofbulbs.Photofloods,anoldertechnology,aretraditionalindesignandhavealimitedcolorlifeconsistency.Quartzhalogenbulbs,ortungstenlights,haveextendedcolorconstancybecauseoftheirhighheat.Regardlessofthetype,incandescentlightsuseagreatdealofelectricityandgenerateagreatdealofheat.Inaddition,the“hotlights”canmakethesubjectofaportraituncomfortable.NewerLEDsystemshavetheadvantageofreducingbothpowerusageandheat.

AmbientLightAmbientreferstolightthatisnotpartofalightingpatterncreatedbyequipment.Thiscanbelightfromanopenwindow,lightinnature,orothersourcesthatprovidelighttoaset.Ambientlightismostobviousinenvironmentalportraits,butitisalsoamajorconcerninoutdoorphotography.Whenpresent,itdoesnotnecessarilybecomethemainlightingorkeylight,anditmayormaynotbeinvolvedintheimagecapture.

Thesunisthemostavailableformofambientlightanditisoftenusedinportraiture.ThesunprovidesthemajorityoftheenergyreachingtheEarth.Dependingonthecloudcover,thelightcanvaryfromspeculartoexceptionallydiffuse.

Asfarasphotographyisconcerned,thedistancefromthesuntoEarthisconstant.Thisleadstothe“SunnyDayRule.”Duringmidday(between10a.m.and2p.m.)withclearskyconditions,theproperexposureisf/16atashutterspeedofthereciprocaloftheISO.ThisexposuremethodisaccurateandisfurtherdevelopedintheBasicDaylightExposuremethod(describedinchapter5).Ifdirectsunlightisusedasthekeylightforaportrait,thatislightingthefaceofthesubject,thenthismethodgivesthebaseexposure.

Whenmakingaportraitinambientlightsituations,youmustconsiderwhethertheambientlightwillbethemainlightsourceorwhetherothersourceswillberequired.

WindowLightThereareseveralconsiderationswhenusingwindowlight.Firstisthedirectionthewindowfaces.Ifthewindowallowsdirectsunlighttoenter,itwillhaveadifferentcolorbiasthanawindowfacingawayfromthesun.Also,iftheskyisclearandsunlightshinesdirectlyintotheareausedfortheportrait,itcanbeusedeitherasaspecularsourcetolight

thesubjectortocreateeffectsonthebackground.However,becausethesunconstantlymovesinthesky,ittendstobeunreliableasacontrolledsourcetocreateaparticularlightingstyle.Ifthelightenterstheroomfromanovercastskyorawayfromthesun,itwillhaveabluecastandbemorediffusethecloserthesubjectistothewindow.

Windowlightisoftenusedinafoundenvironment.Ascomparedtoastudiowithwindowlight,itismoredifficulttoenvisionmodifyingthelightinfoundsettingswithlightingequipment.Thissituationcanbeaddressedwithportablepowerpacksandsmall,self-containedelectronicflashunits.However,whetherinastudioorinafoundenvironment,windowlightcanserveastheconceptsettinglightifnotthekeylightfortheportraititself.

Monoblockself-containedunit,left,andstudiopowerpacksandheads,right(CourtesyofProfoto)

StrobeLightSourcesUnlikeincandescentlight,electronicflash,orstrobelight,resultsfromanatomicparticleactionthatcausesthegasenclosedinaflashtubetoglow.Tomakethisglow,electricitypassesthroughaninertgas,usuallyxenon,causingelectronstomoveoutoforbit.Astheelectronicchargesubsides,theelectronsreturntotheiroriginalorbitsandreleasestoredenergythatcausesthegastoglow.Withthespeedoftheelectronicenergyflow,theglowisveryshort.Theenergyisreleasedprimarilyasvisiblelightapproximatelythecolortemperatureofdaylight.Asubstantialamountofultravioletlightaccompaniesthevisiblelight.

Themajorconcernsforstrobeequipmentdesignarethestrengthofthelight,thedurationofthelight,andtheflexibilityoftheunit.Strobescreatelessheatthanincandescents,andheatdissipationfromtheelectronicflashisnotagreatissue.Amoreimportantissueforstrobelightingequipmentisholdingthechargeneededtoaffecttheflashandgettingittotheflashtubetocreatethelight.Thisishandledbythecapacitor.Thenormalwaytodiscussthepowerofanelectronicflashunitisthroughthewatt-secondratingofthecapacitor.Thehigherthewatt-secondrating,themorelightcanbeproducedbytheunit.Asthelightintensityincreases,sodoesthedurationoftheflash.Thepowerfromthecapacitorislimitedbasedontheflashtube,sotheflashtubemustbematchedwiththepowertobereleasedthroughit.

Intermsoftheneedforflexibility,strobelightscomeintwoformats:monoblockself-containedunitsandstudiopowerpacks.Withmonoblocks,theflashtube,capacitor,andcontrolsareallcontainedinoneunit.Theunitcanbeplacedanywhereaslongasapowersupply(usuallyanelectricaloutlet)isavailable.Withmonoblocks,thereareseveralconcernsdealingwiththeflexibilityofpowersettingsoncetheunithasbeenpositioned.However,justasremotefiringhasbeenprovidedtomonoblocks,somehigher-endunitsallowremotecontrolofdischargeamounts.

Ringlight(CourtesyofProfoto)

Studiopowerpacksareoftencalledgeneratorsbecausetheymayuseageneratortochargethecapacitorquickly.Theseunitsincludethecapacitor,amethodtochargethecapacitor,anddevicestocontrolflashpower.Withthepackslocatedeitheronthegroundorinotherstablelocations,weightisnotanissue,allowingforlargercapacitorsandgreaterlightoutput.Asmentioned,theremustbeamatchbetweenthecapacitorandtheflashtube’sabilitytohandletheenergysenttotheflashhead.Ifexcesspowerissenttotheflashhead,itcandestroytheflashtube.

Itiscommonforpowerpackstoallowtheconnectionofmultipleflashheadswithcabling.Withalltheflashheadsattachedtoasinglecontrolunit,synchronizationandcontrolaresimplified.Inaddition,theflashunitsthemselvesaresimplerindesignandlighter.However,cableswillcrossoverspaceswithinthestudio.

Onlocation,anextensionofthepowerpackistheportableflashpack.Thisisahighlyefficientrechargeablebatterythatincludesacircuitforconnectingaflashhead.

Mostflashunits,whethermonoblocksorpacks,usemodelinglightstoallowthephotographertoseetheapproximatelightingeffectsthatwillresultwhentheflashunitsfire.Today,thesemodelinglightsareincandescentbulbs;onhigher-endlightingequipment,theycanbeproportionaltotheamountofthelightthatwillbecreatedwiththeflash.Arheostatthatcontrolstheoutputofthemodelinglightisconnectedtothepowercontrollersothecapacitorcancoordinatetheapproximateoutput.Problemswithaccuracyofmodelinglightscanbeattributedtodifferencesbetweenthesizeofthemodelinglightbulbandthesizeoftheflashtubeanddifferencesbetweentheirrespectiveaxes.However,dependingonthedesignoftheflashunit,theseeffectscanbegreatlyminimized.

Anadditionalspecializedpieceoflightingequipmentistheringlight.Thisisastrobe

designedtofitaroundthecameralensandsenditslightstraightatthesubject,creatingauniquehighlightandshadowsignature.Itissometimesusedasafilllight;sinceitcomesfromthesameaxisasthecamera,itavoidstheshadowscreatedbytypicalfilllights.Itaddsauniquespecularhighlighttoskinandisusedextensivelyinfashionworkforthisreason.

Activationoftheflashunitoccurswhenthecapacitor’schargereleasesintotheflashtube.Therearethreebasicwaystoactivatetheunit.TheoldestmethodisaPCcord,wiringthatconnectsfromthecameratotheflashunitorstudiopack.ThePCcordismountedthroughaPCconnectorintegratedintothecameraorhotshoe.Anothermethodisan“opticalslave”attachedtotheflashunitthatisactivatedbyabrighton-cameraflashorthedischargefromanotherunit.Thelastactivationmethodisaninfraredorradiotriggerthatsendsasignaltoareceiverontheflashunit.Thisremoteactivationcanalsobeusedtotriptheshutterrelease,allowingtheentirecaptureprocesstobecompletelyawayfromthecamera.

Becauselightgenerationtakesafewmicroseconds,theflashunitandthecamerashuttermustbesynchronized.In-lensleafshuttersdonothavemajorproblemswithsynchronization,butitcanbeaproblemforshutteringsensorsandfocalplaneshutters.

Whileanelectronicflashmayappeartobeinstantaneous,thelighttakesashorttimetoreachitsfullintensity.Toaddressthistemporalconcern,manyon-camerastrobeshavetheabilitytoautomaticallyadjustorstoptheoutputwhenthecorrectamountoflightreachesthefilmorsensor.Athyristor/quenchingtubecircuitdivertsenergycomingfromthecapacitorwhenthelightenergyfromthefilmorthesensorreachestheproperlevel.

Thereleaseofenergyfromthegasthatcreatesvisiblelightintheflashtubegeneratesagreatdealofultravioletlight,sometimescausingaproblemcalledanomalousreflection.Whenthelightfromtheflashreflectsoffcertainmaterials,itcanreflectmoreultravioletenergythannormalandmakethecolorshifttoabluishcast.Thishappensmostnoticeablywithcolor-enhancedsyntheticmaterialsandothermaterialswashedinbrightness-enhancingdetergents.Thisproblemcanbeeasilycorrectedwiththeuseofanultravioletfiltercoatingontheflashtube.

PowerRequirementsPowerconsumptionandaccessareongoingconcernswithlightingequipment.Dependablepowersourcesareanecessity,whetherinthestudiooronlocation.Accesstopowerdetermineswhichlightingequipmentcanbeused.Whilewalloutlets,generators,orbatteriesprovidepower,eachpieceofequipmentcreatesitsowndrawandcanstresswiringand/orproduceanoverdrawonthepowersupply.

Inthestudio,multiplecircuitsarerequiredforlightingequipment,digitalcameras,andcomputers.Whileelectronicflashislessofapowerdraw,modelinglights(commonlyquartzhalogenbulbs)andgeneratorsorchargingsystemsareheavypowerconsumers.Surgeprotectionalsoplaysanimportantpartinmodernstudioelectricalsystemsbecauseoftheuseofmicrocircuitsinmostequipment,includingelectronicflash,cameras,andcomputers.

©StacyPearsall(Courtesyoftheartist)

Severalsafetyissuesneedtobeaddressedwhenworkingwithanyelectricalequipment.Withpowerpacks,cableswillcrossthestudio,andwithmonoblocks,wiringwillbepresentthroughoutthesetup.Alsothereareheatconcerns,particularlywithincandescentlightingsuchasmodelinglightsinelectronicflash.Equipmentandlightingsituationsthatusequartzhalogenlightsneedgoodventilationwithairmovementtoallowtheheattodissipate.Withoutcare,thedissipationoftheheatcreatedcancausefiresorotherheat-relatedproblems.

Whenquartzhalogenlightsareused,whetherasdirectsourcesorasmodelinglights,caremustbetakenwiththebulbsevenwhentheyarecool.Inallsituations,youshouldfollowsafetywarningswitheachpieceofequipment.

4LightModification

Thekeylightforthisportraitwasaparabolicreflectorwithadiffuserdomeovertheflashtube,creatingacomplexhighlightthatembedsadiffusehighlightinahighlydirectionallightsource©TimMeyer

Lightisthemediumthatmakesphotographypossible,anditisthewaythatthelightismodifiedthatallowsaportraittotakeonuniquenessandbecomevisuallyexciting.Lightmodificationtechniquesallowtheportraitisttoaccentordiminishintensity,changethelightingratio,andadjustcolortomaketheportraitmorethanjustapictureofaperson.Becauseofthis,lightmodificationisoneofthemostimportanttechnicalaspectsofportraitphotography.

ModificationOpticsAbriefexplanationoftheopticsinvolvedisthebestwaytobeginthisdiscussionoflightmodifiers.Opticsisthestudyofhowlightinteractswithmaterials.Whileweareinterestedinthequalitiesofthelightthatreachesoursubject,itisthemodifiersandtheirinteractionthatestablishthoselightqualities.Ofthesevenbasicopticalinteractionsinportraitlighting,weusefour:reflection,scattering,refraction,andabsorption/transmission.

Reflectionisthemostfrequentlyusedopticalconceptinportraitlighting.Alllightingequipment,exceptabarebulb,usesareflectortodirectthelightfromtheflashtubetowardthesubject.Regardlessofwhetherthereflectorisonthelight,afillcard,mirror,orumbrella,thesameruleofreflectionapplies:thatis,theangleofthelightequalstheangle

ofthereflection.Thismeansthatiflightstrikesthereflectingsurfaceata30°angle,thenthereflectionwillalsobeata30°angle.(Theangleismeasuredfromtheperpendicularatthepointthatthelightstrikesthereflectingsurface.)

Withoutgoingintogreatdetail,thestructureofthereflectingsurfacedeterminesthequalityofthereflectedlight.Themorepolishedandshinythesurface,themoredirectthereflection.Thistypeofshinysurfaceiscalledaspecularsurface.Whenasurfaceistextured,itreflectsdiffuselightandisreferredtoasadiffusesurface.Themoretexturedthesurface,themorediffusethereflection.Bothofthesesurfacereflectionsremaintrueregardlessoftheshapeofthesurface.Weseethereflectionsbetterfromspecularsurfacesthanfromdiffusesurfaces.Ifasurfaceiscurvedoutward(convex),diffusesurfaceswillspreadthelight.Ifthesurfaceiscurvedawayfromthesubject(concave),specularsurfaceswillconcentratethelight.

Colorneedstobediscussedintermsofreflection.Whenlightinteractswithaneutralsurface,thecolorofthereflectedlightwillbeunchanged.However,ifthesurfacehasacolor,thereflectedlightwilltakeonthecolorbiasofthesurface.

Thesecondopticalinteractionthatisfrequentlyusedinlightmodificationisscattering.Thisisdoneintwoways:byreflectinglightfromaroundedsurfaceandbyreflectinglightasitpassesthroughamaterial.Inthefirstmethod,asthelightreflectsfromaroundedobject,thedirectionofthereflectionchangesasthereflectingsurfacechanges.Themyriadchangesinthedirectionsofreflectionsoveranareacreatethescattering.

Inthesecondmethod,lightpassesthroughamaterialandisscatteredbyit.Thismakesalargerlightsourceandallowsthelighttostrikethesubjectfrommanyanglesacrossthelargerlightpattern.Whetherthelightpassesthroughacloudysky,rip-stopnylon,orplastic,itisdistributedoveralargerarea.Incertainsituations,aswithfog,thescatteringbecomesintensifiedasthelightreflectsfromthesubjecttowardthecamera.

Thethirdopticinteractionthatisinvolvedinlightmodificationisrefraction,orthebendingoflight.Thisishowlenseswork,andsomelightingequipmentuseslensestocontrolthelight.

Finally,lightismodifiedbytheamountofabsorptionortransmissionthatamaterialprovides.Thisisimportantforbothfiltrationandshadowcreation.Itiseasiertothinkofblockinganylightthatcreatesshadows;however,absorptionnotonlystopslightfromcreatingshadows,italsohelpsreducereflection.Whenasurfaceisdarker,thereismoreabsorptionandlesslightreflected.Absorptionalsoremovescolorsfromreflectedlightthatgiveitacolorbias.

Asignificantissueisthewaylightfallsoffasitisblocked.Distancesbetweenthelightsource,whatcreatestheshadow,andwhatcatchestheshadowcontributetothesharpnessoftheshadoworfalloffofthelight.Thesharpnessoftheshadowattheedgeisthepenumbracreatedbytheblockingelement,thesizeofthelightsource,andthedistancetotheshadow-catchingsurface.

BasicReflectorsandDomesThelightsourcesusedinportraitphotographyemitlightinalldirections,butweneedthelighttobecontrolledandfallonoursubjectoratargetedarea.Inmostsituations,wewant

thelightformedintoabeam.Largeorsmall,softorhard,wewantthelighttotravelalongapredictablepathtothetargetedarea.Wecanadjustabeamoflightviatheshapeandpositioningofthereflector.

Whenthereflectorhasashallowshape,thelighthasaweakbeamandspreadsinwhatiscommonlyknownasafloodpattern.Thefloodpatterntendstobestrongerinthecenterwiththelightfalloffawayfromthebeam’saxis.Apebbledsurfaceonthereflectorspreadsthelightmoreevenlybutdoesnoteliminatefalloff.

Asthereflector’sshapebecomesdeeper,thebeamoflightbecomestighter.Unlessthelightistotallydirectedintothereflector,therewillalwaysbesomeflooding.Directingthelightintoadeepsphericalorparabolic-shapedreflectorcreatesaverytightandfocusedlightbeam.

Somesystemsallowfocusingbymovingthereflectorpositioninrelationtotheflashtube.Thismakestheflashunitfunctionasa“zoom”unit,meaningthatthelightcanbevariedfromafloodcharacteristictomoreofaspotcharacteristic.

Therearealsospecializedreflectors,suchas“beautydishes,”large,shallowparabolicreflectorsthatproduceasoftdirectionallightwithmostlycollimatedcharacteristics.Otherreflectorsaredesignedtocreateveryspecularlightthatapproximatessunlight.Dependingontheelectronicflashsystem,specializedreflectorscansupporttheuseofotherlightmodifierssuchasgrids.

AsmallreflectorcreatesspecularLDEdgeswithwell-definedboundariesanddarkshadows

Manyelectronicflashunitshavetransparentortranslucentdomesovertheflashtube.Thesedomesprovideprotectionagainstfailureoftheflashtubeormodelinglightaswell

asmodifyingthelightsource.Acleardomehaslittleeffectonthequalityoflight,thoughsandblasting,texturing,orpebblingitssurfacebreaksupthelightandsoftensitsomewhat.Translucentdomescreateamorediffuselightsource.Therearealsoglobesthatfitovertheflashtubetomakethelighttakeonthecharacteristicsofahouseholdlight-bulb.

Adeepreflectorcreatesamoredirectionallightsource.Otherflashunitsmovethelightsourceinrelationtothereflector,allowingfocusingofthelight.(CourtesyofProfoto)

SoftLightModifiersAlldiffuseorsoftlightisnotthesame.Rather,itispartofaspectrumoflightqualitythatgoesfromhardandspeculartosoftanddiffused.Aspartofthisdiscussion,wewillalsoincludetheamountofdirectionalitythatthelightprocesses.

Softordiffuselightisusuallythepreferredkeylightingforportraits.Thisisbecausediffuselightreducesthetextureofskin.Therefore,wewillfirstlookathowtomodifylighttoachievediffuselight.

Formanyportraitists,umbrellasarethemostcommonmodifiersusedtospreadandconcentratelight.Thereareseveraltypesofumbrellas,allofwhichlook,open,andholdtheirshapeinthesamemannerasacommonrainumbrella.Umbrellasdesignedforphotographyhavetheircentralshaftextendthroughthereflectorormainhousingoftheflashunit.Normallytheshaftcanbeadjustedtochangethedistancetotheumbrella’ssurface.

Wecaneasilyseparateumbrellasintotransmittersandreflectors.Transmissionumbrellasareconstructedofwhitetranslucentmaterialsthatallowthelightcomingfromtheflash

unittotravelthroughtheumbrellaandbediffused.Adjustingthedistanceoftheflashunitfromtheumbrellachangesthesizeoftheilluminatedcircleontheumbrella’ssurface.Dependingonthedensityoftheumbrellamaterial,thelightsourcecanpenetrateitandcreateaslightlyspecularlight.

Reflectionumbrellaspresentmanyoptionsintheirconstructionandfunction.Theydirectlightintotheumbrellawhichisthenbouncedbacktowardthesubject.Mosthaveablackcoveringonthebackthatpreventsthelightfromilluminatingtheareaawayfromtheposingarea.

Thedepthandshapeoftheumbrellaareimportantconsiderations.Asanumbrellabecomesdeeper,itbecomesmorerestrictiveinthelightpatternthatitproduces.Thepatterncanalsobecontrolledbypositioningtheflashtubeinrelationtotheactualfocus(forparabolicumbrellas)ortheapparentfocus(forsphericalumbrellas).Astheflashtube’spositionbecomesfartheraway,thelightreflectingfromtheumbrella’ssurfaceapproachesacollimatedform;thatis,parallellightrays.

Thefinalconsiderationforumbrellasistheirreflectivesurfacematerial.Theinnersurfacescanbeeitherwhiteormetallic.Metallicsurfacesproducehigheramountsofreflection,offergreaterefficiencyinconcentratinglight,andproduceamorespecularlight.Themetallicumbrellascomeingoldandsilver;thegoldcolorgivesmorewarmthtothelight.

ThelightcharacteristicsofumbrellasproduceadefinedbutsoftLDEdge.Theedgebecomessharperthefartherawaytheumbrellaisfromthesubject.Theumbrella’sdistancefromthesubjectdefinesthehighlightdynamicaswell.Astheumbrellamovesfartheraway,therelativeintensitybetweenspecularanddiffusedhighlightsincreases.

Whenaverylargeumbrellaisrequired,“giantreflectors”fitthebill.Manufacturedwithdiametersofeightfeetorlarger,theyarebasedonaparabolicdesign;theflashtubeisaimedatthemetallicsurfacefromthefocusoftheparabola.Thelightcomesoffinalarge,even,parallelpattern.Thissystemispositionedbehindthecamera,sotheLDEdgefallstothesidesofthesubjectwithweakhighlightsonthefront.

Softboxesareself-containeddiffusionpanelswithacontrolledlightsourcecontainedwithinahousing.Theconstructionofmostsoftboxesusesanexternalribbedframe,aclothcovering,andamountingsystemfortheflashtube.Fromtheoutside,thesoftboxappearsasablack,tentlikestructurewithawhitepanelacrossthefront.Thematerialontheinteriorrearsurfaceiswhiteormetallicwithalaminateorbackingofblackopaquematerialfacingout.Asinthecaseofumbrellas,theblackbackingrestrictsthelightexitingthestructureotherthanthroughthediffuserpanel.

Whenthereflectorisbroadenedandflattenedtoamoreparabolicshape,thelightisspread,becomingslightlydiffusedwhilemaintainingstrongdirectionality.ThisisthedesignofabeautydishthatproducesanLDEdgethatisslightlysoftened.(CourtesyofProfoto)

Theflashunitispointedintothereflectivesurface,spreadingthelightacrosstheumbrellaandproducingadiffuselightwithadefinitedirection.TheLDEdgeisseenassoftenedwhilestilldevelopinggoodshadows.(CourtesyofProfoto)

©TimMeyer

Whenanumbrellaisrotated,twothingshappen:Asthelightrotates,theangleofthelightchanges,movingtheLDEdge.Also,ifthelightisrotatedtowardthebackofthesubject,thelightbecomescloser,creatinganaccentonedgesontheumbrella’ssideofthesubject.

Thestructurebouncesallthelightfromtheflashtube(whichisheldinsideattherear)towardthewhitediffusionpanelthatstretchesacrossthefront.Aswithdiffusionpanels,ifthelightwithinthesoftboxisdirectedatthesubject,thereisanembeddedspecularportiontothelight.Todiminishthisspecularity,manysoftboxesstretchanadditionaldiffusionpanelbetweentheflashtubeandthefrontpanel.

ThecommonlightdynamicforsoftboxesissmoothandbroadhighlightswithgradualLDEdges.Thelargerandcloserthesoftboxistothesubject,themoregradualthetransitionintheLDEdge.Inaddition,thespecularhighlightsappearlessdistinct.Mostsoftboxeshaverectangularfrontdiffusionpanels,butothershapesandmodificationscanbeused.Manyphotographerswishtoavoidrectangularcatchlightsreflectingintheeyesofthesubject.Forthisreason,softboxesaremanufacturedaspolygonsoroctogons,andwithcircularmasksonthefrontdiffusionpaneltocreateroundcatchlights.

Softboxesarealsoconstructedaslongandnarrowstriplights.Highlightscreatedbyastriplightarelongerandparalleltothelengthofthelight.TheLDEdgewillbelongerandsmootherwhentheLDEdge’stransitionisinthesamedirectionasthestrip,andviceversa.ThisproducescomplexhighlightsandLDEdgesastheychangeinrelationtothedirectionofthestrip.Whenanumbrellaisusedatasubstantialangletothesubject,thelightreflectingontothesubjectactssimilarlytoastriplight.

Silveredgiantreflectors(CourtesyofProfoto)

Aglobecreatesasofterandmorediffusedlightthantheflashtube(CourtesyofProfoto)

Variousshapesandsizesofsoftboxes(CourtesyofProfoto)

AsoftboxcreatesdiffuselightwithasoftLDEdgewhenthesoftboxisclosetothesubject

Softboxesaremanufacturedinvarioussizesfromverysmall(approximately1foot)toextremelylarge(5feet).Amodificationofthesoftboxconceptfeaturesmultipleflash-headunitsupto40feetinlength.

Notalllightdiffusersinportraitsetupsareumbrellasorsoftboxes.Variousmirrors,panels,cards,andframescanbeusedtoreflectsoftlight.Reflectorsarecommonlyusedforfilllightbecausetheytendtohavelessintensityandweakerspecularcharacteristics.Ifthereflectorisflat,itcannotincreasethespecularityofthelightlandingonit.Forexample,amirrorreflectsdiffuselightifthatisthelightilluminatingit,butitcannotchangediffuseilluminationtospecularifthemirrorisflat.However,aconcavereflector,withthecenterofthepanelcurvedawayfromthereflection,tendstoconcentratethelight.

Thetwodetailsshowtheeffectofusingasmallandlargesoftbox58inchesfromthesubject.Thelargersoftboxcreatesmorediffuselight,ascanbeseenincomparingtheLDEdges.

Oftenreflectorsaremountedtopanelsthatcanalsobeusedtoholddiffusionmaterials.Othersareattachedtoflexible,collapsibleframes.Anymaterialthatreflectslightcanbeused.Oneoftheeasiestandleastexpensivelightmodifiersisapieceofwhitecardboardorfoamcore.Anycolorsormaterialscanbeused,anditisquitecommontofindmanufacturedreflectorswithametallicsurfaceononesideandwhiteontheotherside.

Ifapanelhasatranslucentmaterial,thelightprojectedontothebackofthepanelscattersasitpassesthrough.Theamountofdiffuselightthuscreateddependsonthedensityofthematerialandthesizeofitslightpattern.Ifthelightisdirectedatthesubjectthroughthediffuserpanel,itwillhavesomedirectionalaspectsincludedwithindiffusedlight.Astrongpointinusingdiffusionpanelsisthattheycanbeeasilycontrolledbyblockingsomeofthelightcomingthroughthepanelorbychangingthecoloroflighttransmittingthroughthepanel.

ThestriplightcreatesacomplexLDEdgewiththeedgemorespecularoppositethenarrowdimensionofthestriplightanddiffuseoppositethelongdirectionofthestriplight.Whenthestriplightisusedvertically(left),specularLDEdgesarecreatedbyverticaledges(thenose),anddiffuseLDEdgesarecreatedbyhorizontaledges(theeyebrows).Whenthestriplightisusedhorizontally(right),theLDEdgesaretheoppositesofthosecreatedbyaverticalstriplight.(CourtesyofProfoto)

Coveringorblockingportionsoftheilluminatedsurfaceofasoftboxcanchangetheshapeofthelight(CourtesyofChimera)

HardLightModifiersJustassoftlightisamatterofdegree,soishardlight.Attheotherendofthespecular/diffusespectrum,wealsohaveequipmentthatmodifieslighttodifferentamountsofspecularity.

Atthesharpest,hardestendofthespecular/diffusedynamicarespotlights.Powerfullensesfocusthelightandbringallthelightraystogetheratthedesiredplace.Becausetheraysconvergeatonelocation,thislightisveryhard.

Fresnellightsproducecollimatedlight,whichmeansthatthelightisinacolumnwithalltheraysparallelandwelldefined.Thenamecomesfromtheinventorofthelens,Augustin-JeanFresnel.Thistypeoflensislightweightwithaveryshortfocallength.ThelightqualityfromaFresnellensishard,anditslightpatternfallsoffrapidly.

Variablespotlightsareafunctionoftheshapeofthereflectorandthepositionoftheflashtubewithinit.Astheflashtubemovesclosertothefrontofthereflector,thelightfloodsalargerarea.Becausethelightsourceisopentothesubject,thelightremainsspecular.Thissetupisknownasazoomspot.Thedeeperandthemoreparabolicthereflector,themoreconcentratedthelight.

Withalltheselightmodifiers—spotlights,Fresnel,andvariablespots—theLDEdgeshaveshorttransitionsandthehighlightsaresmallerandmoredefined.Themorespecularandshinythelitsurface,thetighterthehighlight.

ParabolicreflectorscreatehardlightsimilartothatofaFresnellight.Becausethebasicdesignofthistypeofreflectorisshallow,thelightwillbecollimatedifitispositionednearthefocusoftheparabola.However,sincetheflashtubeisopentothesubject,the

lighttakesonsomecharacteristicsofafloodlight,thussofteningtheoverallaffectofthemodifier.TheLDEdgewillhavethecharacteristicofanydomeusedontheflashtube,andthehighlightwilltakeonthecharacteristicofthedome.Acleardomeproducesaspecularhighlight,andafrosteddomecreatesasofterandmorediffusedhighlight.

Fresnellensattachment(CourtesyofProfoto)

Regardlessoftheotherpartsofthelightingsetup,thesmallerandfarthertheopeningisfromthelightsource,thecrisperthelightwillbe.Thisconsiderationaffectsthreecommonmodifiers:snoots,grids,andeggcrates.Snootsareextensionsfromthefrontoftheflashreflectorthatallowthelighttoshineonlythroughasmallopeningawayfromtheflashtube,producingasmallpatternoflight.Agridisplacedonthefrontofthereflector,forcingthelightfromtheflashtubetopassthroughnumerousopeningsmadeofparallelpiecesofmaterial.Thedeeperthegrid,thelessangularthespreadofthelightandthesharperthelight.Gridsincreasedinsizeareknownaseggcrates.Eggcratesareattachedtothefrontofasoftbox.Thedepthoftheeggcratecontrolstheangleofthelightcomingfromthesurfaceofthesoftboxandthereforeaddsmoredirectionalitytothediffuselight.Louversoperatethesamewayaseggcrates.

Eggcrate(CourtesyofChimera)

Gridsfitdirectlyoverthelightsourceandmakethelightmoredirectional.TheLDEdgeiswelldefinedandtheshadowsaredark.(CourtesyofChimera)

ModifyingIntensityLightcanbemodifiednotonlytochangeitscharacteristics,butalsotochangetheamountoflighttoandfromallorpartoftheportraitimage.Wecanlightenordarkentheimageareaorchangethecontrastratioforallorpartoftheimage.

Manypiecesoflightingequipmenthavebuilt-invariableintensitycontrols.Another,morereadilyavailableoptionisfine-tuninglightbyphysicallymovingthelights.BasedontheeffectstheInverseSquareLaw(ISL),lightcanbevariedinintensitybysimplymovingindividuallightsinorout.Thisistrueforbothdirectandreflectedintensities.

Sincephotographicstops(shutterspeeds,f-stops,andISOs)andtheISLareallbasedonthemathematicalsquarefunctionofthebase2,theyworkwelltogether.Forexample,thefullf-stopsare1.4,2,2.8,4,5.6,8,11,etc.Theyarerelatedtothepowersofthebase2in

that1.4isthesquarerootof2,8is2tothe3rdpower,etc.Therefore,wefindthatifwemovethelight1.4timesfartherawayfromthesubject,wehalvetheintensityofthelight.Ifwemovethelighttwiceasfarawayfromthesubject,wereducethelightbytwostops,andifwemovethelight2.8timesaway,wereducetheintensitybythreestops.Thisrelationshipholdsforallfullstopsasmultipliersofdistancechangefromthelight.Acaveatmustbestated:theseratiosholdmostaccuratelyforbarebulbsetupsmeasuredonthelight’sbeamaxis.

Modifyinglightbyreducingitisoftenjustasimportanttoestablishthecorrectportraitsetting.Wecanreducelightbyblockingittotally,diminishingitproportionally,patterningit,orabsorbingitsintensity.

Barndoorsattachedtothelightsourceasbladesorpanelsarehingedsothattheycanbepositionedtorestrictthelightpattern.ThisrestrictiongeneratesashadowandafeatheredLDEdge.Theresultinglightpatternconsistsofafullylitareaatthebeamorintheilluminationarea,ashadowadjacenttothelitarea,andfeatheredlightinbetween.

Gelsdecreaselightintensityevenlyatthesource.Theirnamecomesfromthegelatinthatwasformerlyusedincamera-basedfilters.Today’sgelsareproducedfromheat-resistantplastics;theheatresistanceisanimportantfeatureforgelsusedwithelectronicflashbecausemodelinglightsalsogenerateheat.Neutraldensitygelsdecreasetheintensityofthelightwithoutproducingacolorshift,whilecolorgelsdecreasetheintensityastheychangethecolor.Colorgelsareusedtochangetheatmosphereofaportrait,tomatchthecolorofartificiallighttoambientlight,ortomakelighttakeonadesiredcolor.

Screensandscrimsreducelightatthesourcesimilartoagrid,butwithoutthedepth;theyprovideonlypartialblocking.Metalscreensarebestsincetheyareheatresistant.Scrimscanbeusedoverasoftboxorbehindthesubjecttoreducetheintensityofabackground.Thescrimshouldbeadark,neutraltoneandmadeoffinematerial.Also,thescrimmustbeplacedoutsidetheareaoffocusandbelargeenoughtoextendbeyondtheangularcoverageofthecamera.

Sometimesthelightwithinaportraitsettingishelpfultotheimageorflattensitscontrastratio.Tocontrolunwantedlight,aflagcanbeused.Flagsaremadeofblack,heavy,texturedmaterialthatabsorbsambientlightandkeepsitfromenteringthesettingfromtheflag’sdirection.Thisrestrictsthefilllightthatwouldnormallyentertheshadows,thusproducinghigherlightingratios.

©ArthurRainville(Courtesyoftheartist)

Increasingordecreasingtheflag’sanglechangestheamountoflightabsorbed.Movingtheflagcloserandfartherfromthesubjectcanalsoproduceanoticeablechangeinlightingratios.Whentheflagisclosetoashadowarea,theshadowwilldarkenandthelightingratiowillbehigher.

Theflagisatoneendofthecontinuumfrommaximumtominimumreflection.Allsurfacesreflectandabsorbsomelight.Whenthereiscolorpresentinasurface,thelightreflectingfromitwillhaveacolorbias.Forexample,photographingaportraitonagrassyareameansthatthelightreflectedfromthegroundwillhaveagreenishcastandalsothattheshadowswillbefilledwithgreenishlight.Inturn,thiswillcreateadullingofcolorsintheredspectralarea.Thereflectionfromacolorsurfaceisselective,diminishingcomplementaryandaccentcolorsinthesamespectralrangeasthereflection.

Toendthisdiscussionaboutmodifyinglightintensity,wecometocuculoris,or“cookie”(alsospelledkookalorisorcucalorus).Cookiesarecutoutsusedprimarilytoproducelightpatterns.Forexample,tosimulatethelightfromawindow,acookiecanbemadethatlookslikeawindowandafocusedlightcanbeprojectedthroughthepattern.Cookiescanalsobeusedtoblocklightinspecificareas,suchasremovinganunwantedspecular

highlightbyusingacookieinfrontofthekeylight.

5ExposureandMetering

©TimMeyer

Exposurereferstothecaptureoflightonthecamera’ssensororfilm.Factorsaffectingexposureincludethecamera’sapertureandshutterspeedaswellasthespeedofthesensororfilm.Whenanyoneofthesethreefactorsremainsconstant,thentheothertwovariablesestablishtheexposure.

Thoughmanyportraitphotographersbelievetheydonotneedtoconsidershutterspeedbecausetheyuseelectronicflash,thereareseveralsituationswheretheshutterspeediscrucial,suchaswhenneedingtoincludeanunlightedbackground.

Allphotographyisbasedona2:1factor.DoublingtheISOincreasesthefilmorsensor’ssensitivitybyafactorof2.Bothf-stopsandshutterspeedsarebasedonthisdoubling/halvingfunction.

IftheISOisheldconstant(themethodusedforfilm),thenf/4at1/125,f/5.6at1/60,f/8at1/30,andf/11at1/15willallbeequivalentexposures.(Withdigitalsensors,theISOisflexible.)

Iftheshutterspeedisheldconstant,thenf/11at400ISO,f/8at200ISO,andf/5.6at100ISOwillallbeequivalentexposures.

Ifthef-stopisheldconstant,then1/125at400ISO,1/60at200ISO,and1/30at100ISOwillallbeequivalentexposures.

BasicDaylightExposure

Insomesituations,understandingthebasicpowerofsunlightwillassistinmakingbetterexposures.Basicdaylightexposure(BDE)givestheportraitphotographertheabilitytodealwithambientlightasthekeylight,filllight,orbackground.BDEisbasedontheilluminationlevelofclearskysunlight.Alsoknownasthe“SunnyDay”or“Sunny16”rule,itstatesthatonasunnydaytheproperexposureisf/16atashutterspeedof1/ISO.

ThetableaboveshowsspecificrecommendedBDEexposuresinvariouslightingsituations.WhileBDEactuallyhasanextensivelistofrecommendedexposuresforvaryinglightconditions,thelistpresentedhereisshorter,focusingonexposuresthatmightbeusedinanenvironmentaloroutdoorportrait.

UnmeteredElectronicFlashExposureElectronicflashisthepredominantmethodforlightingportraiture,andoneofthemostcommonlyusedunmeteredexposuremethodsiselectronicflashguidenumbers.Theguidenumberisfoundbyaformulathatusestheintensityoftheflashunit’scentralbeamandtheISOofthefilmorthesensorsetting.Onceweknowtheguidenumber(usuallyfromthemanufacturer’spublication),wecancalculatetheexposure;dividingtheguidenumberbythedistancetothesubjectgivesthecorrectf-stop.Sinceshutterspeedisnotgenerallyinvolvedinelectronicflash,thef-stopistheexposurecontrol.Forexample,iftheguidenumberforthekeylightflashunitis110andthedistancefromtheflashunittothesubjectis10feet,thentheexposurewillbef/11.(110dividedby10equals11.)

Thesethreemetersallowtheportraitphotographertousebothambientandelectronicflashbyreadingincidentlight.Thethirdmeter,theL-578DR,alsoallowsspotmetering.(CourtesyofSekonic)

Thistechniqueisparticularlyhelpfulwhenusinganon-camerafillflashorringlightinanambientorbacklitsetting.Theflashmayormaynotbeusedasthekeylight,butitwillbeimportantinsettingtheexposurefortheface.Thistechniquewillbeaddressedlaterinthischapter.

LightMetersandBasicMeteringWhileitispossibletodetermineexposurewithoutmetering,mostportraitphotographyismadewiththeaidofalightmeter.Metersworkwithphotocellssimilarto,butmanufactureddifferentlyfrom,thoseindigitalcameras.Whenthelight’senergyiscollectedbythephotocells,theycaneithercreateelectricvoltageorchangetheresistanceinacircuit.Whenthecurrentinthecircuitismeasured,itiscalibratedtoprovideameasureofthelight.Inlightmeters,thelightvalueisconvertedtoprovidef-stopandshutterspeedinrelationtoasetISO.

Forportraitphotography,ahandheldlightmeteristhebestchoice.Thisistrueformoststudio-basedphotography.Sincetherewillalwaysbesomemovementinasubject,thestructureoflightismoreimportantthanthespecificreflectionintheportraitsetting.Whiletheflashpowercanbecalculatedwithinthecamera’sthrough-the-lens(TTL)system,itwillnotaccuratelyreadtheratioorbackground.

Metersevaluateeithertheamountoflightthatfallsonthesubject(incidentmeters)ortheamountoflightreflectedfromthesubject(reflectivemeters).Themeter’ssoftwaremeasuresthelightandsetstheexposuretoacquirean18%reflectivevalue.Fortheportraitphotographer,thisisconvenientsincelightfleshtonehasapproximatelythisvalue(darkskinisonestoplower).

Sinceanincidentmeterreadstheamountofilluminationratherthantheamountofreflection,subjectbiasisavoided.Thelightismeasuredthroughatranslucentdiffusercoveringthemeter’sphotocell.Thetranslucentdiffuseraveragesouttheilluminationfallingonthesubject.Therearethreetypesoftranslucentdiffusers:dome,flat,andretractable.Themostcommondesignisthedome.Whenpointedatthecamera,adomereceiveslightfromallsourcesthatilluminatethesubject.Flatdiffusersareaffectedonlybylightpointedatthediffuser.Thisisalsotrueofretractablediffusers,whichareevenmorerestrictivebecausetheyretractintoahousingthatlimitstheamountoflightbeingmeasured.

Generallyspeaking,flashmetersareincidentmeters.Whiletherearesomereflectiveandspotflashmeters,theincidentlightmeasuringmethodissuperiorformostportraiture.Modernmeterssimultaneouslymeasurethehighbriefintensityoftheelectronicflashalongwithaddingand/orseparatingtheambientlightarrivingatthesubject.Theflashmeterreactstothehighintensity,shortdurationlightandcalculatesthef-stoptoprovidetheneededexposure.Somemetersreadboththeflashandtheambientlighttogiveatotallightvalue.

Incidentmetersarenotpointedatthesubjecttomeasurethelightreflectingfromitssurface;rather,theyarepointedeitheratthecameraoratthekeylightfromthesubject’sposition.Whenthemeterisdirectedatthecamerafromthekeylightedsideofaportrait,itaveragesthekeylightdirectedatthesubjectandanyambientorfilllight.Whenthemeterispointedatthelightsource,itmeasuresthefullilluminationofthelightasitreachesthesubject’ssurface.Ifthemeterispointedatthecamera,itreadsalllightproportionallytoitspositioning.Therefore,ifonlypartofthemeter’sdomeislit,itwillmeasurethelightaslessintensethanwhenitispointeddirectlyatthelightsource.Aswestatelaterwhendiscussingadditiveandsourceratios,bothmethodswork,butonemustbechosenandconsistentlyapplied.Itshouldalsobeobviousthatpointingtheincidentmeteratthecameraisrequiredfortheadditivemethodandpointingitatthelightworksbestforthesourcemethod.

Reflectivemetersareinfrequentlyusedinportraiturebutcanbebeneficialincertainsituations.Therearethreetypesofreflectivemeters:average,programmed,andspot.Regardlessofhowmuchoftheimageissampledtosettheexposure—theamountoftheimagethatisactuallymeasured—themetercalculatestheaveragelightenergyacrossthesampleandsetsthatasthemiddletone.

Softwareallowsustousedigitalcamerasensorsasmeters.Also,meteringphotocellscanbeplacedwithinthecamerahousingthatreadthelightenergyoffthefilm’ssurfaceorasthefocusedlightpassesthroughtoestablishexposure.TheseareknownasTTLmeters,andtheyarereflectivemeters.Withdigitalcameras,theTTLsystemnotonlyestablishestheproperexposurelevelbutalsorepresentstherangeanddistributionofthelightthroughagraphknownasthehistogram.Whilethehistogramcanbeusedtoassistinmakingagoodexposure,itisdirectlyrelatedtotheexposuresettingsenteredintothecamera.Therefore,ahistogramcanonlytellwhethertheselectedexposurefitswithinthecamera’sabilities,notwhethertheexposureisthebestavailable.

AsaresultofTTLandon-camerametering,“auto-exposure”settingsarecommononmostcameras.Thesesettingsprovideoverallexposurecalculationbasedonthelightfrom

thesubjectreflectedbackintothecamera.Itisimportanttorememberthatauto-exposureisnottheonlyexposurechoice.Aswithmostreflectivemeterreadings,auto-exposuresaresubjectbiased.Ifthesubjectshowsmostlyhighlights,theauto-exposuresettingwillproduceanunderexposure.Whenthesubjectisdark,theimagewillbeoverexposed.

Withthesophisticatedsensorsintoday’scameras,meteringcanbeprogrammedtopatternsratherthanjustbasinganexposureonanaveragereading.Thepossibilitiesincludeweightedexposuresandemphasizingcertainareasoftheframe;forexample,programmingcancenterweightaportraittobaseanexposureontheface.

WhileaTTLmetercanbeaccurate,itisinconvienenttosetthecameraonatripodandusetheTTLfunction.Furthermore,measuringthelightingratiowithaTTLisdifficultcomparedtousingahandheldreflectivemeter.

SubstitutionMeteringManyphotographersonlyhaveanin-camerameterorareflectivehandheldmeterbutwishtomeasurethelightfallingonthesubjectinordertoavoidsubjectbias.Thiscanbeaccomplishedwithsubstitutionmetering,whichintroducesamaterialwithaknownreflectivity,e.g.,thepalmofthehand(normallyonestoplighterthan18%).Theprocedureistomeasurethereflectionfromthesubstitutedmaterialwiththeknowledgeofhowitvariesfromthenormal18%reflectivity.Anymaterialcanbeusedaslongasyouknowthenumberofstopsitdiffersinreflectivityfrom18%.

Oneeasywaytousethismethodisagraycardthatreflects18%ofthelightfallingonit.Itisimportanttousethecardatthesameanglethatyouuseforanincidentmeter.

Tosettheexposureforaportrait,thecardshouldbeperpendiculartothecameraandascloseaspossibletothesubject.Thisisimportantsothatthecardisilluminatedbyallthelightprovidedonthehighlightsideofthesubject.Ifthecardproducessomeflare,donotreadjustitbecausetheflarewillalsobeanissueinthephotographandneedstobeconsideredinthemetering.

TonalPlacementTonalplacementcanbeveryimportantincertainportraits.Becausefilmanddigitalcapturefunctiondifferently,thewaytonalplacementisusedcanvarygreatly.Therearethreedifferentsituationsfortheuseoftonalplacement:thegeneralplacementofaparticulartone,suchasskintone;theplacementofdarktonesthataremorecriticalwhenusingfilm;andtheplacementofhighlighttoneswhenusingdigitalcapture.

BrigitteDeMayer©TimMantoani(Courtesyoftheartist)

Generaltonalplacementinvolveschoosingaspecifictonewithintheportraitandsettingtheexposuretoreproducethattoneasaspecificvalue.Areflectivemeterisrequiredforalltonalplacementtechniques.Generally,ameterreadingistakenforthecriticaltone,e.g.,thefacialtoneofthecheek.Asaresult,themeteredareareproducesasamiddletone.Forlightskin,oneadditionalstopofexposureisgiventothereading.Fordarker-skinnedindividuals,thereadingrangesfromanexposureofequaltothereadingtotwostopsunderexposure.Thetonalplacementapproachtosettingexposureadjustsnotonlytheoutputofthechosenareabutalsoallotherareasoftheportrait.Forexample,ifunderexposureisusedtoachieveadarkerskintone,itwillalsodarkentheentireportrait.

Dark-tonemeteringisperhapsthemostusefulnontechnicalapproachtoexposefilm;however,itisnotacceptablefordigitalcapturebecauseofthesensor’sinabilitytoacceptoverexposure.Thistypeofmeteringusestexturedshadow(shadowdetail)asthepointforproperexposure.Thephrase“exposefortheshadowsanddevelopforthehighlights”explainshownegativefilm-basedphotographyworkedformanyyears.(Whenshadow

detailiscritical,ifitisnotinthenegative,thenitwillnotappearinthefinalimage.)Dark-tonemeteringisaccomplishedbydeterminingtheshadowareaintheportraitthatwillbethedarkestpartwithdetail.Thisareaofthesettingismeteredwithareflectivemeterthatwillproduceamiddletoneifnotcompensated.Thecompensationforexposureistoclosedowntwostops.Thisresultsinanegativewithgoodenoughdetailsintheshadowsandenoughlatitudeinthehighlightsthattheywillberepresentedwellinthefinalprint.

Digitalcaptureandtransparencyfilmdonothandleoverexposurewell.Becauseofthis,exposureofthehighlightsbecomesessential.Withdigitalcapture,“blowingout”highlightscanbeavoidedbyproperplacementofthehighlighttones.Inthistypeoftonalplacement,weselecttheareaofhighlightsthatneedstohavedetailinthefinalimage.Thisareaismeasuredwithareflectivemetertoprovideanexposurethatistwostopsunderexposed.Theadjustmentoftheexposurebyopeninguptwostopsplacesdetailinthehighlighttones.Withoutthiscontrol,overexposurecanresultin“clipping,”i.e.,whitehighlightvalueswithnodetail.Particularlywhenaportraitpresentscriticalhighlightdetail,suchasabrideinawhitelacegown,highlighttonalplacementisappropriate.

Average-valuemeteringusesaspectsofbothdark-toneandhighlight-tonemeteringtocalculateexposure.Withthismethod,weselectandmetertwotonalareas,onedarkandonelight,toestablisharangeoftonesfortheportrait.Thisexposureisdefinedbydividingthetwotones.Effectively,wemetertheshadowdetailandthehighlightdetailandsplitthedifferencebetweenthetwo.Ifthereisnoclearmidpointbetweenthehighlightandshadowmeterreadings,thenaslightunderexposureshouldbefavored.

©RayPrevost(Courtesyoftheartist)

TestingforExposureWhenweareusingdigitalcapture,itisbesttoestablishthecorrectExposureIndex(EI).ThisistheactualspeedofourdigitalsensorratherthanjusttheISOsettingonthedigitalcamera.Weneedtoknowhowthesensorwillactuallyexpose,itsrealspeed,anditscolorbias.Thefollowingisamethodfortestingthesensor’sEI:

SpeedTestingDigitalPhotographyYouwillneedthefollowing:

Anincidentlightmeter.Atesttargetthatconsistsofwhite,18%gray,andblackareasthatarelargeenoughtomeasurewithimagingsoftware.Thesecanbeoverlappedseparatecards.Amodelwearingatexturedwhiteshirtorsweater.Alternatively,apieceofwhitematerialwithheavytexture,ribs,orcablingcanbedrapedoverashoulder.Acamerainmanualmodesothatyoucanadjustthespeedandaperture.SetthecameratocaptureRAWfiles.

Organizethetestshotinthefollowingmanner:

1. Findorcreateanevenlyilluminatedscenewithaneven,solid,darkbackground.Ifthereisabrightbackgroundorbacklighting,thetestwillbeinaccurate.

2. Putthecardsonastandnearthemodel’sface.Makesurethatyoucanseepartofthewhitefabricindetail.Thegray,black,andwhitecardsmustbeparalleltothesensor’splane(thebackofthecamera)foraccuracy.

3. Checktoseethatthelightisnondirectional(diffuse)onthemodelandcards(nospecularlight).

4. TheISOforthelightmetermustbethesameastheselectedISOforthecamera.(Becauseofnoiseconsiderations,werecommendthatyouuseISO100orthelowestavailableISOforbaselinetesting.)

5. Takeanincidentmeterreading,andwritedownthef-stopandshutterspeed.6. Startbysettingthecameraopeneduptwostopsfromthereadingyoumadeinstep5.

Thiswillbeyourfirstexposure.7. Closedownthelens1/3stopandtakethesecondexposure.Ifyourlenshas1/2

stops,dothetestin1/2stops.Recordyourinformationforeachsuccessiveframe.8. Closedownanother1/3stop(or1/2stopifappropriate)andtakeanotherexposure.

Repeatuntilyouhaveacompletefour-stoprange.

Todetermineyourcamera’strueISO,readthewhitecardwiththeinfomarkerinimagesoftware.Neutralizethefileandthentakeinformationreadingsonthewhitecard.(Theneutralizingshouldnotincludeadjustingthewhitepoint.)Thecorrectexposurewillbetheframewherethewhitecardvalueisapproximately245withnoexposureadjustment.Thisdeterminationgivesyoutheclosesttruewhitevaluethatcompareswithyouroriginalmeterreading.

Ifyouorganizetheshootingandcorrespondingwhitepointdatainorder,frommostexposuretoleastexposure,youcanseewhichexposure’swhitepointisclosestto245.TheEIisthenumberofstops(1/3or1/2)awayfromthecamera’ssetISO.Forcorrectexposure,reducetheexposuresettingiftheEIisbelowthemetersettingandincreasethe

exposuresettingiftheEIisgreaterthanthemetersetting.Obviously,thismethodisviableonlyifthecameraisusedinmanualmodeandalightmeterisusedfortesting.

Todeterminethehighestamountofoverexposurethatyourcamerawillallowandstillgivedetailinwhite/highlightareas,startwithyournewEIexposureandviewsuccessivelyoverexposedframes.Adjustexposurewiththeviewingsoftwaretoavoid“clipping”bysettingthewhitecardat245.Youcanmagnifyandviewthewhitematerialwithtextureandlookforthelossofdetail,colorshifts,blooming,andcolorfringing,thusdeterminingthehighestamountofoverexposurethatyourcamerawillallowwithoutsignificantdegradationoftheimage.Thisfindingisaccuratewhetherthecameraisusedinmanualoranyautomaticmode.

6LightingRatios

Thisimageshowshowtheratioiscontrolledtomakethelightinglookasthoughthelighthasaconsistentdirectionfromthehighwindows©ArthurRainville(Courtesyoftheartist)

Techniquestoconveydetailsinhighlightsandshadowssimultaneouslyhavebeenpartofpaintingsinceearlyhumanhistory.Becausepainterscouldinterprethowtheywishedtodelineateshadowdetail,theycouldusethetotalityoftheirvisual,mental,andartisticabilitiestoensurethereadingofdetailsinthedarkareasofapainting.

Thisapproachdiffersfromthephotographicportraitprocessbecausetheabilityofthehumanperceptualsystemtoseearangeoflightvaluesisvastlydifferentfromthephotographicprocess.Thehumanperceptualsystemseesselectively;thatis,whenwelookatascene,oureyesautomaticallyadjustfordifferencesinilluminationlevelsbetweenlightanddarkareas.Ourmindputsthisinformationtogetherseamlessly,processinglightvaluesacrossa20-stoprange.Incontrast,photographyisanonselectivemeansofviewingascenethatdoesnotchangetoseevariations.Toemulateournormalvisualabilitytoseedetailsinhighlightsandshadowssimultaneously,wemustbringthelevelsofilluminationclosertogether.Thisiswheretheconceptoflightingratioscomesin.

Lightingratiosalsorelatetohumanperceptioninothermajorways.Ourvisualsystemusesbrightnesstoassistusindiscerningdepth.Assubjectsbecomebrighter,theypullforwardinvisualspace.Ifpartofaportraitisbright,thatareaseemsclosertotheviewerthanadarkerareaofthesameimage.Thisprincipleallowsustoproduceroundnessand

fullnessinaportrait.Ifpartoftheportraitismaximumblack,itbecomesflatandabsorbsenergyfromtheimage.

Intalkingaboutlightingratios,theareaofgreatestconcernistheface.Thisistrueevenifthetotalityoftheimagehasalargedynamicrange.Wemaybeusingkickers,hairlights,ordarkenedbackgrounds,buttheydonotenterintoourconcernwithhowtheratioworks.

Also,regardlessoftheotherdynamicsofthelight,theLDEdgebecomesmorevisibleasthelightingratioincreases.Thelowertheratio,thelessvolumecanbeseenintheportrait.Thismeansthataslongasthedetailismaintainedintheshadows,increasingthelightingratiosprovidesbettervolumeanddepthwithintheimage.However,veryhighlightingratiostendtoshowmoretexture,lookingharsherandmoredramatic.Therefore,forportraiture,moderatetolowerlightingratiosarepreferred.

FitWhilenotnormallydiscussed,theissueofhowwellaphotographicsystemcancaptureandoutputthelightiscrucialtoasuccessfulportrait.Thisdynamicincludestheeffectsofthecamerasystem,theoveralllightingofthesubject,andfinally,theoutput.“Fit”involvesmatchingthecontrastratioofthelightwiththedynamicrangeofthecaptureandoutputsystems.(Whilewehavementionedoutput,itwillnotbeaddressedfurtherasthecentralthrustofthisbookistakingtheportraitratherthanprintingit.)

Atitssimplest,thedynamicrangeofthecamerasystemisthedifferenceinstopsbetweenthedarkestandlightestareasoftheimagethatcanbecapturedwithoutlosingdetail.Forfilm,thisisdefinedasthedifferencebetweenD-min(thelowestrecordedlightvalue)andD-max(thehighestrecordedlightvalue).Fornegativefilm,itis15ormorestops,dependingonhandling;withtransparencyfilm,thecapturerangeislessthansixstops.Fordigitalcameras,therangeisapproximately14stops,thoughthisishighlydependentonthesoftwarebuiltintothecamera.

Thisimagehasnaturalfillcomingfromthereflectionofanearbywall©TimMeyer

Thedynamicrangeofthelightingismoredifficulttoquantifythanthecapturerange,andforportraiture,itismoreimportant.Controlofthelightingratioisacomplexissuefortworeasons.Firstisthemakeupoftonespresentinthesubject.Forexample,ifwemakeaportraitofamaninablackjacketwithabrightwhiteshirt,thedynamicrange(also

referredtoasreflectancevalue)canbelarge.Ifthesubject’sdynamicrangeexceedsthecamerasystem’sabilitytocaptureit,then“clipping”willoccur;detailwillbelosteitherfromthehighlightsorshadows,andnotalltheimagelightwillbecaptured.

Withintheportraitstudio,wehavetheabilitytoadjustthelightingtoensurethatthebrightestanddarkestdetailedreflectionsfromthesubjectarewithinthecapturecapability.TwopossiblemethodsaretheZoneSystem,thetechnicalmethodofdevelopingblack-and-whitefilmtomatchlightconditionsdefinedbyAnselAdams,andmeasuredphotography,astudiomethodthatchangesthelightingrangetomatchtheoutputabilities.

Regardlessoftheapproach,inordertoachievefit,weneedtocontrolthreedynamics:thecapabilitiesofthecamerasystem,thereflectivityofthedetailrangeofthesubject,andthelightratios.

LightingRatiosLightingratiosareameansofmeasuringthedifferentlevelsofilluminationinascene.Inaportrait,wearedealingwiththelightfromthehighlightareaascomparedtothelightintheshadowareas.Lightingratiosarenumbersthatrepresenttherelativedifferencesinintensitybetweenthesespecificareas.Atypicalnumericalrepresentationmightbea3:1lightingratio.Thatmeansthatthehighlights(inthiscaserepresentedbythe3)receivethreetimesmorelightthantheshadows(representedbythe1).A5:1ratiomeansthatthehighlightsareilluminatedwithfivetimesmorelightthantheshadows.

Themeasurementandcaptureoflightingratiosinportraitphotographshavebeenconfusingtomany.Thisisbecausethereoftenisadiscussionoftheappropriatenessofoneoftwospecificmethodsbasedoneitherthemeasurementofrelativeintensityusedforkeyandfilllightsindividually,ortherelativeintensitybetweenthecombinedmeasurementofthekeyandfilllightsandthefilllightalone.Thesemethodsarethe“sourcemethod”andthe“additivemethod.”

Thesourcemethodmeasuresthekeylightandfilllightindependently.Thelightfromeachsourceismeasuredwithouttheotherlightilluminatingthesubject.Thusthefillisturnedon,thelightvalueismeasured,andthenitisturnedoff.Thenthekeylight(mainlight)ismeasuredwithoutthefilllight.Thismethodgivesthelightintensityvaluesofeachlightunit.

Theadditivemethodisbasedontheassumptionthatthekeyandfilllightsinteract.First,thefilllightismeasuredindependentlyontheshadowsideofthesubject.Thenthekeylightisturnedonwithoutturningoffthefilllight.Ameasurementofthecombinedkeyandfilllightsisthentakenonthehighlightsideofthesubjectofthecombinedkeyandfilllights.

Atfirstglance,thedistinctionbetweenthesourceandadditivemethodsdoesn’tseemthatsignificant.Itis!Fundamentally,onemeasuresthelightemittedfromeachsourceseparatelyandtheothermeasuresthetotalamountoflightthatcanbecapturedinthephotographicprocess.Understandingthisconcepteliminatesanyconfusion.

Tobetterunderstandthesemeasurementtechniques,let’sbeginbydefiningthepositionsofthekeyandfilllights.Thekeylightisthelightthatdeterminesthesubject’sshapeanddimension,asshowninchapter2.Forthisexample,weareusingakeylightplacedat

about45°totherightofthecamera/subjectaxis,about45°abovethecamera’saxis.Thisisaverytypicallightingsetupinportraitureandisoftencalledthe45/45keylightposition.Thefilllightisinthetraditionalpositiondirectlyaboveandbehindthecameraat0/70,asdescribedinchapter2.Itssolefunctionistoaddlighttotheshadowareas.Placingitdirectlybehindthecameraeliminatesanyadditionalshadowsthatmightbeconfusingintheportrait.

Withthissetup,usingthesourcemethodwemeasurea2:1relativeintensitydifferencebetweenthekeyandfilllights.Whenwemeterthefilllightindependently,itreadsanintensityoff/5.6.(Theshutterspeedisirrelevantsinceweareusingstrobelights.)Meteringthekeylightindependently,wegetareadingofonestopbrighteratf/8.Inthesourcemethod,itisimportanttomakesurethateachlightdoesnotaffectthemeterreadingoftheotherandthattheincidentdomeofthemeterpointsatthelightfromthesubject.

Eachblockindicatesoneunitofmeasuredlightintensity(e.g.,f/5.6).Thefirstimageshowsthefillasyellowlightatanintensityofoneunit/block.Thesecondimageshowsthekeyaswhitelightwithanintensityoftwounits/blocks(f/5.6+f/5.6=f/8).Thethirdimageshowstheeffectofboththefillandkeylights.Inthefillareathereisanintensityoneunit/blockwhilethekeyareahasanintensityoftwounits/blocksfromthekeycombinedwithoneunit/blockofintensityfromthefill.Therefore,thelightingratiois3:1.

Whiletheintensityratioasmeasuredbythesourcemethodis2:1,theactuallightingratiois3:1becausethekeylightisstrengthenedinintensitybytheoverlayofthefilllight.

Whenweusetheadditivemethodtodeterminethelightingratioofthesamesetup,wemeasurethelightdifferently.Withthemeterpointedatthecamerafromthesubject,wemeasurethefilllightfromtheshadowsideandarriveatthesamef-stop,f/5.6.However,whenwereadthehighlightsidewithboththekeylightandthefilllight,wefindthatthemeasurementreadsf/8½(aboutf/10asreadonadigitalcamera).Thismeansthelightratiobetweenthefillintheshadowsandthetotallightinthehighlightsis3:1.

Inthisexamplebothmeasuringsystemsusedthesamelightingsetupandproducedthesamefunctionalratio.However,themethodsofdescriptionaredifferent.Thesource

methoddealswiththeintensityofthelights,andtheadditivemethoddealswithlightonthesubject.Thesourcemethodusesanintensityratiomeasuredbytheintensityofindividuallights.Theadditivemethodstatesthattheratioisaboutthelightavailabletobereflectedbacktothecamerafromthehighlightandshadowareas;therefore,thetotallightintheshadowsiscomparedtothetotallightinthehighlights.Itisanissueofwords,notlight;thelightstaysthesame.

Isonemethodbettertousethantheother?Notasimpleanswer.Botharecorrectandwhere/howyoulearnedratioswillprobablydeterminewhichsystemyouuse.Afteryearsofusingbothmethods,wehavefoundthatstandardizingontheadditivemethodprovidesbetterresultsinallsituations—particularlywithsetupsoutsidethestudioenvironmentthatrequiremeteringthekeyandfillcombined.Intheoutdoors,filllightisusuallyambientlightandisthereforeimpossibletoturnofftogetatruereadingofthekeylightalone.Thatsamesystemhastranslatedwellintothestudioandrequireslesscalculation.However,ifyouareworkingexclusivelyinthestudio,thesourcemethodperformswellandcanbestandardized.

Theexamplesshow2:1,3:1,and8:1ratios

Ultimately,thecaptureandoutputdevicesyouusehavejustasmuchaneffectonhowyourimagesreproduceastheoriginallightingratio.Learningtoquicklyreproducethelookyouwantisthecrucialpoint.

Thetablebelowprovidesbothaneasywaytoseetherelationshipbetweenthetwomethodsandaguidetousingratios.Webasethistableonasetupthathasthefilllightsettoreadf/5.6.Thekeylightislistedasboththef-stopcomparedtothefilllightandthestopdifferentialbasedonthefillstop.Exposuresfortheserecommendationsarethef-stoplistedastheadditivekeyreadingregardlessofthemethodused.Ifyouusethesourcemethodandanf-stopotherthanf/5.6,thekeystopdifferentialprovidestheadditionalstopsneededtoachievethedesiredlightratio.(Pleasenote:Thereadingsonthechartarerepresentedindigitalf-stops.Thesearedelineatedin1/3stopincrementsandarenotasaccurateaswhatcanbeachievedusing1/10increments[availableonmosthandheldlightmeters].Unfortunatelymoderndigitalcamerasonlyallowforapertureadjustmentsin1/3stopincrements.)

Inthislightingsetup,twodiffuselightmodifierswereusedtocreatea4:1lightratio.Thepowerofthetwodiffuselightswasadjustedwiththerectangularsoftboxkeylighttocreatethedesiredratio,andtheOctobankwasplacednearthecameraasthefill.

Onefinalnoteaboutlightingratios:Whatcamerasettingshouldyouusewhenexposingthepreviouslydescribedratios?Theansweriswhateveryourmeterindicates.Youshouldtakeameterreadingwithboththekeyandthefilllightsilluminatedandusethatreading.

Thelightingratiointhisimageis3:1©TimMeyer

7LightingPatternsontheHumanFace

©ArthurRainville(Courtesyoftheartist)

Indiscussinghowtocontrollightingpatternsontheface,wemustfirstdefinetwoprimaryconcernsofthelighting’seffect.Firstarethefiveplanesthatdeterminehowlightworksonthesurfacesoftheface.Thesecondisbestdefinedbyanapproachtolightingtheface.

PlanesoftheFaceTherearefiveprimarysurfaces,orplanes,thatreceivelightintheportraitsettingandthusdeterminethelookoftheimage.Theyare,fromlargesttosmallest,theforehead,thetwocheeks,thenose,andthechin.Whileotherpartsofthefacecouldbedefined,suchasthetemples,theymayormaynotbeinvolvedintheportrait.Fourofthefivelistedabovearepresentineveryphotographoftheface.Onlywhenthefaceisseeninprofileisoneofthefourplanesmissing(thesecondcheek).

Theforeheadisthelargestskinsurfaceinmostportraits,anditsslightupwardtiltmakesitareflectingsurfacetowardthecamera.Becauseofitsroundness,therewillalmostsurelybeaspecularhighlightsomewhereontheforehead.

Thecheeksshowlightingeffectsmorethantheotherplanes.Becausetheyarefrontalwithabulbousform,theycatchlightfromanyangleandshowanyLDEdgeaswellasdiffuseandspecularhighlights.Thismeansthatthelightingofthecheeksestablishesthewaytheviewerrelatestodepthshownintheportrait.Thecheeksattractvisionanddirectittootherpartsoftheimage.Also,thecheeksborderontheeyes,whichareconsideredthe

mostimportantpartofaportrait.

Next,thenosedefinesaplane.Unliketheotherplanesdefiningtheface,thenoseisperpendiculartotheotherfourplanes.Thishastwoeffects.First,itwillcastashadowunlessthekeylightisonthefacialaxis.Second,thenoseprovidesaconsistenthighlightarea.Withthenarrownessofthenoseplane,thehighlightbecomesalinewhenthefaceaxisalignswiththecameraaxis.Whentheheadistwistedsothatthefacialaxisisacutewiththecameraaxis,theshapeofthenosebecomesmoreobviousuntilthefacialaxisisperpendiculartothecameraaxis—atwhichpointaprofileshowstheshapeofthenose.

ThisimageofthebustofDavidwas“posterized”toshowparamountlightingasitilluminatesthefiveplanesoftheface:theforehead,bothcheeks,thenose,andthechin.Becausethesesurfacesallreceivedapproximatelythesamelight,theyallappearasyellowareas.

Thechinisthesmallestplanethatwenormallyconsiderwhenlightingtheface.Eventhoughitisasmallarea,itprovidesdefinitionatthebottomoftheface.Withoutthisdefinition,thefacewouldappeartoexpandinsizeandmergewiththeneck.

ApproachInsettingouttodescribeportraitlighting,werealizedthatthewaylightilluminatesthefacialplaneshasseveralinterrelatedaspects.Thetypeoflightingisdefinedbytherelationshipbetweenthefacialaxisandthekeylight’saxis.Atthesametime,thebasicapproachtolightingisdefinedbytheilluminationofthepartofthefaceclosesttothecamera.Wenormallydescribelightingbynamingboththetypeoflightingandtheapproach.

Approachesaredefinedusingallthreeaxes:facial,light,andcamera.Theapproachdetermineshowthefaceisilluminated.Normallyonlyoneearwillbeseeninaportrait.Iftheaxisofthefaceisturnedsothattheearintheimageisilluminated,thentheapproachisconsidered“broad.”Ifthelightingdoesnotilluminatethevisibleear,thentheapproach

isconsidered“short.”Theonlyexceptiontothisiswhenallthreeaxesareinthesameplane(astraight-onphotograph);inthatcase,bothearsareslightlyvisibleandilluminated.

Inbroadlighting,thekeylightfullyilluminatesthesideofthefaceseenbythecamera.Althoughthislightinghelpstode-emphasizefacialtextures,itisusedprimarilyasacorrectivelightingtechniquetohelpwidenthinornarrowfaces.Italsode-emphasizestextureonthehighlightsideoftheface.Broadlightingwasthelightingofchoiceupuntilthe20thcentury.Ittendstoaddweighttothesubject,whichinearliertimesinhistoryindicatedthatonecouldaffordfood.Inmoderntimes,itisusuallymoredesiroustolookthinner,whichisthespecialtyofshortlighting.

Inshortlighting(sometimesknownasnarrowlighting),thekeylightfullyilluminatesthesideofthefacenotseenbythecamera.Thislightingisgenerallyusedforaverageovalfaces.Shortlightingtendstoemphasizefacialcontoursmorethanbroadlighting,andinconjunctionwithacomparativelyweakfilllight,itcanbeusedas“strong”or“masculine”lighting.Itisespeciallyadaptableforlow-keyportraits.Ithastheeffectofnarrowingtheface,andthereforeitcanbeusedeffectivelyasacorrectivelightingtechniqueforroundorplumpfaces.

LightingDirectionInchapter2,thecaptionsfortheLDDomeimagesdefinethelightwithtwonumbers.Thesenumbersrefertothelight’spositioninthedomeinrelationtotheaxisoftheface.Thezeropointforthedomeisatthecamera,soitspositionis0-0.Aswemoveclockwisearoundthedome,thefirstnumberindicatestheangulardistanceandthesecondnumberindicatestheangleabovethehorizontal.Therefore,lightingdescribedas45-45meansthatthelightis45°fromthefaceaxisandpointeddowna45°angle.

OnAxisLighting“Onaxis”lightingisflatwiththekeylightonthesameaxisasthecamera.Thislightinghastheeffectofremovingallkeylightshadowsaswellasflatteningtextureontheface.Manycontemporaryfashionandfineartportraitsemployonaxislighting.Moderncamerashavebuilt-inflashunitsthatproducethistypeoflighting.Someprofessionalphotographersavoidthelookbecauseofitslackofdimensionandflatness.Onaxislightingtendstobeclinicalinappearance,exceptwhenmodifiedbyequipmentsuchasringlightsandgiant(8footorlarger)fashionumbrellas.

Broadlighting(left)hastheearclosesttothecameralitwhileshortlighting(right)hasthecamerasideearinshadow

Thistypeoflightinghasbecomebothafallbackstyleandawaytosolvecertainlightingissues.Whenusedcreatively,itcanaddafeelingofconfrontationandtensionbetweenthesubjectandviewer.

3/4or45-45LightingThepaintersoftheRenaissancedeterminedthatthe45-45lighting(alsocalled3/4lighting)workedwellforportrayingdepthandforminthefigureandtheface.FamouspainterssuchasPeterPaulRubensmovedthelightsourceclosertotheartist’spointofviewtoflattentheimageandtoachieveadistinctivelookthroughstylisticrepresentationsoftheskin.Themostcommonlyusedlightingincontemporaryphotographicportraitureis45-45lighting:ithasalltheattributesthatfirstsoenamoredpainters.

Splitor90°LightingSplitor90°lightingalsohasalonghistoryinpainting.TheDutchpaintersVermeer,Rembrandt,andtheircontemporariesoftenusedthislookintheirpaintings.Caravaggioemployed90°lightingtogreateffect.Thekeytothisstyleismovingthebodyandthefacetopositionsthatflatterthesubject.Itisaverydramaticstyleoflighting(especiallywhenusedathigherratios)thatrequiresanunderstandingoflightingdynamics.Itslenderizesandcanbeusedtocamouflageundesirablefacialfeatures.

©ElinorCarucci(Courtesyoftheartist)

LightingPatternsTherearefourcommonlightingtypesthathavetheirownnames.Thefirsttwoarereferredtoas“loop”lighting.“Closedloop”lighting,alsocalledRembrandt,hasahigh,substantialanglebetweenthefacialandlightaxes.Thiscreatesasmalllighttrianglebelowtheeyewhenthenoseshadowintersectstheshadowfromthecheekline.Itisadramaticlightingstylethatemphasizesastrong,angularface.Itisoftenusedformen,butitalsoworkswellforwomenwhohavestrongfeatures.Whenusedskillfully,thislightingcanhideundesirableskintextures;however,whenusedimproperly,itcanaccentuatetextureandlines.“Openloop”lightingusesahigh-anglelightthatisclosertothefacialaxis.Openlooplightingshowstheshadowofthenoseonthecheekwithoutintersectingthecheekshadow.Openlooplightingisthemostcommonlyusedlightingpatterninmoderntimes(withtheshortlightingapproach).Itcreatesasenseofdirectionanddepthonthefacewithoutbeingtoodramaticandisflatteringforallfacialtypes.

Nextis“butterfly”lighting,alsoreferredtoas“paramount.”Withbutterflylighting,thekeylightispositionedhighabovetheheadandalignedverticallywiththefacialaxis.Thislightingstylegetsitsnamefromthebutterfly-shapedshadowitproducesunderthenose.Butterflylightingisalsosometimescalled“fat”lightingbecauseitmakesthefaceappearfuller,emphasizingcheekbonesandeyes.Idealfortheperfectface,itisusedextensivelyinfashion,beauty,glamour,andmodelingportfolios.Ideallytheshadowfromthenoseshouldnotintersectthelips.Whenasubjecthasdeep-seteyes,therewillbenolightintheeyeswiththislightingpattern,andtherefore,itisnotagreatchoice.

“Split”lightingistheleastcommonlyusedbasiclightingpattern.Itisverydramaticandstylizedwhenusedathigherratios.Italsoslenderizesandcancamouflageunflatteringfacialfeatures.Whenproperlyexecuted,thefaceissplitintotwoalmostequalparts.Inmostcases,alittlelightwillbleedslightlyontotheshadowsideoftheforehead.Careshouldbetakentobringthelightfarenoughforwardtoavoidcastingashadowontheeyeonthehighlightsideoftheface.

Closedloop(topleft),openloop(topright),butterfly(bottomleft),andsplitlighting(bottomright)

8LightingSetups

Beingreadyisimportantwhenapproachingportraitureinacandidmanner.InthisimageArtSuwansangwasawareoftheenergyasopposedtothelightingsetup.Sincethiswasphotographedoninfraredfilm,hisunderstandingofwhatwouldbepresentedtothecameraandhowthiswouldbetranslatedintoafinishedimagewascrucial.©ArtP.Suwansang(Courtesyoftheartist)

Ourapproachtolightingutilizesabuilding-blockconcept.Thismeansthatwestartwiththesimplestsetupandaddlightstocontrolvariousareaswithintheportrait.Ourideaistopresentaprogressionoflightingdesignthatprovidespredictableresults.Withthesesetupsasastartingpoint,youwillbeabletousetheinformationfromotherportionsofthisbooktomakeadditionallightingchoices.

Inchapter2,wediscussedthedirectionofthekeylightandhowitsanglefromthefaceaxisdeterminesthelookoftheshadowsonthesubject.Theexampleswherethelightispositionedatthefrontandsideofthefaceaxisillustrateshadowsproducedontheface.Theexampleswherethelightispositionedbehindthefaceaxis,awayfromthecamera,areusedasaccentsofvarioustypes.

Whileweshowthebasicsetupwithdiffusedsourcesforthekeylight,thespecularityofthekeylightdeterminesthe“hardness”oftheportrait.InmostportraiturethereisadesiretosoftentheLDEdge,smooththeskin,andavoidaccentingtheangularityoftheface,buttherearesituationswherehighcontrastandharshlightingareuseful.Inthesesituations,thekeylight’ssize,variouslightmodifiers,andthelight’sdistancefromthesubjectcanbemanipulatedtochangethespecularityoftheportrait.

Keylight

Filllight

OneLightWhenonlyoneartificiallightisused,thelightratioisobviouslyaffectedbytheambientlightthatcreatesthefill.Inthiscase,thelightratiodependsontheintensityofthekeylight.Wecanuselightingequipmentwithvariablepowerormovethelighttocontroltheratioaswellasthevolumeaspectsofshadowformation.Formeteringinthissituation,wewillneedtousetheadditivemethodtodetermineorsetthelightingratio.

Themajorcaveatfortheuseofonelightwithambientlightasthefilliscolorbias.Ifambientlightisthefill,anycolorbiasithaswillbevisibleintheshadowareasoftheportrait.Forexample,whennormalfluorescentlightingbecomesthefill,therewilllikelybeagreenishcolorbiasintheshadows.Similarly,anoutdoorportraitinagrassyareamayalsocreategreen-biasedshadows.

Whenasinglelightisusedwithinanaturallightenvironment,thekeylightshouldtakeontheangulardynamicofthesunlightiftheportraitistolooknatural.Inotherwords,ifthesunlightisapproximatelyata60°anglefromthesouth,thenthekeylightshouldbeapproximatelyatthesameangle.Theissueofmatchingtheangulardynamicoftheambientlightwillbeaddressedinothersetups.

Inthestudio,singlelightimageshaveadifferentlookthanmostotherportraits.Primarily,theseportraitstendtolookmoredramaticbecauseofthehigherapparentlightingratioand

thedark,hard-edgedshadowscreatedbythespecularlight.Theplacementoftheshadowsandhighlightsonthefacearecritical.Hollywoodglamourimagesofthe1930saregreatexamplesofthistechnique.Softerlightsourcescanproducealowerapparentratiowhilestillachievingadramaticlook.

TwoLightsHerewediscussatwo-lightsetupastheuseofakeylightwithafilllight.Thisisthemostcommonwayasecondlightisusedinportraiture.Thoughitmaynotseemaccurate,theuseofareflectorasafilllightqualifiesasatwo-lightsetupbecauseareflectoractslikealightsourceinmostrespectsandthereforecanbecontrolled.

Aswithanylightsource,thedistanceofthefillreflectorfromthesubjectaffectstheintensityoflight.Thecloserthereflectoristothesubject,themoreintensethefill.Themorereflectivethematerial,thehighertheintensityofthelightcomingfromthereflector,thusthestrongerthefill.Finally,thelargerthefillreflector,themorediffusedthelightwillbe.

Acrucialpointwithfillreflectorsiswhethertheyareinthepatternoflightilluminatedbythekeyorambientlight.Regardlessofthematerialusedinmakingthereflector,itwillbemoreeffectivewhenitislit.Evenifonlyambientlightisavailable,themorelightfallingonthereflector,themoreintensethefill.

Thereflector’sanglealsohasaneffectonthefilllight.Justlikeamirror,anyreflectorcanbeaimed.Ifthelightilluminatingthereflectorhasdirectionality,thenthelawofreflection(whichstatesthattheangleofincidenceequalstheangleofreflection)determinesthedirectionofthelight.Thus,reflectorscandirecttheirlighttospecificareasonthesubject.Therewillbedifferentreflectionpatternsdependingonthesurfaceshapeofthereflector.

Reflectorscanalsobeusedtoaddcolor.Goldorwarmtonereflectorsarecommon,butanycolorreflectorcanbeused.Itshouldbenotedthatthereflectingcolormaymuteothercolors.Also,greenreflectingontoCaucasianskinmaygraytheskintoneinthefill,whereaspinkmayheightentheskintone.Areflectingfillmayalsobeusedtoeliminatecolorbyreflectingwhitelightfromthekeylighttocounterambientcolorsreflectingontothesubject.

Backgroundlight

Hairlight

Themostcommonlightingsetupistohavethekeylighttothecamerasideandabovethesubject,suchasa45-45.Thefillreflectorispositionedtobringasmuchlightontothesubjectaspossible.Thefillreflectormaybeangledslightlytowardthesubjectfromnearthecameratomaximizetheintensityofthefill.Thecloserthereflectoristothecameraaxis,thelesslikelythefillwillcreateunwantedcrossingshadows.Movingthereflectortoopposethekeylightincreasesthepotentialforcrossingshadows.

Ontheverticalaxis,reflectorscomefromtwobasicdirections:eitherbelowthesubjectfromthecameraaxisorfromthesideoppositethekeyangle,normallyatthesameheightastheface.

Whenafilllightisused,twomajorissuesarise.Firstisdeterminingthelightingratioasdiscussedinchapter6.Oncetheratioisestablished,thesecondissueisthepositioningofthefilllight.Withalowlightratiosuchasa1:2,thefilllightmaycreateunwantedshadowsonthekeylitportionofthesubject.Toavoidthepossibilityofcrossingshadowsinthebasicsetup,thefilllightispositionedclosetothecameraaxis.Themorespecularthefilllight,themorelikelyanyshadowingcausedbythefillwillbevisible.

Inthebasicstudiosetup,thefilllightisbehindandslightlyabovethecamera(the0-70position).Regardlessofthequalityofthekeylight,thissetuptraditionallyusesadiffusesource,suchasanumbrellaorasoftbox.Itispossibletouseeitheraringlightoragiant

reflectordirectlybehindthecameraasthefill,whichwillproducemoreintensefrontalhighlightsaswellasmorefillintheshadows.

Inthissetup,theroleofthekeylightistodefinetheshadowandvolumeoftheface,whilethefilllightdeterminestheintensityoftheshadows.Whenthefilllightisbehindthecamera,itsintensityneedstobeequaltoorlessthanthekeylight.Whenthefillequalstheintensityofthekeylight,theratiobecomes2:1.Iftheintensityofthefillisgreaterthanthekeylight,theratioapproaches1:1.Thekeylightstilldefinesshadowingonthesubject,buttheratioisreversed.Ifthesetuphasthefillbehindthecamera,1:1willneverbereached.

ThreeLightsInthenextstepofbasiclighting,thethirdlightisaddedasabackgroundlight.Itcontrolstheintensityofthebackgroundtoaddimagedepth,definethecontourofthesubject,andcontrolshadowscreatedbythekeylight.

Thebackgroundlightisimportantforcreatingdepthintheimageratherthandepthinthesubject.Thekeyandfilllightscreatethelight/shadowdynamicsthataffectthefrontsurfacesofthesubject.Ourabilitytodefinethebackgroundestablishesthedepthoftheentireimage.Ifthereisflatlightinthebackground(trulyblackorfullywhite),thedepthoftheimageisconfinedtothesubject.

Thesecondissue,contourmanagement,isatoolthatcomesfromtheRenaissancepainters.Manythinkitmeansthepooloflightbehindthesubject,butitismorethanthat.Inordertoaccentuatethecontour,Rembrandtandotherartistsusedbackgroundlighttocontrastwiththesubject.Varyingthetoneofthebackgroundsothatthebackgroundgoesdarkwhenthesubjectislightintoneandviceversacreatedgoodseparationanddefinedthecontourofthesubject.Inthesameway,photographicportraitsusethebackgroundlighttokeepthesubjectfrombecomingabsorbedinthe“nonimage”areas.

Finally,thebackgroundlightcancontrolanyshadowthatmaybecreatedbythekeylight.Dependingontheindividualneedsoftheportrait,thecontrolofthedarknessofanycastshadowcanbeaccomplishedbythebackgroundlight.

Thepositionofabackgroundlightwithinthebasicsetupdependsonwhatshapethelightwillbe.Thepatterncanbeassmallasastreakortotallyilluminethebackground;however,themostcommonlyusedbackgroundlightisashapedlightlocatedbelowandbehindthesubject.

Asageneralguide,useanincidentmetertodeterminetheexposureofyourbackgroundlight.Ifyousetthelightintensitytomatchyourexposureaperture,thebackgroundwillrecordasitappearstothehumaneye.Awhitebackgroundwillappearwhite,anddarkerbackgroundswillappeardark.Ifyouwantyourbackgroundslighter,increasetheamountoflightbeyondtheexposureaperture;todarkenyourbackgrounds,givethemlessintensitythantheexposureaperture.

Combinationofthefourlights

FourLightsAnyadditionallightsbeyondthethreealreadydiscussedwillbeaccentlights.Themostcommonaccentlightisahairlight,whichcreatesanoticeableseparationfromthebackgroundaswellasgivingtextureandformtothebackofthehead.Todothis,asmallerlightpatternisdirectedatthebackandtopofthehead.Theideaofthehairlightistoreflectlightfromthehairtowardthecamera.Sometimesasnootcontrolsthesizeofthelightpattern,althoughmostmodernstudiosusestriplightsinthe180-70position.Thisworkswellforbothgroupandindividualportraits.

Theotherfrequentlyusedaccentlightsareedgeaccents,whichcanbeusedonanycriticalcontour.Theybringlightfrombehindthesubjecttostrikethecriticaledgewithoutcastinglightonotherportionsoftheportrait.

Aspecialsetupbasedontheconceptofedgelightingisthe“rimlight.”Rimlightingiscreatedbybacklightingthesubjectsothatthelightitselfistotallyblockedbythesubject’sbodyorhead.Therimlightcanalsobeaboveandbehindthesubject,pointingdownandtowardthecamerabutnotshiningintothecamera.Thiswillproduceanedgelightingeffectaroundthesubject,whichsometimesappearsasafinelineor“halo”aroundtheportrait.

Normalexposuresforhairandrimlightsvarydependinguponthesubjectmatter.When

thelightfallsonfabricandhair,itnormallyhasanintensityabout½to1fullstoplessthantheexposureaperture(whentheincidentmeterdomeispointedtowardthelightsource).Whenthelightfallsontheskinorotherspecularsurfaces,itsintensityshouldbearound1½to2stopslessthantheexposingaperture.

Thecommonfour-lightsetupuses:akeylightwithaspecularitychosenbythephotographertoestablishtheformandintensityfortheimage;afilllighttoopenuptheshadowsontheface;abackgroundlighttoaddtheappropriatelevelofilluminationforthebackground;andahairlighttoaccentthetopofthehead.Whilethekeylightmayhaveanylevelofspecularity,thefilllightisnormallydiffusetoavoidcreatingcrossingshadows.Thehairlightcanhaveanylevelofspecularity,butalargerdiffusesourcetendstomakeposingeasierforboththesubjectandthephotographer.Thebackgroundlightistoprovideilluminationtothebackgroundandonlybecomesanissueifthebackgroundhasdetailshadowingorcontentthatiscontrarytothesubject.

ClamshellsWhilethefour-lightsetupisthemostcommonandgivesusthemostinformationaboutgeneralportraitlighting,thereareothertypesoflightingthatdependonthepositionofthefillorfills.Onevariationofthetwo-lightsetupistheclamshell,whichgetsitsnamefromthewaythekeyandfilllightsopposeeachother.TheplaneofthelightsformsaVshapewiththecameraatthepointoftheV.Thekeylightcanhaveanylevelofspecularity,butthefillneedstobeverydiffusetominimizecrossingshadows.

Inbasiclightingsetups,wecanconsidertwoclamshellarrangements.Therearemanyside-to-sideclamshellswiththekeyandfilllightsonoppositesidesofthesubject,butthemoreinterestingarrangementistop-to-bottom.Atop-to-bottomclamshellismostcommonforbutterflylightingwiththekeylightinthe0-80positionandthefilllightpointingupfrominfrontandbelowthesubject.Inthisarrangement,thespecularityofthekeylightestablishesthelookoftheshadowandtheratiodeterminesthedarknessoftheshadows.Thetop-to-bottomclamshelliscommonfor“glamour”lighting.

Inthisverticalclamshell,thelightabovecreatesanearparamountlightingpattern.Thelowerfillisofsufficientpowertonearlyfillinalltheshadows,sothespecularhighlightsontheforehead,nose,andcheeksbecomemoreprominent.Thereisaone-stopdifferencebetweentheintensityofthetwolights,withthelowerlightbeingthedimmerofthetwo.

FormFillAformfillisprimarilyusedtoreinforcethekeylight.Ifthefilllightdoesnotcomefromthesameaxisasthecamerainaformfillsituation,thereareareasoftheimagethatwillnotreceivedirectilluminationfromthefilllight.Inthiscase,itisnotatruefilllightbythestrictdefinition.Thisis,however,atechniquethatwasusedextensivelyinthepastand

isenjoyingarevivalofsortsinmodernportraiture.

Youcanalsorotatethefilllighttothesamesideasthekeylightandpositionitbetweenthekeylightandthecamera.Thefillprovideslessintensitythanthekeylight.Ifthekeylightismorespecularthantheformfill,thefilldoesnotreducetheshadowingeffectsofthekeylight;itsoftenstheLDEdge,openstheshadowdetailslightly,andshortenstheshadowlength.Onitsown,thefillwouldcreatesimilarlightingpatternsasthekey,onlysofterandlesspronounced.Addingaformfilltothekeylight’seffectsproducesmorepronouncedshadowingthanotherlightingtypeswithsimilarratios.Inaformfillsituation,thekeylightisoftenusedinaselectivefashionwiththefilllightasamoregenerallightingtool.Theresultisthatthekeylightprimarilyilluminatesoneportionoftheportrait,e.g.,animportantfacialstructureordetail,whilethefillilluminatestheentireimage.Thiscanbeachievedbecausethekeylightandfilllightcomefromthesamedirection.

Theformfillreinforcesthedirectionalcharacteristic,theshadowingeffects,andhighlighteffectsofthekeylight.Thesubject’sfacegainsdepthwithslightlymoreopennessintheshadows.Thisprovidesmoretonalvariationonthefacewithalowerlightratio.Becausethenearalignmentofthekeyandfilllights,therewillbeaddedcomplexitytothehighlights.Thelowerthelightratio,thelessobviousthehighlightcomplexity.

Attheextremesofformfillisthe“light-within-a-light.”Thismethodofaligningthefillonnearaxiswiththekeylightisoftencalled“doublekey.”Inthissituation,aspecularlightispositionedwithintheboundsofadiffusemodifier.Whenthemorespecularlightproducesgreaterintensity,thespecularsourceisthekey,andthebroaderdiffusesourceistheformfill.Ifthespecularlightisoflesseroutputthanthediffusedsource,thenthespecularlightactsasanaccentlight.Inbothcases,complexhighlightsarecreated.ThekeylightdefinestheLDEdgesandshadowcharacteristics.

Thepreviouspageshowsformfill,whichusestwodifferentlightsourcespositionedneartoeachother.Thispageshowsaspecularanddiffuselightingsourceonthesamesideofthesubject.Bothspecularanddiffuselightsourcesarealignedorincloseproximity,they

produceacomplexhighlight.Thiscanbeseenwithaspecularhighlightembeddedinthediffusehighlight.Theselectivenatureofasmallerlightsource,agriddedspot,onlyilluminatestheuppershouldersandfacewhilethelargesoftboxproducesadiffusedirectionallightthatilluminatestheentiresubject.Thisproducesthedesiredratiobetweenthetwolightsanddemonstratesthepossibilityofusingaselectivelightwithinabroaderlight.

Startwiththesubject’spositionalignedwiththeendofthesoftboxfarthestfromthecamera.Becausethediffusingsurfaceextendsinfrontofthesubject,thelightwrapsaroundtheface,creatingasofterLDEdgewithastrongdirectionalfeel.

WalkingtheLightItisimportanttorealizethatthepositioningrelationshipbetweenthelightandthesubjectcanchangetheeffectoftheportrait.“Walkingthelight”meansnotrelyingonapredeterminedpositionforthelightorthesubject.Ifyouareusingalargesoftbox,e.g.,3x4feetorlarger,thesubject/softboxrelationshipwilldeterminetheaffectsofthelight.Eitherthesubjectorsoftboxcanbemovedtoachievethedesiredlight.Whenthesoftboxispositionedhorizontallyonthekeylightsideofthesubject,thelightcomingfromthesoftboxcanrangefromlargeanddiffuselighttospecular.

Asthesubjectmovestothemiddleofthesoftbox,thelightcreatesasplitpatternontheface.Becauselessofthediffusingsurfaceextendsinfrontofthesubject,lessofthelightwrapsaroundtheface,creatingaharderLDEdge.

Ifthesubjectisalignedwiththefarthestpointofthesoftboxfromthecamera,thelightwillbediffusedwithfallofftowardtheback.Asthesubjectmovesclosertothecenter,thesoftboxwillwrapthelightaroundthesubject,providingdiffuselightingonthesubjectfromthebackofthesoftboxonareasawayfromthecamera.Finally,whenthesubjectispositionedonthecamerasideofthesoftbox,thelightontheportraittakestheformofastriplight.Thebackofthesoftboxactsasarimoraccentlightonthefaredgesandgeneratescomplexorfatlight.Becauseofthestriplighteffect,thislightingsetupworksbestifthesubject’sheadisturnedtowardthelight,presentingaprofileornearprofiletothecamera.

Whenthesubjectmovestothefrontofthesoftbox,theeffectivesurfaceoflightbecomesverynarrow.Becausethereisanarrowformtothelight,itcreatesbroadhighlightsonthefacialsurfacesparalleltothesoftbox’sfrontpanel.Ifthesubjectturnstheirheadtowardthesoftbox,thelightopensupthefaceproducingabeautifulprofilelight.Also,inthislightingposition,thelightfromthesoftboxbehindthesubjectwillaccentthesurfacesofthefacetowardtheback,servingasanadditionalvariationofanedgelightonthehighlightedsideoftheface.

Accents

Whileitismostcommontousebroad,diffuselightsourcesasfills,therearetimeswhenitisappropriatetousespecularlightsasaccentsratherthanfillingintheshadowscreatedbythekeylight.Hatchetlightingisoneexampleofthistypeofsetup.Withhatchetlighting,twoaccentsareusedonbothsidesofthefacetohighlighttheedgesoftheface.Thislightingstylecreatesaflatterportraitbecausethelarge,specularpatternsonthesidesofthefaceperceptuallymovethosehighlightedareasforward.

Whilehatchetlightingtendstoflattenanimage,usingaccentlightinginsteadoffilldoesnotalwaysdoso.Particularlywhenthelightingapproachisshort,anaccentusedinsteadofafillwillbringtheotherwisedarkenedsurfaceforwardandgivetheimageexaggerateddepth.Thisisaverydramaticwayoflightingaportrait.

Thisaccentlightingpatternisknownas“hatchetlighting.”Twostripsoftboxesarepositionedbehindthemodeloneitherside.Thepoweroftheaccentlightsisequaltoorlessthanthatofthekeylight.Sincetheaccentlightsarebehindthesubject,theireffectisseenonlyontheedgesofthesubjectanddoesnotaffectthelightingpatternchosenforthefrontoftheportrait.

GlamourLightingGlamourphotographyisnormallyassociatedwithimagesforthecosmeticindustry.Becausethegoaloftheseimagesistoshow“perfect”skin,thelightingisveryflat.Thisstyleoflightingisalsousefulinportraiture.Twobasicsetupsproducethistypeoflighting.Theeasiestandmostinvogueistheuseofgiantreflectors,i.e.,eight-footorlargerumbrellasplaceddirectlybehindandslightlyabovethecamera.Theotherisahigh,closedclamshellwiththegoalofachievinga1:1lightratio.

Aglamourlightingsetupisespeciallyusefulforbridalandhigh-keyportraits.Inbothofthesecases,theflat,evenlylitsubjectgainssoftnesswithfewdarkshadows.Also,thefrontal,evenlightminimizesskintextureandlessensblemishes.

Ahybridclamshellcanbeusedtocreatetheappearanceofa1:1ratio.Thiscanbeaccomplishedbystartingwithhighlydiffusedbutterflylightingwithalargesoftboxandtwoequallystrongsoftfillsfrombelow.Thefillsformtheirownclamshellsothatthecombinedpowerofthefillsmatchesthekeylight.ThislightinghasveryweakshadowsandnoapparentLDEdge.

DouglasDubleriswellknownasabeauty/glamourphotographer©DouglasDubler(Courtesyoftheartist)

9Backgrounds

Inthisimage,JudyHostusedseverallayers,blendingoptions,andmaskingtocraftthisportrait©JudyHost(Courtesyoftheartist)

Likethemusictrackinamovie,thebackgroundofaportraitseldommakestheart.Thebackgroundcanhelporhurt,butitisnotwhatpeopleareinterestedinseeing.Regardlessofthelackofattentionpaidtothebackground,itisanimportantpartoftheportrait.Inthetraditionalportrait,iteliminatesclutterthatcanbecomedisruptivetotheimage.Ininformalandenvironmentalportraits,itcanassistincommunicatingthemoodorotherdesiredinformation.

Whendiscussingbackgrounds,weneedtoconsiderestablishedandfoundbackgrounds.Establishedbackgroundsincludethosethattheportraitistarranges,erects,orconstructs.Theserangeincomplexityfromseamlesspaperandclothtoelaboratepaintedbackdropsorsets.Themajoradvantageofanestablishedbackgroundisitsconvenienceforlightingandcontrolofotheraspectsofthephotographicprocess.

Foundbackgroundscanbeanythingthatwillsupporttheportrait’sneeds.Inselectingabackground,attentionmustbepaidtowhateverportionofitwillshowintheportraitandhowitwillrelatetothesubject.Inmanyfoundsituations,ambientlightmaybecomethekeylightorcreatetheneedtoconformthekeylighttotheavailablelight.Also,someenvironmentshavelogisticalproblemsthatrequirespecializedequipmentorcompromisesinphotographicprocessestoutilizethebackground.

SeamlessBackgrounds

Aseamlessbackgroundisjustwhatitsoundslike:abackgroundthatshowsnochangesinform,connection,orpatterning.Themajoradvantageofaseamlessbackgroundisitsabilitytoisolatethesubjectintheframe.Becausethebackgroundisaconsistenttonewithoutdistractions,ithasthepotentialof“nothing”,i.e.,itcantakeonapatternorintensityoflightorbecomeacoloredfieldtocontrastagainstthesubject.

Aseamlessbackgroundcanbemadeofmanymaterials.Mostcommonareseamlesspapers,fabric,andconstructedwalls.Forafull-lengthportrait,theseamlessbackgroundneedstoextendbelowthesubjectsothatnoseamsorcornerswillbevisible.Toavoidunwantedseams,corners,orvisiblechangesinthebackground,asweeporconstructedcovecanbeused.

Beyondtheunclutteredeffectofaseamlessbackground,itprovidesopportunitiesfortonalandcolorchangesbasedonhowitislit.Withoveralllighting,itisjustasdefined,aflat,tonalfieldthatisolatesthecontoursofthesubject.However,poolinglightonthebackgroundcreatesopportunitiestoaccentuatesomeportionsofthesubjectwhilediminishingothers.Forexample,lighteningthebackgroundontheshadowsideofthefacewilldefinethatportionoftheportrait.Atthesametime,thelightcanbecontrolledtohavedarknessbehindanareathatiseitherlighterorthathasbeenaccentedwithotherlighting.Inadditiontotheuseoftonaldifferencesontheseamlessbackground,coloredgelscanfurtherenhancecontrastorcomplementthesubject.

Avariationontheseamlessbackgroundisdrapingmaterialthatmayormaynothavedimensionortonalvariation.Whendimensionisdesired,thefabricisarrangedtoformaseriesoffoldsorotherdiscontinuitiesthatcreateshadowsortonalvariationsbehindtheportrait.

Whileanykindofmaterialcanbeusedasanestablishedbackdrop,fabricbackgroundsusuallyemployheaviercloth.Muslinisthemostcommonmaterialused.Heaviermaterialsareeasiertocontrolinthewaytheyhang.Thecommonuseoffabricistodrapeittoproduceaseriesofripplesorfoldsinanabstractpattern.Anotheralternativeistohavethematerialcrumpledorotherwisetexturized;theresultingpermanentpatterncanbeusedaseitheraseamlessorfoldeddrape.

PaintedBackgroundsTheideaofpaintingabackgroundforaportraitgoesbacktotheverybeginningsofcommercialphotography.Inearlyportraitphotography,abackgroundwouldbepaintedtoprovideapleasantsettingfortheportrait.Today,thesameideapersists.Insomecasestraditionallandscapesareused,butmanyothervisionscansupportaportraitaswell.Thescenesinpaintedbackgroundsareoftenstylizedtopresenttheviewerwiththerealityofthesubjectinfrontofaless-than-realsetting.Inillustrative-typeportraits,thereisagreatvarietyofpaintedorphotographicallyproducedbackgrounds.

Anothertypeofpaintedbackgroundistheabstractorimpressionisticbackground,whichprovidesamixofcolorsandtonesthatdonotinterferewiththesubject.Theseareoftendarkertonesofvariouscolorsappliedinoverlappingstreaks,daubs,orblobs.Theideaistoavoiddefinablepatterns.Withimpressionisticbackgrounds,theideaistogiveahintofabackgroundscenewithoutdistractingattentionfromthesubject.

Themodernmethodofusinganimageorabstractbackgroundbeganwithprojectionsystemsthatplacedthesubjectinasetting.Thesewereinitiallyrearprojectionsystemsandlaterfrontprojectionsystems.Inbothofthesesystems,aslidewasprojectedsothatanimageappearstobebehindthesubject.Thesesystemshavebeenreplacedbytheuseof“greenscreen”and“chromakey”systems.

Thegreenorbluescreenderivesitsnamefromthecolorofthescreenbehindthesubject.Sometimesthiscolorisreferredtoaselectricgreenorbluebecauseofitsvibrancy.Becausethecolordoesnotoccurnaturally,itcanbeusedasadropoutcolorinacomputer.Whenthegreenisdroppedoutofadigitalimage,itcanbereplacedbyanyimagefileasabackground—whetherascannedslidefromthesubject’ssummertrip,agraphicelementorlogo,orapurchaseddigitalbackdrop.Oncetheportraitandthedigitalbackgroundarecombined,thefinalportraitcanbecompleted.

Therearetwoconcernsthataffectthecorrectuseofthegreenscreenprocess.First,thescreenmustbeevenlylitbehindthesubjectasseenthroughthecamera.Shadowsonthegreenscreencancauseproblemswiththecomputerdropout.Thesecondissueisthatthelightingshouldmimicthelightinthereplacementbackground.Ifthescenetobeplacedbehindthesubjecthaslightcomingfromtheright,thenthatdirectionmustbeduplicatedduringtheshot.

Post-ProductionBackgroundsProjectingabackgroundorusingmethodstocreateabackgroundinadarkroomhasbeencommoninportraituresincetheearlydaysofphotography.WiththeadventofPhotoshopandotherelectronicimagingtechnologies,theabilitytoutilizeabackgroundnotpresentinthestudiohasbecomeacommonreality.Thishasopenedupagreatnumberofpotentialsforusingbackgroundsthathaveneverbeenconsideredbefore.Whetherthesearerealorimaginedlocations,ordigitallyconstructedmaterials,theopportunitytoinsertnewandvariedbackgroundsintotherepertoireoftheportraitphotographerhasexpanded.

Borrowingfromthenomenclatureofvideo,manyphotographersareusinga“greenscreen”approachtomakingportraits.Theconceptofagreenscreenistoutilizeacolornotfoundinthephotographsandtoelectronicallyreplacethattonewiththedesiredbackground.Invideographythisisknownaschromakey.Thecolormostcommonlyusedisavividgreenthatisseldomseeninthepropsorpeoplewhowillbesuperimposedoverthebackground.Afterthephotoistaken,thegreencolorisreplacedwithadigitalfilethatwillmakeupthebackground.Therefore,onlythebackgroundwillbedroppedoutandreplacedunlessthechromakeycolorispresentintheforeground.Rememberthatifthereareanydiscrepanciesbetweentheportraitandthebackground,thesewilllikelybeseenasroughedgesorasremnantsofthebackgroundcoloralongtheedgesoftheforegroundportraitsubject.

Whilechromakeyequipmentcanbeusedinportraitphotography,creatingbackgroundfortheportraitcanalsobeaccomplishedwiththeuseofimagingsoftwaresuchasPhotoshop.Ifthesubjectisphotographedonawell-litbackgroundofuniformcolor,thenasimpleselectionanddeletionofthebackgroundcanbedonetocreatealayerinthesoftwarewithnobackgroundinformation.Whenthebackgroundlayerisaddedbelowthesubjectinthesoftware’slayerstackingorder,thesubjectwillappearinfrontofwhateverbackground

wasselected.

Evenwithoutaspecificbackgroundcolorortone,thesubjectcanbeisolatedbyeitherusingtheselectionormaskingtoolscommoninimagingsoftware.However,thesetechniquesrequirethephotographer/artisttousehand-manipulatedtechniqueswiththecomputertocreatetheproperselectionsormasks.Justaswiththechromakeymethod,oncethebackgroundisselected,itcanbedeletedfromtheimage.Becauseofthis,itisnotnecessarytomakeextensivelightingorbackgroundpreparationforabackgroundthatwillbeeventuallyeliminatedandreplaced.

Withtherelativeeaseofselectingandlayeringaportraitoverabackground,severalconsiderationsneedtobetakenintoaccounttoensuresuccessfulmergingoftheforegroundportraitandthedigitalfilebeingusedasthebackground.Thefirstconsiderationistheangleoflight.Thelightangleintheportraitandthelightangleintheimagefilethatbecomesthebackgroundneedtobeconsistent—particularlywhenthebackgroundsceneistoappearasarealscene.Thisisespeciallythecaseiftheportraitistobepresentedinarecognizablelocationorwherevisualcuesreferringtotheaccuracyofthebackgroundexist,suchassignsthatcanberead,etc.Inthesecases,thelightingfortheportraitmusttakethesamegeneralangleasthelightingusedasthebackground.Whenthelightanglesonthesubjectandthebackgroundarenotconsistent,theportraitappearsfake.

Thisimageusesbothaphysicalbackgroundandanelectronicbackgroundtocreateitsuniquelook.Theimageisofalittlegirllookingoutthewindowofafrontdoor—thewindowandthedoorarethebackground.Twolayerswerethenaddedtocreatetheillusionofavintagelook.Thefirstlayeristhescriptthatwascarefullyeditedusingalayermask.Itwasimportanttohavethetextcontinuebetweenthelittlegirlandthedoortogivetheappearanceofthewrittenpagebehindthegirl.Asecondlayerwasusedtocreatewhattheartistcallsgrunge.Thislayerwashandledwithbothselectivemaskingandblendingoptionstoaccomplishitsdesiredappearance.Inthisconstruction,thebackgroundisbothbehindandinfrontofthesubject.©JudyHost(Courtesyoftheartist)

Thenextconcernforutilizingelectronicallyintroducedbackgroundsisnotingwhenashadowfromtheportraitsubjectwillbeseen.Incaseswherethephotographsoftheportraitmustincludetheshadow,thelayeringrequiresthatblendingoptionsandlevelsofopacity,particularlywheretheshadowexists,areusedtocreateaseamlesstransitionfromthesubjecttothebackground.Insomecasesthismayrequireanotherlayercreatedfromonlytheshadowtobeintroducedbetweentheforegroundandthebackgroundtocreatetheproperlookfortheportrait.

Itisalsoimportanttorealizethattheremustbeapixeldensityrelationshipbetweentheportraitandtheelectronicallygeneratedbackground.Iftheelectronicallygeneratedbackgroundischosenfromafilewithsignificantlylesspixeldensity(pixelsperinch),thebackgroundwillshowpixilationandaliasingwhiletheportraitwillnot.Dependingonthewaythebackgroundlayerismarriedtotheportrait,thismightalsodegradethepixelstructureoftheforegroundportrait.Itishighlyrecommendedthebackgroundusedbeequaltoorgreaterinpixeldensitythantheportraitthatwillbeplacedinfrontofit.

Lastly,whenselecting,masking,orlayeringadigitalportraitoveradigitalbackground,thereisastrongpossibilitythataliasing,thejaggedstructureofthepixels,willbeseenattheboundaryoftheportrait.Thisisparticularlythecasewhentheportraithasbeenselectedwithoutfeatheringtheedge.Thisiscommonwhentheselectionormaskisnotfeatheredorwhenthereisanuneventoneinthebackgroundandtheselectionpicksupextraneouspixelsfromtheoriginallyphotographedbackground.Thiswillrequiredigitalretouchingofthefinalimagetosmooththeboundaryareaoftheportraitwiththebackgroundortoerasetheerroneouspixelsfromtheportrait’slayers.

ConstructedIndoorandOutdoorSettingsAsetiscommonlyusedinmanyportraitureapplications.Setsaredesignedtoalloweffectivelightingandareusedasphotographicbackgrounds.OftentheyreplicatecommonsettingssuchanofficewithbookcasesorahearthwithChristmasdecorations.Theideaofthesesettingsisthattheycanbecontrolledintheirfocusandlighting.Eveniftheyconsistofasinglewallorawallwithasinglecorner,variouscameraanglesarebuiltintothedesigntoallowposingthesubjectwithasupportingbackground.Mostoftenthereisnoceilingsothatlightingcanbecontrolledathighanglesifdesired.Setsaspaintedbackgroundsareusuallydesignedformultipleportraits,thoughspecificsetsmaybeappropriateforcertainindividualportraits.Also,manycompaniesmanufacturesetsforportraiture,rangingfromTuscanruinstohigh-techsettingswithpaintedorphotographicbackgrounds.

Inthisportrait,PaulTumasonusedapaintingtechniquetomakethebackgroundfunctionthesameasanabstractpaintedbackground©PaulTumason(Courtesyoftheartist)

Averycommoncreatedbackgroundisanoutdoorset.Unlikethestudio-basedset,theoutdoorsetreliesonambientlighting,whichaddsafurtherlevelofcomplexitytotheexposure.Whenchoosinganoutdoorlocation,thoughtmustbegiventothesun’sangleandtoeliminatingdirectsunlightontheset.

Whilelightanglesfortheportraitarealwaysanissue,soisthebackgrounduponwhichtheportraitwillbephotographed.Inthestudio,lightcanbeleftoffthebackgroundifitstoneistoobright,butontheoutdoorset,thebackgroundislitbyambientlightand

beyonddirectcontrol.Forthisreason,thecameraangleaswellasthebasictoneoftheareasbehindthesubjectneedtobeconsidered.

Anotherissuethatmustbeaddressedistheneedtokeepdistractingmaterialsfromintrudingintotheportrait.Forexample,itwouldnotbedesirabletohaveabrightlylitleafrightbehindthesubject’snoseinaprofileshotorstickingupfromtheheadlikeafeatherinawarbonnet.Itisfarbettertohaveabackgroundofdarkfoliagewherethepredominantlightdoesnotreachitatananglethatcaneasilyreflecttowardthecamera.

©DavidWilliams(Courtesyoftheartist)

©ArtP.Suwansang(Courtesyoftheartist)

©LisaEvans(Courtesyoftheartist)

FoundBackgroundsAnysurface,landscape,orcityscapecanserveasafoundbackground.Foundbackgroundspresenttremendousopportunitiesandproducefurtherdemandsontherequirementsfortheportrait.Theissuesinusingfoundbackgroundsareprimarilyaccess,lighting,andexposure.Theybasicallyfallintotwotypes:environmentalportraitsettingsandinterestingthoughnonspecificbackgrounds.

Anenvironmentalportraitsettingisonethatgivescluesastowhatwelearnaboutanindividual.Thismightbetheirworkorlivingspaceorimportantsymbolsthatidentifyorenlightenusaboutthesubject.Unlikemanyportraits,inenvironmentalportraiturethebackgroundisveryimportanttothecontentoftheimage.Thewaythebackgroundislitbecomesimportantforsymbolism,imageinformation,anddefinitionofthesubject.Thismightinvolvehighlightingorclearlyrepresentingportionsofthesurroundingelements,includingthebackground.Whileambientlightcanbethelightsource,lightingequipmentmayberequiredtoensurethatimportantinformationinthebackgroundisconveyedinrelationshiptothesubject.Theuseofadditionallightcaneffectivelycreateanewlightratiointheportraitbetweenthesubjectandthebackground.

Theothertypeoffoundbackgroundisthenonspecificbackground.Thisisasettingthatmightbeinterestingtouseasabackdropbutisnotrelatedinanywaytotheportrait.Nonspecificbackgroundsareusedtoaddinterestandcompositionalstrengthtotheportrait.

Inmostfoundbackgroundsituations,themajorconcernislighting.Oftenbecauseofthe

locationofafoundbackground,powerforlightingand/orspacebecomeconcerns.Thesesituationstendtouseambientlightasfill,orelseallthelightingisambient.Asaresult,thereisaneedtofindwaystocreatethelightratiosneededfortheportrait.Somefoundbackgroundsdonotprovidetheaccessneededtoachievethepropercameradistanceorangle.Ineithersituation,withlightingorspaceissues,itisimportanttoputthesuccessoftheportraitaheadofthelookofthebackground.

Foundbackgroundsoftenofferattractivecolors.Particularlywithsaturatedcolorsinintenselight,suchasdirectsunlight,thecolorofthebackgroundcanreflectontothesubjectandthuschangethecolorinambientfill.

DavidWilliamsusedafoundenvironmentalbackground,includingtheimportantpeopleinthesubject’slife,tocreatethisportrait©DavidWilliams(Courtesyoftheartist)

10MixedAmbientandElectronicFlashLightingandExposure

ThisenvironmentalportraitwasmadeforaCeramicsMonthlymagazinecover.Thesubjectusedamirrortomakeherpottery,soitwasusedaspartoftheportrait.Sinceherstudiolookedoutonthemountains,adecisionwasmadetobalancetheexposurebetweenelectronicflashfortheinteriorandfaceandtheviewthroughthewindow.©GlennRand

Withexposurebasicsinhand,wecannowaccomplishsomemixedlightexposuretechniques.Wecanregardportraitsaseitherstudio-litormixedlightsituations.Evenwithinastudiosetting,mixedlightmaybechoseneithertouseawindowasakeylightortoprovideacreativeaccent.Manyotherportraitenvironmentsandstyleslendthemselvestomixedlighting.Inmostcases,makinganoutdoorportrait,anenvironmentalportrait,oraneditorialillustrativeportraitinvolvesmixedlightsourcesanddemandsgreatercontrolofbothexposureandlighting.

Manyofthesesituationswillinvolveamixofambientlightandlightingequipment.Thiscanbeassimpleasareflectorfilltoaddlighttoaoutdoorportraitorascomplicatedasalitinteriorandsubjectwithaviewoutawindow.Themostcomplicatedsetupsuseartificiallightingalongwithambientlightintheportrait’ssetting.

Sinceambientlightcanserveaseitherkeyorfilllight,theshutterspeedbecomesinvolvedwhetherornotelectronicflashisused.Electronicflashpresentsbothpotentialproblemsandcreativeopportunitiesinthesesituations.Unlesstheflashisusedonlyfor

fill,theshutterspeedcontrolsthebackground’stoneandmotion.

Equivalentexposurebecomesanimportantcontrolconcept.Theexposurecontrolusedforelectronicflashandtheshutterspeedcombinedwithaperturecontrolsexposureforambientlight.Itallowsadjustmentoftheambientportionoftheexposuretoalignwiththeelectronicflash.Thisisthemostcommonparadigmforambient/flashlightingsituations.Theuseofequivalentexposureinmostmixedlightsituationsmeansthattheapertureissetbythekeylight—whethersunlight,otherambientsources,orelectronicflash—andthefilliscontrolledbyequivalentexposuretobringtheexposuretothedesiredratio.Thebackgroundtoneandmotionarecontrolledbyequivalentexposurewhentheflashisthekeylight.

OutdoorLightingandExposureOutdoorlightingwithelectronicflashcanbedaunting.Therearemanymeansforbalancingthelightoutputofastrobewiththeambientlightavailableinthescene.Few,however,areconsistentfromshottoshot.Thisisthecasewithbatterypackgeneratorsorspeedlights.Speedlights,oftendescribedasthelightsthatcanattachtothehotshoesofmostmoderncameras,haveatleasttwosettingsthatallowthephotographertobalancetheflashandambientlight—manualandthrough-the-lens(TTL).Regardlessofthetypeoflightingequipment,atpresent,accurateexposureismorereadilyachievedwiththeuseofmanualsettings.

Themanualmodeallowsthephotographertoadjustthepoweroutputsettingontheflashthatcanthenbebalancedwiththeavailable,ambientlight.Todaytherearenoin-camerameteringmethodsforthistechnique,somostphotographersdependuponsomecombinationofviewingtheLCDscreenonthebackofthecameraandusingclippingindicatorsorhistogramstogivethemsomeideaofproperexposure.However,manymoderncamerashaveanadvancedmethodofTTLmetering.Thisusesthecamera’sinternalmeteringsystemandonboardcomputertodeterminecorrectexposureandthebalanceofboththeambientandtheflashexposures.Thoughtheseonboardsystemsbringtheexposuresclosetooptimal,therearesituationswhereTTLsettingsareinconsistent.Ultimately,manyphotographersusetheLCDscreenoruseclippingindicatorsorhistogramstomakedecisionsandadjustEVsettingstoachievethelooktheywant.Withtheaboveinmind,werecommendusingahandheldmetertobringconsistencyandaccuracytotheprocess.

Newgenerationmetershaveintroducedmethodsofdeterminingratiosbetweenflashandambientlight.Alongwiththeotherusefulinformationthatthemetersprovide,theynowshowtherelationshipbetweentheintensityoftheflashandtheambientlight.

Evenwithahandheldlightmeter,determiningratiosbetweenambientandflashlightingcanbecomplicated.Ambientexposureinphotographyisdeterminedbytherelationshipbetweenshutterspeedandaperture.Flashexposureiscontrolledin-camerabytheapertureorbyadjustingthepoweroutputoftheflash.Determiningthecorrectbalancebetweenflashandambientexposureshasalwaysbeenadancebetweenthesetwoexposurescenarios.

Toutilizetheavailabletechnologyandachieveboththeproperexposureanddesiredlookinaportrait,severalstepsarerequired.First,theISOsettingonthemeterneedstobeproperlyalignedwithyourcamera.Next,putthemeterinanyoneoftheavailablestrobemodes.Turnontheflash,pointthedomeofthemeterbackatthecamera,andsetofftheflash.Withthenewermetertechnologyyoucanmeasurewhatpercentageofyourexposureiscomingfromtheflash.Knowingtherelationshipofelectronicflashandambientilluminationwillallowyoutodeterminethekey-lightsourceandestablishadesiredlightingratio.

Inasituationwhereelectronicflashisusedwithambientlight,theflashcanbethekeyorfilldependingonthedirectionofthelightandthestrengthsoftheelectronicflashandambientlightsource(s).Usingahandheldmeterallowsyoutoadjustthepoweroftheelectronicflashtocontroltheratioregardlessofwhetheritisthekeyorfill.

Thisabilitytochoosewhethertheambientorelectronicflashwillbekeygivesyougreatflexibilityindeterminingthestyleofyourportraits.Byusingahandheldmeterandchangingthepowersettingsontheelectronicflash,youcancontroltheratiosinyourportraitsanddeterminethestyleandlookoftheportraitsbyadjustingwhichsource,ambientorelectronicflash,willbedominant.

BacklitOutdoorSituationsAstronglybacklitsetting,suchasaportraitwithasunsetinthebackground,createsitsownuniquelightingandexposureconcerns.Beyondthepotentialofflareinthecamera,abacklitsituationmeansthatthefacemaybenaturallyflattened.Inaddition,theambientlightingwillhavenoLDEdgewitha1:1ratio.

Aflashfillincreasestheflatteningpotential,particularlywhentheflashison-cameraorinatraditionalbehind-the-cameraposition.Theadditionallightopensthetonalityofthefacebutdoesnotadddimension.Ifanelectronicflashisusedatanangle,thenthislightreplacesthesunasthekeylightandcreatesanLDEdgeandlightratiobetweenthelightandambientfill.

Iftheelectronicflashvastlyoverpowersthesunlight,theresultingimagecantakeonanunnaturallook.Whenanelectronicflashisusedatanangle,careshouldbetakentokeepitataconsistentanglewiththesun.Ifthesunortheangleofthelightisvisibleintheframe,thenewkeylightshouldbeonthesamesideoftheframeandatasimilarangletoensureamorenaturallook.Itisimportanttousediffusedlightandtokeepthelightingratiolow,lessthan1:4.

Inabacklitportraitsetting,thebackgroundhasnoticeableeffects.Verticalsurfacesaresilhouettedanddarkened,whilehorizontalsurfacesarebrightandpotentiallyglaring.

Theexposureforaheavilybacklitsituationdependsonthetonedesiredforthebackground.Itishelpfultoperformareflectivemeterreadingofthebackgroundandthendeterminetheexposurefortheshutterspeedandaperture.Atthispoint,theangularelectronicflashreadingistaken.Ifanaturallookisdesired,thepowerfortheflashunitshouldbesettoanapertureequaltooronestoplessthanthef-stopresultingfromthebackgroundexposure.Ifyoucannotpowerdownthekeylightflashtoanacceptableaperture,thenanequivalentexposurecanbeusedtoadjusttheshutterspeedforanf-stopwithinthelightrangetheflashunitcanproduce.Anyfillshouldbesetusingtheadditivemethod,whetheryouareusingaflashunit,reflector,orambientlight.

ExpandedRangeSituationsInoutdoorsituationswithbrightsunlight,thelight’sdynamicrangemaybetoogreatforyoutoeffectivelyprintboththeportraitandthesunlitbackground.Neithernormaldigitalcapturenortraditionalnegative-to-printprocessingcanadequatelypresentthetotalityofthephotographicinformation.Thissituationsuggeststheuseofalongerdynamicrange.Forfilmcameraswithcolornegativefilm,therangeisabout18stops.Fordigitalcameras,itisnecessarytousedigitaloutputthatallowstheseparationoftonesacrossawiderange.Whileitispossibletodohighdynamicrangeimaging(HDRI)withdigitalcapture,presentlythesetechniquesconsistofscanningtechnologyormultipleexposuresthatarenotappropriateforportraitphotography.

Digitalcaptureisparticularlyunabletoacceptoverexposure.Thisisoneareawherenegativefilmhasanadvantage.Usingfilm’slatitudeforoverexposureresultsinanegativethathasalltheinformationneededforfacialdetails,deepshadowdetails,andbrightsunlitareas.Itisnecessarytomaketwoscansofthenegative,oneforthehighlightareasandoneforthedarkerareas.Thesetwoscansarethenmerged,eithermanuallyorbyusingsoftwaresuchasHDRIMergeinPhotoshop,toproduceonefilethatincludesallthelongdynamicrangeinfomation.

Indoor/OutdoorSituationsForenvironmentaloreditorialillustrativeportraits,weoftenfindtheneedtolightaninteriorwithoursubjectandatthesametimeseethroughawindowtocapturetheexteriorview.Heretheapproachistolighttheinteriorandthesubjectfirstandthencalculatetheexposurebasedonthecombinationofinteriorandexteriorlighting.Whentheinteriorlightingisanelectronicflashwiththeexposurebasedontheaperture,itcanbebalancedwithanequivalentexposurefortheexteriorlightatthesamef-stop.Thef-stopiscalculatedbymeteringtheinteriorelectronicflash.RegardlessofwhethertheexposurefortheexteriorlightisdeterminedbymeteringorbyusingBDE,theequivalentexposurehasthesamef-stopastheinteriorlightingprovidedbytheelectronicflash.

11PortraitCompositionalBasics

Mostofthecommonvocabulariesaboutcompositionarerootedinpaintinganddrawing.Asportraitphotographers,wecanfindtheseconceptsbeneficial,butitmakessensetospeakintermsofhowaportraitworksratherthanjustpresentingtraditionalartconcepts.Forthisapproach,wewidentheideasfromthe“elements”or“principles”ofcompositiontoincludetheperceptualaspectsofcomposition,includingbothpsychophysicalandphenomenalaspectswithintheportrait.

Manybookspresentcompositionalconceptsassix,seven,oreightelementsofdesignwithfiveormoreprinciples.Wedealwithalloftheseideasthroughoutthisbook,notjustinthischapter.Itisimportanttorecognizethattheseconceptsareimmersedinthetotalprocessofmakingasolidportrait.Wepresenttheconceptsbytyingthemtotheportraitwithoutdefiningtheirspecificimportancebyhoworwhenweintroducethem.Forexample,oneoftheconsistentlydiscussedelementsistonality,orvalue,whichwasdiscussedindepthinitsownchapter(chapter5).Also,certainconceptsofcolorwerebroughtoutinchapter2whendiscussinglightandvalueandinchapter6whendiscussinglightingratios.However,manyfurtherideasthatneeddiscussionwillbeamplifiedhere.

BalanceNotedartpsychologistRudolfArnheimstatedthatwithoutbalance,communicationinanimageisnotpossible.Startingwiththisconcept,itisimperativethatwedefinehowbalancefunctionsinaportrait.

Balanceinanimageisbasedonthevisualstructurewithintheframeandwherewefindthenaturalfocuspoint—thevisualcenter.Thevisualcenterisidentifiedasapointthathasthemosteffectonbalance.Itsitsslightlyabovethephysicalcenter,wherethetwodiagonalsfromthefourcornerscross.Thebalanceoftheimageisthendefinedaroundthispoint.

Wecancreateasymmetricallybalancedimagebyarrangingitwithanequalamountofvisualweightoneithersideofaverticallinethroughthevisualcenter.Amirrorimage,whereeachsideoftheimageisthereverseoftheother,ispurelysymmetrical.Symmetricalimagesarestableandtendtobestaticandappearmoreformal.

Whileamirrorimageisthemodelforsymmetry,inreality,manyimagesareclosetosymmetricalwithoutbeingexact.Thehumanface,forexample,isclosetosymmetricalthoughnotidenticalfromonesidetotheother.Likewise,wecangainthesameimagestabilitybycounterbalancingobjectsofsimilarsize,weight,orimportanceatanear-centeredverticalpointintheframe.Whenthesubjectispositionedonthevisualcenter,theimagebecomesstable;withoutotherbalanceeffects,suchimagesarebanal.Symmetrybyitselfdoesnotmakeaportraitbanalbecausesuchimagesareaboutaline,notjustthevisualcenter.

ThisportraitofHallofFamepitcherRollieFingersshowsvariouselementsworking

togethersuccessfully.BalanceiscreatedbytheAthletic’slogoatthebottom,thebaseball,andRollie’sface.Further,hisfingersandthelogobecomeleadinglinestowardhisface.Hissignaturemustacheisatthevisualcenteroftheimageand,alongwiththecontrastofthelightingonthecheek,centerstheattentionofviewonthisportrait.©TimMantoani(Courtesyoftheartist)

InthisimagebyJulieSparksAndradawecanseetwomajoraspectsofbalance.First,theimageisconstructedwiththevisibleeyeofthelittlegirlplacedattheupperleftintersectionoflinesbasedontheruleofthirds.Second,thevisualweightofthedarkjumpergivesstabilitytotheimage.©JulieSparksAndrada(Courtesyoftheartist)

Whenanimageisnotarrangedequallyaroundtheverticalcenterline,itisconsideredtobeasymmetrical.Thisdoesnotmeanthattheimageisnotbalanced.Thestructureoftheimageusesalever-and-fulcrumapproachtocreatingbalance.Inthissituationthevisualforceswithintheframecreatetensionthatfindsequilibrium.Theseimagesaresaidtohavedynamicbalance.Theelementsintheimagearearrangedsothattheirdistanceandvisualweightortensioncorrespondstothepointintheimageactingasthefulcrum.Forexample,aheaviervisualweightcanbebalancedbyalightervisualweightiftheheavierelementisclosertothefulcrumthanthelightervisualelement.Thefulcrumpointneednotbeinthecenter.Thecombinationofsize,tone,colorsaturation,anddistanceofthevisualelementsfromthefulcrumpointcreatesthedynamicbalance.Regardlessofthetype,somesortofbalanceisneededforanimagetowork.

Howtheelementsofaportraitarearrangedaroundthevisualcentercanalsocreateapparentmotionintheimage.Ifthesubjectispositionedadjacenttothevisualcenter,therewillbeapulltowardthecenter.InWesternsocieties,becauseofourreading

patterns,asubjectaboveandofftotherightofthevisualcentertendstopullmoretothecenterthanasubjectontheleft.Asthesubjectmovesawayfromthevisualcenterintheframe,thepullisreduced.Basedonthisconcept,wecanseehowthe“ruleofthirds”functions.Thisrulestatesthattoconstructadynamicallybalancedimage,thesubjectmustbeplacedatanintersectionoflinesdrawnparalleltotheedgesoftheimageframeatonethirdoftheimage’slengthfromeachside.Theruleofthirdsisadominanttoolinportraitcomposition.Normally,theeyesareplacedintheupperthirdwithoneeyeontheverticalcenterline.However,theserulesareoftenbrokenincontemporaryportraitphotographytoaddvisualimpact.

Asmentionedabove,thebalancedependsonvisualweight.Inturn,thevisualweightofvariouspartsofanimagedependsonseveralfactors.Thefirstfactoristhetonaldensityoftheelement.Thedarkerthetone,thegreaterthevisualweight.Ascaneasilybeseen,thesecondfactorissize.Toneandsizeworktogethertoincreasethetotaleffectofvisualweight.Thethirdfactorinvisualweightisthesaturationofanycolor.Whenthesaturationofacolorincreases,itsvisualweightincreases.Itshouldbenotedthatcomplementarycolorsofsimilarvalueandsaturationbalanceeachother.

Astheelementsoftheimagemovetowardtheedges,theyarepulledtowardtheedges.Ifanelementtouchestheedge,itbecomesstable.Thisistrueofalledges,butespeciallytrueofthebottomedge.Ifthereisamass,suchastheshoulderstouchingthebottomedgeoftheframe,theimagebecomesverystable.Iftheportraithasavignette,thentheedgeofthevignettebecomesthecriticaledge.Inaheadshot,theeyesarecentraltodefiningthebalanceoftheimage.Inafullerbodyportrait,theheadandfaceareconsideredtobethebalance-determiningportion.

InthisprofileofTwiggywecanseethepowerofthecontouraswellasastrongfigure-groundaspect.Whenthewhiteisseenasground,Twiggy’sfaceisclearlyseen,butifinterpretedwiththeblackbeingthegroundafigureofaseatedwomancanbeseen.©DouglasKirkland(Courtesyoftheartist)

LinesIndrawing,linesareabsolutelyessential,andtheycanalsoplayapositiveroleinthecompositionofaphotographicportrait.Wediscusslinesintermsoftheirweight,their

thickness,andtheirdirectionandformandwhethertheyarestraightorcurved.Linescanhavemassandtexturebutareextremelylongcomparedtotheirwidth.

Withinaphotographicportrait,linesareseldomthemajorelementofthecomposition;theyusuallysupportotherdesignelements.Foldsinmaterial,shadows,hairdetails,anarmorfinger,etc.,canformorimplylines.Becauselineshavedirection,theyareoftenusedas“leadinglines”toguidetheeyetowardimportantobjects.Wecanthinkofaleadinglineasatypeofarrowthatconcentratestheview.Alinecanalsoaidinbalance,e.g.,addingacountereffecttoanoff-centersubject.

Oneofthemostimportantlinesinaportraitistheonethatdefinestheshapeoftheface.Indrawing,thiscontourlinealonecanbeusedtodefinethesubject.Particularlywithaprofile,wecandefinesubjectsmoreeasilywithastrongcontourthanwithanyotherpartoftheportrait.Evenwhentheportraitisnotaprofile,acontourisneededtodefinetheshapeoftheface;ifthiscontourlineisnotreadilyvisible,itcandecreasetheeffectivenessoftheimage.Thelackofacontourlinefrequentlyoccursinveryhigh-keyorlow-keyportraits.

Inthisportrait,thepaintedscreeninthebackgroundhasaribbonmotifthatreinforcesthegown,bows,andsashthesubjectisholding.Eventhoughthecolorisnotexact,becausetheyareallinthesamefamilyofcolors(reds),thesimilarityisseen.©PhillipStewartCharis(Courtesyoftheartist)

Inthisimage,theshapeofthefaceisunmistakable.Thespecularlightcreatessharpnessintheshapesbetweenbrillianthighlightsanddarkshadows.©TimMeyer

Thebackgroundcolorwarmsuptheimagebyselectivelyreflectingontothesubjectandsettinganoverallwarmercolorschemetotheportrait©MatthewScottDrake(Courtesyoftheartist)

ShapeThecontourisnotalwaysaline;itisoftenseenasashape.Shapesareessentialtotheidentityofthesubject,thebalanceoftheimage,andthevibrancyoftheportrait.Shapesarethebuildingblocksforallpictures.Theyarefilledwithtones,textures,andlines;mostimportantforportraiture,theyarefilledwithlightandshadows.

Asmentionedearlier,thecontourofaportraitcangivemoreinformationastotheidentity

ofthesubjectthananyotherelementoftheimage.ThesilhouetteortheshadowofAlfredHitchcockatthebeginningofhistelevisionshowidentifiesthesubjectwithoutanyotherinformation.Thecontourisformedbytheboundarybetweenthesubjectandthebackground.Inorderforthecontourtobevisible,weassumethatthebackgroundcontinuesbehindtheshapedefiningthesubject’scontour.Whenthecontourisastrongboundary,wecanclearlydefinethesubject’sidentity.Themoreseparationbetweenthesubjectandthebackground,whethercolor,tone,texture,etc.,themoreidentifiedthecontourwillbe.

Whenwecreatethisboundarybetweenthesubjectandthebackground,wecreatea“figure-ground”relationship.Inportraitphotography,weoftenspeakofseparatingthesubjectfromthebackground.Ifwewanttoconcentrateonthesubjectoftheportrait,thenitisimportantthatwedefinethesubjectasfigureandthebackgroundasground.Sincetheboundaryispartofboththesubjectandbackground,itcanbeassumedtobepartofeither.Whenthereisconfusionastowheretheboundarybelongs,thenwehaveasituationknownasa“figure-groundillusion”or“contourrivalry”thatmakestheimagedifficulttointerpret.Thismayoccurwhenthesubjectandbackgroundtonesareflatattheboundarywithastrongtonalvariation—particularlywhenthebackgroundisbrighterintoneormorevividincolorthanthesubject.Inthissituation,thebackgroundandforegroundareoftentransposed,resultinginvisualconfusion.

“Negativespace”iswhatweroutinelycallthespacewithinthebackgroundthatisidentifiableasinteresting.Thesebackgroundshapesareseldomproblematic,andtheycanbecomeimportantvisualandconceptualaspectsoftheimage.However,theycanalsobecomedestructiveiftheydistractfromtheportrait.Acommonscenarioistohaveacontrastingbackgroundthatcreatesbold,recognizableshapes.Inthehandsofamaster,thisconceptcanleadtodramaticcommunicationofthemeaningoftheportrait.

Whilethecontourisanobviousshape,theentiretyofanyportraitismadeupofinterrelatedshapes.Wecanthinkofthefaceofoursubjectasmadeupofagroupofshapesdefinedbyshadows,highlights,andLDEdges.Forexample,atriangle-shapedlightareaoftenformsundertheeyewithRembrandtlighting,andwethenseethechinasablockorcurvedshape.Theoverallshapeofthefaceisamajorconsiderationinourchoiceofalightingpattern.Hairstylingcanchangetheapparentshapeoftheface.Aswedividethefacewithshadowsandhighlights,itsinteractionwithhairand/orclothingcreatestheshapesintheimage.

Shadowshaveatremendousimpactoncreatingshapes,bothintermsoftheshapeitselfandhowweperceiveit.Withcrisperdefinitionofshapes,aportraitdisplaysaharsherlook.Aspecularlightwithwell-definedLDEdgesformshardshapes,whiletheLDEdgefromadiffusesourcesoftenstheshapesandtheportrait.

Perceptually,shapesareseenascompleteandfullyclosedevenwhensmallpartsaremissing.Thisconceptisknownasclosure.Ifasmallpartofthecontourofafaceisobscured,ourbrainfillsinthemissingpiece.Thisaspectcanbeenhancedbytheuseofsimilarshapeswithintheimage.Iftherearemanycirclesinaportrait,thennearlycircularshapescompleteeasier.Regardlessoftheirexactproportions,similarshapessupporteachother.Shapeswillalso“group”basedontheirsimilarityandproximity.

SimilarityLikeothercompositionalelements,shapessupporteachother.Thishappensintwoways.First,whenthereisasimilarityofcolor,texture,shape,etc.,therepetitionhelpsusreacttotheobject.Ifthesubjecthasaround-shapedface,thenotherroundedshapesintheimagewillaccentandreinforcethatroundness.Repetitiondoesnotrequireexactreplicationof

theelement,butonlyenoughsimilaritysothattherelationshipcanbevisiblyrecognized.Suchrepetitioncanbeeitheraplusorminus,dependingonyourdesires.

Asecond,relatedconceptisthatofgrouping.Whenthereiscloseproximitybetweensimilarshapesorlines,theelementswilltendtobeseenasagroupratherthanasseparateelements.Thiscanbeeasilyseeninagroupportraitwhereanindividualmovesawayandisthereforeseenasseparatefromthegroup.

JuxtapositionInaportrait,elementsplacedneareachothersothattheyinteractwithoutsupportingeachotherarereferredtoas“juxtaposed.”Juxtapositionaccentstheelementsbycontrastingthem.Notallelementscanbeseenasjuxtaposedbecauseoftheirsimilarityorbecauseofhowtheysupportotherelements.

ColorWediscussedsomeofthephysicalattributesofcolorinchapter2,butherewewilldealwithitsperceptualandemotionalaspects.

Theperceptionofcolorhappensbetterinbrightlightsituationsthanindarklightsituations.Therefore,whenweseecolor,weinterprettheareawherethecolorislitwiththemostintenselight.Thisconceptofbrightnessrelatingtocoloralsorelatestothesaturationofcolor.Sinceourperceptualsystemidentifiesbrighterobjectsascloser,whencolorisseen,itadvancesintheperceivedspacetowardtheviewer.Thus,withmoresaturatedcolor,thereisevengreaterperceivedcloseness.Also,psychologicallycool(blue-based)colorstendtorecedeinaportraitwhereaswarm(red-based)colorstendtopullforward.

Severalotherattributesofcoloraffectthewayitfunctionsinaportrait.Colorsinteractwitheachotherandaffectthewayweseenearbycolors.Thisconcept,knownasbordercontrast,strengthensorweakenstheperceptionoftheneighboringcolorsdependingontheirrelativevalueandwhetherthecolorsarecomplementstoeachother.Complementarycolorsenhancetheirapparentsaturationwhenborderingeachother.Whenacolorisborderedbyadarkneutral,suchasblack,thecolorisalsoperceivedasmoresaturated.Whenborderingcolorsareneareachotheronthecolorwheel,theyreducetheirapparentsaturations.

InthisportraitdiptychoftheartistMagdalenaAbakanowicz,thesizerelationshipofthesculptures’slegsintheenvironmentalportraitandthelargefrontalportraitcreatethedynamicforinterpretingtheimage©BettinaFlitner(Courtesyoftheartist)

Theportraitistcanbenefitfromtheuseofthemoodandemotionalityofcolorintheimage.Likethequalityoflight,thesaturationofcolorhelpssetthemoodfortheportrait.Saturatedcolorstendtomakeharderimages,whilelesssaturated,pastelcolorsmakesofterimages.Saturatedcolorsarebolderandcanmakeaportraitmoredynamic.Whencolorsarecomplementary,thecontrasthardenstheportrait;theoppositeoccurswhencolorsarewithinthesamespectralarea.

Whetheranimageisseenashotorcool,cheeryorsad,itscolorscanhaveagreateffectontheviewer.Whilethecolortemperatureforrediscoolerthanblue,indeterminingtherelativewarmthofaportraittheoppositeisthecase.Thecolorsredthroughyellowonthecolorwheelareperceivedaswarm,andbluesareseenascool.

Colorhasagreatdealofemotionalimpact.Beyondtheissueofheatcreatedbycolor,weoftenthinkofredasthecolorofloveandblue/violetasthecolorofroyalty.Orangeisseenasfulloflifeandenergy,whilebluegreenisseenasrestful.Inmanysocieties,pinkisfeminineandblueismasculine.Thoughwedressbabiesinblueorpinkbasedongender,avibrantredcarisseenas“macho.”Greenisthecolorofjealousy.Thegoldpartoftheyellowspectrumisseenasrich.Blueisseenasstaidandproper.The“bluesuit”isthestandardforbusiness.Whentheportraitisdark,theimageisperceivedassomber,whilelightercolorsarehappier.Colorsareloadedwithmeaningandemotion.

Asignificantuseofcolorinaportraitisforemphasis.Colorattractstheeyesofthevieweranddirectshowtoprocesstheimage.Whetherit’stheredlipstickthatattractsattentionorthebrilliantblueeyes,spotsofcoloraddemphasis.Someglamourportraitsusesaturatedcolortoattractattentionorsetthemood.

TextureandPattern

Thedifferencebetweentextureandpatternismostlyafunctionofscale.Bothinvolverepetitivedetail,withtexturebeingsmallerandmorelikelyrandom.Textureisnotseenasaprimaryelementofanimage,whereaspatternsometimesiscriticaltothelook.Textureandpatternareoftenperceivedasbackgroundsandinterpretedascontinuingbehindasubject.

Bothtextureandpatterncangiveagreatfeelofdepthtoanimage.Perceptually,astheybecomesmaller,theyprovidevisualcluestodepth.Ataninfinitedistancefromtheviewer,theybothbecometone.

Perhapsthemostimportantdifferencebetweentextureandpatternisthewayeachinteractswithlight.Sincetextureiscreatedbydifferencesindepth,thetypeoflight(specular/diffuse)hasasignificanteffectonit,whereaspatternisnotaffectedtoanygreatdegreebydifferencesinlightquality.Specularlight,particularlyatalargeangleofincidence,increasestheabilitytoseetexture,whilediffuselightdecreasestheabilitytoseeit.Inportraitphotography,skintextureisenhancedbyspecularlightandmadesmootherbydiffuselight.Apattern,whetheraddedtotheskinoroccurringnaturally,isunaffectedbylightquality.

InthisenvironmentalportraitbyAnneNoggle,thesymbolismispowerful.Mostnoticeableisthelightingusedtosetthemood,withthelightfromthesingleroomlightandthesuntryingtocomeinthroughthewindow.Othersymbols,thebed,cat,andthewoman’sattire,alsoaddmeaningtotheimage.©AnneNoggle(1922-2005)(FromthecollectionofJimHolbrook)

VolumeVolumeisanelementthatgiveslifetoanimage.Sincephotographicportraitureisatwo-dimensionalartform,wemustreplacethenaturalthree-dimensionalityofoursubjectswithelementsthatcommunicatevolume.TheprimaryelementsaretheLDEdgeasitdefinesshapeofthelitsurfaceandthecharacteristicofthelight(specular/diffuse)that

makestheimage.Theseelementsconveyaformthatweperceiveashumanwithallitsroundnessanddepth.

WhiletheLDEdgeandtheshadowingonthesubjectcreatemuchofthevolumeofaportrait,thehighlightsalsocontribute.Astheintensityanddefinitionofthespecularhighlightsincrease,theypullforwardintheimageandmaketheportraitseemmorethree-dimensional.

SizeSizereferstotherelationalportionsthatobjectsoccupywithintheportrait’sframe.Inmedievalpaintings,thesizeofthepeoplegaveanindicationoftheirimportance.Relativesizewithintheframewasoftendictatedbystylisticconventions.Inmodernportraitphotographs,thesameconceptscanbeapplied.Ifapersonissmallwithintheframe,thentheywillbeperceivedaslessdominant.Withmultipleobjectsorsubjects,theirrelativesizeswillestablishtheirvalue.

Symbolism,Content,andMeaningPhotographyisapowerfullanguage.However,thestrengthofthelanguagehasnomeaningifyouhavenothingtosay.Portraitscanconveyfarmorethantheidentitiesoftheirsubjects.Therealcontentoftheportraitliesinthewaysymbolismisusedtocommunicate.Forexample,ArnoldNewmanwasknownfortakingportraitsinasubject’senvironment,buthewascarefultocontrolthecamerasothatthesymbolshecapturedtoldthestoryhewishedtotell.

Symbolsareobjectsthatprovidemeaningbytheirpresenceinaportrait.Whiletheobjectmaynotdirectlycommunicatethedesiredmeaning,itspresenceallowstheviewertoreceivetheintendedmeaning.Therearetwotypesofsymbols:universalandsocietalspecific.Ofthetwo,specificsymbolstendtobemorepowerfulbecausetheyhavemorecommunicativevaluetothesocietythatsupportsthem.Whilemanysocietiesuseacrossasasymbol,Christiansocietiesattachgreatermeaningtoitbecauseofitsreligiousconnotation.SomeAsiansocietiesmightseethesymbolasmeaningthenumber10,withlessimportancethantheChristianconnotation.

Whileitisobviousthatanenvironmentalportraitwillutilizesymbols,theyarealsoimportantinstudioportraits.Jewelry,clothing,andaccessoriescanfunctionassymbols,ascanfacialexpressionsandheadpositions.

12Posing

Bydefinition,posingrequiresdirectingthesubjecttochangephysicalpositiontoincreasevisualinterest,flatter,implyemotion,orcommunicateintenttotheviewer.Thisisdonebyrotatingthesubject,tiltingthehead,positioningthesubject’sbody,andemployingclothingandaccessories.

Throughouthistory,portraitistshavebeenawareoftheimplicationsofsubjectpositioning.Theearliestportraitsweremoreconcernedwithrecordingandexpressingpowerandauthoritythanportrayingthepersonalityofthesubject.Thiswastrueforsculptureaswellaspainting.

WeareindebtedtotheancientGreeksforintroducingvisualinterestandemotiontotheartofposing.Theyusedrotationsandtiltsoftheheadandtorsotoaccenttheemotionshownintheface.Rigiditygavewaytoamorerelaxedportrayalofthesubject.Evenwhentheideawastoshowstrengthorvigor,activeposesconveyedmoreoftheartist’sideaofthepersonthanstaticposes.

Sincethattime,portraiturehasseenmyriadshiftsinstyleduetotheinterestsofthepatrons.TheearlyRenaissancebroughtarevivaloftheGreekstylewithatwisttowardnaturalism.TheBaroqueperiodintroducedanelementofrealismandspontaneity.Thecontinualebbandflowofposingstylescontinuedwiththeinventionofphotography.

Theintroductionofphotographicprocessesin1839broughtnewrestrictionsonposingintothemakingofportraits.Theslownessofthedaguerreotypeandcallotypeprocesses

requiredthesubjecttoremainstillforlongexposures.Therefore,themostcommonposeswerestablepositionssuchasthesubject’sarmrestingonthearmofachair,thesubject’shandrestingonatable,or,evenmorerestrictive,thesubject’sheadconfinedbyrestraintsfrombehind.

Overthepast170years,photographicposingstyleshavechangeddramatically.Inthepastfewdecades,therehasbeenasignificantdiscussionabouttheroleofposinginportraitphotography.Formostofphotographicportraiture’shistory,classicalposinghasreignedsupreme.Butwithtimeandchangesinbothtechnologyandequipment,therehasbeenamovementtoafreerstyleofposing.

Whathaschangedmostisthedegreeofmovementwithinthepose,andeventhisvariesdependingonthespecificphotographicgenre.Highfashionportraits,portraitsofchildren,andportraitsofindividualsconcernedwithstyletendtowardexaggeratedposes,whilethefinancialeliteandfineartiststendtowardlessphysicalbutmoreunderstatedposes.

PosingBasicsInspiteofthechangesinstylethroughtheages,thefundamentalsofposinginportraiturehaveremainedthesame.Theycanbebrokendownintotwodistinctavenuesofthought:

1. Poseascomposition2. Poseasexpression

Thisportrait,madebyHillandAdamsonaround1843,showsclassicposingthatallowedthesubjecttoholdtheirpositionduringalongexposure(FromthecollectionofDavidRuderman)

“Poseascomposition”referstopositioningthearms,legs,head,andtheentirebody,forthatmatter,tocreatemorevisuallyinterestingcompositions,toflatterthesitter,ortocommunicatetheportraitist’sideas.“Poseasexpression”referstoexpressingbodylanguageandsymbolsviathehumanform.Thisisnormallythepurviewofthefineartist,butposeasexpressionoftenfindsitswayintomanyeverydayportraits.Itisusedtoexpresstheattitudesand/orthebeliefsofthesitterorportraitist.Whichofthesetwoconceptsdominatesisdeterminedbythepurposeoftheportraitandthephysicalnatureofthesitter.However,mostportraitsmixthetwostyles.

Classicalposing,whichisbasedontheGreekmodel,emphasizesanglesandcurveswithrareintroductionsofverticalandhorizontalelements.Contemporaryandfineartapplicationsemployclassicalelementsbutintroduceasignificantnumberofverticalandhorizontalelements.Thisexpressivestyleofposingisreflectedintheplacementofthehands,arms,legs,andeventhespine.FemininesubjectsarebuiltaroundSandCcurve

configurations,whilemasculinesubjectsreflectamoreangularapproach.Poseasexpressionisnoteworthyspecificallyfortheseparationthatitprovidesfromtheclassicformsand,whenusedcreatively,fortheinterpretationandsymbolismthatitbringstothesubject.

PhysicalPosingThefirstissueinapproachingposingistheamountofthesubject’sbodythatmakesuptheportrait.Thereisnospecificadvantagetooneapproachoranother,aseachgivesadifferentlook.Primarily,wespeakoffull-length,three-quarter(¾),bust,andcloseupportraits.Themostcommonposeisthebustthatincludesthetotalheadwithoutcroppingandtheupperpartofthetorso.Afull-lengthposeneednotbeastandingportrait,butitwillshowtheentirebody.Theleastfrequentlyusedposeisthethree-quarterviewthatincludestheheadandfulltorsobutseldomshowsthebodybelowmid-thigh.Lastisthecloseuporfull-faceportraitthatcropstightlyonthefaceanddoesnotshowtheshoulders.

Regardlessofhowmuchofthesubjectwillbeseenintheportrait,posingstartsatthefeet.Whetherthesubjectisseatedorstanding,ortheportraitisfull-lengthorcloseup,theplacementofthefeetcreatesthefoundationfortheportraitanddeterminesthepostureofthesubject.TheGreeksgaveustheconceptofcontrapposto(ironically,anItalianphrasedepictingaGreekconcept),whichreferstotheplacementofthesubject’sweightononefoot,oftenthefarthestfootfromthephotographer,andtherelaxationofthefrontfoot.Thisminorweightshiftcreatesmovementinthelineofthespine,alterstheaxisofthehipsandshoulders,andimpliesasenseofeaseinthesubject.

Otherpositionsofthefeetconveyvariousotherbodyconcepts.Withthedoubleflat-footedstance,theretendstobestaticplacementoftheshoulders,hips,andspine.Whenusedin“atattention”mode,itrecallsmilitaryorhistoricstatues.Thisfootstructurerestrictsthemotionofthehipsandincreasesmuscletensiontomaintainbalance.Themuscularandskeletaltensionprogressesupthebodytotheneckandface.Whiletensioniscreatedthroughouttheportraitbyrigidsymmetricalfeetpositioning,whenthefeetaremorerelaxed,theycanproducepoorposture.

ItiscommonforwomentostandinthecontrappostofashionwhileexaggeratingthecurveofthespinetocreatetheCorScurve.Theamountofexaggerationisdeterminedbythegenreofportraiture.Whilemenalsotakeadvantageofthecontrappostopostion,thehipmaintainsanangularandthereforeamoremasculinefeel.Whentheweightisplacedonthefrontfoot,evenwhilesitting,thebody’sweightmovestowardthecameraandcreatesamoreaggressivestatement.

Justasthefeetbeginthepose,thelegstransfertheposingenergytothehips.Inturn,thehipssettheangleforthetorso,definingthespineangleandestablishingtheheadtiltpotential.Dependingontheflexibilityofthetorso,theposingofthemid-bodysetsup

howrelaxedortensetheshouldersandneckappear.

Withtheexceptionoffull-faceandcloseupportraits,theshouldersortheirposingareinvolvedintheimage.Mostcommonly,oneshoulderisrotatedtowardthecamera.Thispositionallowsforafullrangeofheadrotation.Tofacilitatetherangeofmotionfortheheadwithverticalrotationandyaw,theshoulderclosesttothecameraisfrequentlylowered.Thistendstobeawidespreadposebecauseitpromotesarelaxedlook.Posingwiththeshouldershorizontalorwiththeshoulderclosesttothecameraraisedcreatesan“attitude.”

Whenthearmsandhandsbecomeinvolved,thecompositionandposingfortheportraitbecomemorecomplex.Becauseoftheflexibilityandsizeofthearms,theirpositionwithintheposecandeterminethesuccessoftheportrait.Theposingprocesscanusearmplacementsdesignedaroundposesthatfeelcomfortableforthesubjectbutstillmaintainasenseofstyle.Formostportraits,itisadvisabletoavoidrightanglesattheelbowsorwristsandthecreationofverticalorhorizontallineswitheitherpartofthearm.

Unlikefeminineposes,masculineposesavoidsofteningtheposewithroundedshouldersorexaggeratedshoulders,hips,andlegs.Inthetoprow,themaleIformcanbeseen.Hipsandshouldersstayparallelandthereislittleheadtilt.Inrowtwo,theCformissubtlewithslightheadtiltsandsmallhipdisplacements.IncreatingtheSformshowninthebottomrow,justaswiththeCpose,theheadtiltsandshoulderandhipmovementsareminimized.

Thischartshowsnineposesthatarecommonforfemalefull-bodyposing.ThefirstrowshowsI-typeposeswherethebodypositionrelativetothecameraisaverticalline.ExampleCshowsthatthehipsandshoulderscansoftentheIposebyroundingthetorsoandhipswhilemaintainingtheverticalline.ThesecondrowshowsexamplesofC-typeposeswherethebodyisbenttomakearoundedshape.InexampleD,thebackisbentwhileholdingthehipsmostlyparalleltoformtheC-shape.TherearleginexampleEcreatesthelineandbalancetoformtheC-shapewiththeleftarmaccentingtheform.Inthethirdrow,theSformiscreatedmostlywithheadtilt.ComparingexamplesDandGorcomparingexamplesFandI,theheadtiltinGandIaretowardtheextendedhipwhilein

DandF,theheadisalignedwiththespineorslightlytiltedawayfromtheextendedhip.Finally,whencomparingexampleCwithexampleHwecanseeboththeeffectofheadtiltandcameraangle.InexampleC,anI-formpose,themodel’sheadisalignedwiththespineandthecameraangleisperpendiculartothemodel’spose.InexampleH,thecameraisata¾positiontothemodelandherheadistiltedtowardtheraisedhip,creatingtheS-shape.

Handsarealmostalwaysviewedfromtheside;thisslenderizesthesubjectandallowsforgracefulcurveswiththefemininehandandangularformswiththemasculinehand.Theexceptiontothiswouldbewhenthehandsarecriticalwithintheimage.Forgroupportraits,handsandarmstakeonsignificanceasameansofexpression.Theposedetermineswhetherthereisaconnectionbetweenthesubjectsandwhatemotioniscommunicatedbythegesture.

Thehandinteractionwiththefacecanalsoimplygender.Aclosedorclenchedhandtendstobemoremasculinewhilearelaxedorlightlycurvedhandhasafeminineinference.

HeadPlacementandRotationInthisposingprogressionweimportantlyarriveattheheadandface.Whilethelightingontheface,asdiscussedinchapter7,determinesmuchofthecharacteroftheportrait,theposeoftheheadpresentsconsiderableinformationaboutthesubject.

Therearedefiniteviewsoftheheadinrelationshiptothebodythathavefeminineormasculineimplications.Generally,inafemininepose,theheadtiltstothehighshoulder.Mennormallyleantowardthelowshoulder.

Anotherapproachistofollowthelineofthespine.Formen,thealignmentoftheheadmaintainsthestraightlineofthespine,whileforwomenitiscurved.Thiscreatesamoreangularstructurewiththemasculinealignmentandasofterstructurewiththefemininealignment.

Adiscussionofposingoftenfocuseson“headtilt.”Thistermreferstotherotationofthefacialaxisinrelationtothecamera,butitalsocanincludetwootherfactors.Theneckfacilitatesthemotionoftheheadinthreeways.First,theheadcanrotateinrelationtothecameraaxis.Thisrotationisinahorizontalmotionthatcaninvolveboththeneckand

torso.Secondisthetiltofthehead,arotationinaverticalpaththatcanbethoughtofasraisingorloweringthechin.Lastis“lean,”arotationoftheheadsothattheeyesarenothorizontal.

Whilethehead’smotiondoesnotaffectthelightingratio,itcanchangethetypeoflightingpatternonthehead.Forexample,high-angle,openlooplightingcanchangetoclosedloopwhentheheadisrotatedtowardthecameraaxisortobutterflylightingwhenit’srotatedawayfromthecameraaxis.Dependingonthemoodthatyouwishtoestablish,changingthehead’spositionduringaportraitsessioncanaffectthelookoftheindividualphotographs.

Inportraitsofmen,thenarrowingofthehandsisnotascritical,becausefeminizingthefigureislessimportant.Whileamorerelaxedhandposeisthegeneralrulewithfemalemodels,moretension(asseeninC)isoftenusedtosymbolizemasculinitywhenposingmalemodels.Arelaxedfistor“staircased”fingersarealsocommoninmalehandposing.ExaminingtheMalePoseChartwillgivefurtherexamplesforhandposes.

Handsareseldomthecriticalelementinaportrait.Inmostcases,theprominenceofthehandscanbeminimizedbyrotatingthemsothepalmorbackofthehandisn’tvisible.Thebackofthehandaddsweighttotheimageandproducesalessgracefulview.Generallythefemalehandisbent,eitherintheshapeofaCorarchedintheshapeofanS.Thiscanbeseenintheexamplesabove,whichshowseveralwaystoholdahandsoitappearsnarrowandmorefeminineinthephotograph.Intheseposes,thefingersareusuallycurvedandoftenstaircased.ExaminingtheFemalePoseChartwillgivefurtherexamplesforhandposes.

Primarilywethinkofposingtheheadinoneofthreerotationalpositions.Whilesomedescribefivepositions,twoofthesearemirrorimagesoftheothers.Thethreepositionsareasfollows:

1. Onthecameraaxis,i.e.,afrontalor“mugshot”2. Atanangletothecameraaxis,i.e.,athree-quarterview3. Perpendiculartothecameraaxis,i.e.,aprofile

Theprofileandmugshotviewshavealonghistory.Theyweretheearliestviewsofthefaceusedinportraiture.ItwasnotuntiltheRenaissancethatthethree-quarterviewbecamepredominant,anditstillrulestodayasthemostcommonview.

Thesymmetricalfrontalviewofthefacehasfallenoutoffavoroverthelastfewcenturiesbecauseitisastaticview;italsohasconnotationsoficonicimageryandidentityphotographsthatrequireanuncreativeanddispassionatepointofview.However,severalwell-knownartists,suchasRichardAvedon,havebroughtthefrontalapproachbackintofashion.Thefullfrontalviewaddstheappearanceoffullnessaswellaspresentingamoreconfrontationalattitude.Becausethefeaturesandaxisofthefacearealignedwiththecameraaxis,frontallightingremovesdepthfromthefeaturesoftheheadandface.

Intheseexampleswenoticethattheheadtiltformalesfollowsthespine.Evenwhenrotated,thelineofthespineiscontinued.BothAandCareexamplesofclassicmaleheadposeswiththeleanoftheheadtowardthelowershoulder.InexampleBtheheadistiltedtowardthehighershouldercreatingalessmasculinepose.Thisissometimesacceptable

inmorecontemporaryimages,butgoesagainstthegrainofclassicportraiture.

Thefemaleexamplesshowthesubjectinamugshot-styleportrait.Thereisnoheadrotationandonlyaslighttiltoftheheadofftheaxisofthespine.Sincethemodelisfacingthecamerawithaverticalalignmentoftheface,thetiltisaccomplishedwithsmallrotationsandanglingoftheneck.InexampleAweseeaslighttilttothehighshoulder.Thisistheclassicfemaleheadposition.Thisistraditionallytheonlyheadtiltreservedforwoman.InBtheheadisrotatedtobefacingthecamerawithaverticalneck,andinCtheheadisleaningtowardthelowershoulderwithaslighttiltbacktoretainamoreverticalheadposition.Boththeverticalheadangleandheadtilttothelowershoulderarefoundinmasculineposing,aswell.Thebestguidelineforphotographingwomeninaclassiclookistocreatemotionwithinthepose.Thisnormallyrequiresusingaheadtilttofinishoneofthecompositionallinesofthefullbodypose.

Likepaintings,photographshaveasingularpointofview.Thissingularperspectiveallowsaphotographertochoosewhichanglebestrepresentsor,moreoften,bestflatters

thesubject.Thisispartoftherationalefortheuseofthethree-quarterview(sometimescalledthetwo-thirdsview)inportraiture.Thisviewdoesnotnecessarilydividetheportraitintoathree-quartertoone-quarterproportionaboutthenose,butitisindicativeofthatrelationship.Inthethree-quarterview,theheadisturnedawayfromthecameraaxis,whileaviewofbotheyesismaintained.Therotationwillalsoshowoneearifitisnotcoveredbythesubject’shairorclothing.

Thethree-quarterviewshowsallfiveplanesofthefacewithrecognizableformandvolume,unliketheothertworotationsthatflattenorobscurethoseplanes.Byrotatingthefacialaxisawayfromthecamera,thethree-quarterviewalsoslenderizesthesubject.Thisisparticularlythecasewithahighlightingratioandashortlightingapproach.

Thereareseveralotherreasonswhythethree-quarterviewisthemostcommonheadrotation.Ithasthegreatestpotentialforarelaxedsubjectbecausetheheadtiltandleancanbeusedtosettheportrait’sintensity.Forasubjectwithlonghair,thethree-quarterviewallowstheuseofthehairasanactivedesignelement.Also,withoutbeingconfrontational,thesubjectcanlookatthecamerabecausebotheyesarevisibleintheimage.

Theprofileviewhaslongbeenafavoredportraitmethod.Inpre-photographictimes,ascissorsartistwouldcutblackpaperprofiles.Theprofilewasselectedfortwospecificreasons.First,ashadowcastfromasinglelight(e.g.,acandle)wouldallowseeingtheprofilesimply.Second,theprofiledefinesthefacewithasingleline,thecontour,whichgivesnodepthbutprovidesaveryrecognizableportrait.

Inposingforaprofile,thefacialaxisisperpendiculartothecameraaxis.Withthispositioning,onlyonesideofthefaceisvisible.Thismeansthatthecontourwillbeclearlyseenwithnomorethantheeyelashfromthefarsideoftheface.Becausethecontouriscentraltoseeingandidentifyingthesubject,itisimportantthatthebackgroundnotcompetewiththecontourline.Thisrequiresabackgroundwithnoaddeddetailthatcaninteractwiththecontour.

Oncetheheadrotationischosen,oneoftwoothermotionsisusedtoestablishthepose.Firstisthechintilt,therotationoftheheadupordownonthefacialaxis.Thissimplemotioncansetuptheattitudefortheportrait.Rotatingthechindownwardtendstoindicateamorepassivepose.Rotatingthechinoutwardandslightlyupwardcreatesamoreassertivepose.Masculineposesnormallyusetheoutward/upwardchinposition.Feminineposesfavorlowerchinpositions,thoughupwardchinpositionsarealsoused.

Finally,theheadcanleantoeitherside.Severeleansareuncommon,thoughtheycanbeusediftheyproducethedesiredcomposition.Aslightleanrelaxesthelookoftheportrait.Iftheheadismaintainedstraightontheneck,theportraitcanlookstiff.

Withthesethreemotions—rotation,tilt,andlean—numerousposesbecomepossible.Theideaistousethecombinationthatprovidesthebestcompositionandfeelforthesubject.Inthelatterhalfofthe20thcentury,differentschoolsofthoughtdirectedspecificcombinationsformenandwomen.Whilethesecombinationsarestillsometimesused,theyhaveforthemostpartfallenoutoffavor.

13FacialAnalysis

“Ihad15minuteswithDameEdnaandhadtobefocusedtoshowtheessenceofhercharacterwithouthavingtofeelorknowhermuch,sowhenshedidherlipsthingIgotcloserandphotographedit…that’showIphotograph,Igetclose.”©ElinorCarucci(Courtesyoftheartist)

Whatdowewantandwhatdoourclientswant?Thisisnotaquestionthatoriginatedwithrecentadvancesincaptureandretouchingtools;ithasbeenwithussinceGreekandRomantimes.Theconcerniswhetheraportraitshouldbeanexact,idealized,orfactuallycorrectportrayalofthesubject.Inphotographicportraits,wehavetheabilitytomakethischoiceinsophisticatedways.

Wecannotdenythatoursubjectswanttolooktheirbest,butthisisnotthesameaslookingperfect.Itisnotonlyanissueofretouching,butalsoofmakingproperchoicesinlightingandcomposingtheportrait.Clearly,weneedtotakecontrolofourtoolstooptimizeourwork.Thevarioustoolswehavediscussedthusfarhavegivenustheabilitytofine-tuneaportraitwhilerecognizingthedifferencesthatmakeoursubjectsindividuals.

Oncewechooseourapproachontheidealism-to-realismcontinuum,wecanestablishmethodstoachieveourgoal.Thisisatwo-partactivitythatbeginswithanalysisandproceedsthroughcorrectivetechniquesandlightingvariations.

Fortheportraitphotographer,facialanalysisisofprimaryimportance.However,wemustacknowledgethatfacialanalysisisindividualtotheethnicityandcultureofthesubjectandphotographer.TheprinciplesoffacialanalysisdescribedherewillbewithinaWestern

European/Americansocietalcontext.

AnalyzingtheFaceEarlier,wediscussedthefiveplanesthatdeterminelightingpatternsontheface.Thesearepartofourconsiderationasweanalyzetheface,foritisthepatternsoflightanddarkthatgivethefacethedesiredform,volume,andqualities.

Welookfordeviationsfroma“normal”face,withnormaldefinedasheadproportionswiththeeyeshalfwayfromthetopoftheskulltothechin,thenoseapproximatelyone-thirdofthewayfromtheeyestothechin,andthemouthapproximatelytwo-thirdsofthewayfromtheeyestothebottomofthechin.Thesebasicproportionsareroughlycommontoallfaceshapes,thoughindividualandethnicvariationsoccur.Wearenotconcernedwiththewaythehairisstyled.

Thewidthofanovalfaceisapproximatelytwo-thirdsoftheheightfromthechintothehairline.Theovalfacehasanangularlycurvingchinwithnosharporflatportions,andtheforeheadisroundedmorethanthechinline.Theovalformedbythisconfigurationisegglikewiththefacecontinuouslycurving,thoughthelowerhalfofthefaceisslightlylesscurvedthanthetophalf.Thecheekbonestendtobevisible,thoughnothighlypronounced.

Ovalface

Aroundfaceisjustwhatitsoundslike.Thefaceisapproximatelythesamewidthandheight,anditisclosertoacirclethoughseldomapurecircle.Becauseoftheseproportions,thechinseemslessprominentandthemouthappearslowerontheface.Becauseoftheface’swidth-to-heightproportion,itlooksfullerandthecheekbonestendtolookflat.Withtheroundnessalsocomesafullorplumplook.

Thelongfaceshapeisthenarrowestoftheprimaryfacialshapes.Itskeyfeatureisitsnarrowwidth-to-heightproportion.Thecheekbonesareelongated,andwhilepronouncedonthesidesofthecheeks,theytendtolayflatteronthefrontalsurface.Thelongershapeofthefacemakesthechinlookextendedandprominent.Becausethefaceisnarrow,theeyesarenearertothetemplesandthereforeemphasized.

Similartotheroundface,thesquarefaceisbroadincomparisontoitsheight.Theedgesoftheface,particularlythejawandhairline,areflatandatasignificantangletothetemples.Thecheekbonesareflatterandlesspronouncedthanwithotherfacialshapes.However,thecheeksarefullandtendtolookplump.

Roundface

Thelastcommonfaceshapeistheheart-shapedortriangularface.Inthistype,theupperportionofthefaceisbroadandtheportionbelowthecheeksisnarrow.Thisfacewilloftenhavehighcheekbonesthatarenotobviousbecauseofthebreadthoftheupperpartoftheface.Mostnotableisthehighlytaperedjawlinethatcancreateapointedchin.Theforeheadandeyestendtodominatethisfacialconfiguration.

Thesefacialformsareskeletalandthusdonotdependontheweightofthesubject.However,themoreweightthesubjectcarriesrelativetoheight,thesofterthefeaturesofthefacewillbe.Thecontraryisalsotrue,withthinnerindividualstendingtohaveaccentuatedbonestructure.

Longface

Anotherportionoftheheadstructurethatentersintoouranalysisistheneck.Forwomen,thelengthandconditionoftheneckbecomeanissue,particularlywhenopen-neckedattireisworn.Theneckmaybelong,givingtheheadafloatingquality,orshort,thusanchoringtheheadtotheshoulders.Alsowithageorweighta“doublechin”maydevelop.

Animportantfacialplanefordeterminingportraitlightingisthenose,andthereforeitisimportanttoanalyzehowthenosewillbeseenandhowitwillcastshadows.Thenose’slengthisapproximatelyhalfthelengthofdistancebetweenthetopoftheforehead,thehairline(unlessreceded),andthechin.Itswidthtendstobeproportionaltothewidthoftheface,i.e.,roughlyone-thirdthewidthoftheface.However,theshapeofthenoseismostimportantandoftendictatesthepose;forexample,withalargenose,aprofileislessflattering(thoughsomenotableportraitshavebeenmadeofdistinctivenosesinprofile,suchasKarsh’sportraitofJacquesCousteau).

Squareface

Heart-shapedface

Theeyesareoftenseenasthekeytotheinnerportrait.Therefore,theirstructureisimportanttotheanalysisoftheface.Theirshapeanddepthintheface,alongwiththebrowshapeandweight,definethestructureoftheeyes.Eyeshapeisprimarilyageneticfactorbasedonheritageandethnicity.Forthemostpart,theeyesareapproximatelyequalinsize;unlesstherearelargeflawsintheirshapes,theeyeswillbeactiveintheportraitbutwillnotdemandanysubstantivecorrection.Farmoreimportantinfacialanalysisarethedepthoftheeyes,theangularityofthebrow,andtheheightofthecheekbones.

Aspecialsituationexistswhenthesubjectwearsglasses.Thephotographermustthenconsiderhowtheframesandglassinthespectaclesmodifythelightandshadowsandhowthelensesdistorttheeyes.

Thelowerportionoftheface,fromthenosetothechin,needstobeconsideredinanalyzingthefaceaswell.Thelips,particularlyforwomen,arebothwelldefinedandadjustable.Usinglipstick,theshapeofthelipscanbestrengthenedorweakenedforthepurposesoftheportrait.Formen,shapingthelipsisnotcommoninmostportraiture.

Belowthelips,thestructureofthechinplaysamajorroleindefiningfacialstructure.Asmentionedearlier,theshapeofthejawestablishesotherfactorsoftheface.Whenthejawisnarrowandangular,thefacetendstowardeitheratriangularorlongshapethatisseenasweak.Asquarejawtendstobeseenasstronger.Thechinanditsformaddtothejaw’sstrengthwhenextendedoutfromthefaceand,conversely,addtothejaw’sweaknesswhensubtle,rounded,orflat.

Lastly,haircontributestotheoverallanalysisoftheface.Forhigh-endphotographicportraiture,astylistwillbepresenttoarrangeandcontrolthehair,butformostportraiture,thephotographerwillneedtoattendtoit.Primaryconcernsarehowthehairframesthefaceandwhetherthereareflawsthatneedtobeaddressed,suchasbaldness,thinninghair,orhairthathasproblematiccolorortexture.

AfterAnalysisOncewehavedeterminedthebasicstructureoftheface,wecanestablishthebestlightingandpose.Herewecanbenefitfromthewaybeauticiansapplymakeuptotheirclients.Beauticiansusemakeupforshadowingandhighlighting,subtletodramatic,toemphasizeattractiveaspectsordiminishunattractiveaspectsoftheface.Wecanusetheseideasofplacementoftonebyapplyinglightratherthanactualmakeuptothesurfaceoftheface.Theuseoflightingbasedonfacialanalysisisoftencalledcorrectiveaction,butitisasmuchanissueofcorrectposingasitisoffixingflaws.

Perhapstheeasiestchoicetomakebasedonfacialanalysisistherelationshipofthefacialaxisandthecameraaxis.Whileshortorbroadlightingistheprimarymethodofdeterminingthewidthoftheface,rotatingthefaceawayfromthecameraintroducesforeshorteningandtendstothintheface.Thisaspectofposingbasedonfacialanalysisiseffectiveuntilthefaceisrotatedtoabouta45°anglewiththecameraaxis.Beyondthispointthefacialshapeislessimportantastheprofiletakesprecedence.Narrowingtheviewofthefacewithrotationisbeneficialwhenthebreadthofthefaceneedstobereduced,andtheeffectcanbeenhancedfurtherbyusingshort,higher-ratiolighting.Theresultisshadowingonpartofthecamera-facingportionofthesubject’shead,whichdiminishesitssize.

Tocorrectforaroundface,theheadisrotatedawayfromthecameraaxis,combinedwithshortlighting.Thisforeshortensthebreadthofthefacewhiletheshortlightingreducestheamountofthefacewithbrightlighting.

Withabroadface,ahigherangledkeylightalsoincreasesshadowingandreducestheface’sperceivedwidth.Itiscommontouseaslightlyhighercamerapositioninrelationtothesubject.

Lenschoiceisalsoimportantinfacialinterpretation.Shorterthannormallenses(e.g.,a50mmonafullframe35mmDSLRcamera)tendtoincreaseroundnessbutintroducean

unpleasantdistortion.Mostportraitartistsfavorlongerthannormal(telephoto)lenses.Theyflattenperspectiveandproducewhatisperceivedasamorepleasingappearance.

Theoppositeisusedtocorrectforalongerface.Broadlightingisusedwithheadrotation.

RoundFaceAroundfaceisnotaflaw,buttheproperlightingwillcreateaportraitthatismorepleasingforthesubject.Whenthethreeaxes—camera,keylight,andfacial—arealigned,thenthetrueshapeofthefaceisseen.Thusfromtheoutset,thefirstchoicebasedonfacialanalysisistherelationshipoftheaxes.Thelowerthelightratio,i.e.,thecloserto1:1,thebetterthefacialshapewillberealized.Withfaintshadows,thecontourofthefacewillbemorevisible.

Correctionforthenarrowchinoftheheart-shapedfaceistophotographfromalowerangleusingperspectivetochangethevisualproportionofthechincomparedtotherestoftheface.

LongandTriangular-ShapedFacesThecontraryalsocanbeappliedforlongortriangular(heart-shaped)faces.Inthissituation,lessrotationofthefacefromthecameraaxisandbroad,lower-angledlightingwithalowerlightratioprovidemorelitareaofthefaceandheadandmakethemlookfuller.Withatriangularorheart-shapedface,caremustbetakentoavoidtoomuchlightingontheforeheadbecauseofitslargerproportiontothelowerface.Tiltingthechinupwardand/orloweringthecamera’spositionoftenaccomplishesthis.Thishasabeneficialeffectonboththebroadforeheadandthenarrowchincommontothetriangular-shapedface.Correctiveactionscanbeusedforanyshapefaceifthesubjecthasabroadforeheadornarrowchin.

Ahigherangleisusedwithaflatface.Thisallowssubtlecontoursonthefacetobemorevisible.

FlatFacesForaflatface,ahigherlightpositionwithahigherlightratioprovidesmorefacialtoningandaccentssubtlefacialcontours.Ifthefaceisoverlycontoured,alowerkeylightpositionandlowerlightratioeliminatesomeshadowingandallowlighttoreachintodeep-seteyesockets.

Notallcontoursonthefaceareskeletal.Skindefects,suchaswrinklesandscars,canbesoftenedbyusingthislighting.Thefacecanberotatedtowardthecameratoreducethesizeorangularfeaturesofthenose.Thisisimportantfortworeasons.First,whenthenosehasanundesirableprofileshape,rotatingthenosetowardthecamerareducesitssizeintheportrait.Also,ifthenosecastsashadow,thisrotationclosesandmergestheshadowofthenosewiththeshadowonthecheek.Alowlightratiofurtherhelpstominimizetheshapeandsizeofthenose.

Wrinklesandcontoured-basedblemishescanbeminimizedbytheuseofadditionallight,butthisisnottrueofallproblemareasontheface.Themostcommonwaytoaddressdefectsisbyhidingthemintheshadows.Withfaceshapeswherehighlightratiosarenotappropriate,anadditionallightonablemishorunevenskintonesmayreducecontrastwiththesurroundingareaanddiminishtheproblem.Inthiscase,formfilllightingorbroadlightingontheproblemareacanbegoodchoices.

Acommonconcernforolderandheaviersubjectsistheconditionoftheneck,whichmaybeheavilywrinkledorcompromisedbyapuffydoublechin.Raisingthekeylight’sheightandusingahigherlightratiocreateashadowfromthechinandjawthatdiminishestheimpactoftheneck.Ahighercameraangleisalsoeffectiveinthissituation.

Becausetheeyesaresoimportanttoaportrait,somespecifictechniquesfordealingwitheyeshavecomeintouse.Whentheeyesaredifferentinsize,itiscommontoposethesubjectbyrotatingthelargereyeawayfromthecameraandtoplacethekeylightclosetothesmallereye.Whentheeyesaresmall,placetheangleofthelightingtoensureacatchlightintheeyes.Iftheeyesbulge,thenlowerthekeylightandusealessdramaticlightratiotoeliminateshadowingundertheeyes.

Hairbecomesafactorthatallowsforbothcorrectingflawsinthefacialstructureandaddingcreativeimpetustotheportrait.Theshapeoftheheadandfacecanbemodifiedbyhairstyling;e.g.,bangsorawavecombedacrosstheforeheadcanmodifyitssizeandshape.Thisisparticularlyimportantforfaceswithlargeforeheads.

Thewaylightreflectsfromthehairandhowitcreatesshadowsalsoentersintomakingtheportrait.Whenthehairisthinorwhenthesubjectisbalding,keeplightawayfromthetopoftheheadtoreduceanyaccentingofwhatmanysubjectsconsideraflaw.

ExpressionHistoryaswellasthebreadthofhumanexperiencehasinfluencedexpressionincontemporaryportraiture.Becausemostportraitphotographyisclientbased,thevastmajorityofcommissionedportraitsarelimitedtohappyandpleasantexpressions.Ontheotherhand,fineartportraiturehasdrawnfromthevastnessofhumanhistoryandexperiencefromtheGreekson.

Inearlyphotographicportraiture,verylongexposuresrequiredposesandfacialexpressionsthatcouldbeheldforlongperiodsoftime.Thisoftenresultedinstiff-lookingportraitswithlittleexpression.Theadventoffasterphotographicmaterialsandlightingequipmentshortenedposingtimesandallowedexpressiontobeaddedintophotographicportraits.

Whiletheskeletalstructureofthefacedeterminesmanyaspectsoftheportrait,theeyes,mouth,andmuscularstructuresdeterminetheexpressionandemotion.Themostprominentfeatureforcreatingexpressionisthemouth.Wecanthinkofthemouthinitsneutralpositionasaflatlineacrosstheface.Whenthemouthisinthisposition,thefaceisalsoneutralwithnodefiniteexpression.Thisisnotthemostrelaxedfacialposition;aslightsmileisthemostrelaxedfacialpose.ThisisthesmileofdaVinci’sMonaLisa.Whenthemouthisslightlysmiling,themusclesarerelaxedanddonotchangethebasicfacialanatomy.Forthisreason,arelaxedsubjectpresentsaneutralorhappylook.ThesculptorBerninibelievedthebestmomentforexpressionwasjustbeforeorjustafterspeaking.Thismomenthasaspontaneousnature,andtheexpressionallowsa“true”interpretationofthesubject.

Inthisself-portrait,AmandaQuintenz-Fiedlerusedafabricatedcatchlighttoaddahumorousnotethatmatchesherstylingandexpression©AmandaQuintenz-Fiedler(Courtesyoftheartist)

Inthesetwoportraits,theposeisthesame,withoneimportantdifference.Inthefirstimage,thesubjectislookingatthecamera,andinthesecondheislookingdown.Theeffectoftheportraitschangesthewaywerelatetotheimages.©ChristineTrice(Courtesyoftheartist)

Thekeytosubtleexpressionoftenliesinthecornersoftheeyesandthemouth.Whenthecornersofboththeeyesandmouthcurveup,apleasantexpressionappears;whentheycurvedown,asadexpressionisdisplayed.Aneutralcurveimpliesambiguity.

Duringasmile,thecheekstenseupandbecomepuffy,changingthemouthstructureaswell.Therefore,whenthecheeksareperceivedasfull,theexpressionseemshappierregardlessofthelineofthemouth.Asthecheekstightenmore,thecornersofthemouthraiseandthesmilebroadens.Thisistruewhethertheteethshowornot.

Whentensionisplacedinanyofthefacialmuscles,themouthstructuresshowthestress.Thismayinvolveastiffeningoftheupperliporanarrowingofthelipsthatflattensthemouthstructureandlessensdepthinthatpartoftheface.

Asthefacialmusclestrigger,thetensionalsomovesuptheheadandcreateslinesorwrinkles.Theloosertheskin(normallycomingwithage),thedeeperthelinesorwrinklesappear.Whenlightingaccentuatesthewrinkles,itincreasesanyexpression.Asmilelightenstheeffectofwrinklesinthebrow;ifthemouthstructureistenseorsad,furrowsontheforeheadandwrinklesaroundtheeyesdeepenthelookofpensivenessorsorrow.

Regardlessofotheraspectsoftheportrait,theeyeshavethegreatesteffectontheperceivedexpression.Asmentionedearlier,theeyesareexceptionallyimportantinthesuccessofaportrait.Therefore,howthesubject’seyesareposedimpartsemotionandexpression.

Whenposingtheeyes,weneedtoconsidertheirthreeparts:thelids,theirises/pupils,andthesclera(whitesoftheeyes).Wealsoneedtoconsiderthecatchlightcreatedbylight

reflectingonthesurfaceoftheeyes.Acatchlightdoesnothavegreateffectifitreflectsoverthesclera,butitisclearandvisiblewhenreflectingovertheirisorpupil.Whenthecatchlightiscrisp,theeyesareinterpretedasclearandsharp,intermsofbothfocusandemotion.Ifthecatchlightsaresoft,theportraittakesonasofterlook.Sincethesurfaceoftheeyeisroundedandcoveredwithmoisture,thereflectionisveryspecular,andtheshapeandpositionofthelightreflectingintoitcanbeseen.Forthisreason,manysoftboxesaremadewithoctagonalorcircularilluminatedshapestoeliminateasquarecatchlight.

Thedirectionoftheeyesisamajortoolforcreatingexpression.Thesightlinecreatedbythesubject’seyesintheframeaffectstheviewer’sreadingofemotion.Somesightlineoptionsincludeacamera-directedglancewiththeeyesrelaxed,acamera-directedglare,anupward-directedview,adownwardlook,andanoff-framedirectedview.Eachimpartsabasicemotiontotheportrait.

Therelaxed,camera-directedeyepositionisnonthreatening,open,andfriendly.Thisneutralexpressioniscommonlyusedforportraitseitherwithorwithoutasmile.Thiseyeviewallowsotherpartsofthefacetohaveagreaterimpact.MonaLisa’seyeshavethisattitudeandallowthefamoussmiletobeasimportantastheeyes.

Whentheeyesarestressedandlookingatthecamera,aglaringexpressionresults.Inthissituation,theeyessquintslightlyandthetensionisclearlyvisible.Confrontationwiththecameraisdevelopedthroughthiseyepattern.Thefacialattitudecombinedwiththesightlinealsoaddstothefeelingofconfrontation.Themorefrontaltheview,themorechallengingtheportraitwillbe.

Iftheeyesareraisedandnotdirectedatthecamera,theportraittakesonalightermood.Thiscanbeenhancedbyasmile.Thougheyecontactwiththecameraislost,adreamyandsatisfiedexpressionisreadintotheportrait.Onthecontrary,whentheeyesarelookingdown,thesubjecttakesonapensiveordourexpression.Inthissituation,thedifferencebetweenathoughtfulorsadimpressioncanbeaugmentedbyotherfacialexpressions.Aslightsmileexpressesthoughtfulnesswhileafrowncompletessadness.

Lastly,theeyescanhaveasightlinethatisofftheframe.Withtheexceptionoftheprofilewherethiseyepositioningisneutral,anoff-frameeyepositioningthatisnotdownwardorelevatedisperceivedasdetached.Withtheeyeslookingofftheframe,thesclerabecomeprominent.

Theeyelidscanalsoaffectexpression.Wecanthinkofaneutraleyelidpositionasvisibleandintersectingwiththetopoftheiris.Squintingshowstensionandbringsboththeupperandlowerlidsintoview.Wideopeneyesshownolidsandindicatesurpriseorexcitement.Whentheupperlidislowered,theexpressiontakesonatiredorsadtone.

Earlierwediscussedheadtilt,rotation,andcameraangleintermsoftheirphysicalrealitiesforposingandcorrectiveactions.Theseelementscanalsohaveexpressivecontent.Wecanthinkofthecameraastheviewerrelatingtothesubject,andthatcanhavebothpositiveandnegativeconnotations.Allotherfactorsaside,whenthecameraisabovethesubject’seyelevel,thesubjecthasaninferiorordiminishedrelationshiptotheviewer.Theoppositeisalsoacommonarrangement,creatingafeelingofsuperioritybyhavingthesubjectabovetheviewer.Thechintiltisalsoacreatorofexpression.Astheheadtilts

forwardanddown,thechinbecomeslessprominentandthefacialattitudebecomesmoresubmissive.Forthisreason,aforwardheadtiltisseldomusedwithmen.

Tofinishthissectiononexpression,weneedtodiscusslightingasanemotionaltool.High-ratioandlow-keylightingtendtopromoteasomber,sad,orforebodinglookinaportrait,whilehigh-keyandlow-ratiolightingaremoreneutralandallowthefacialexpressiontocreatetheemotion.

ThesehistoricalportraitsbyPhillipChariscombinefacialexpressionandgazetocreatefiveemotionallooks.Theangleofview,headpositioning,andlightingarefairlyconsistent,hencethefacialfactorssettheemotion.©PhillipStewartCharis(Courtesyoftheartist)

14RelatingtotheSubject

OfthisBerenikaZakrzewskiportraitDouglasKirklandsays,“IarrivedwithtwoassistantsattheNewYorkStudioonanextremelyhot,humiddayafterworkingoutsideonadifferentproject.Thetransitionwasn’tsimple,bringingthelightsandequipmentinandsettingupquickly,butafteradjustingIfoundmyselfinanewmindsetwiththeconcertpianistBerenika.Everythingwedidearlierinthedaywentbehindmeafterspeakingwithherandlisteningtoherradiantmusiconthepiano.OncemoreIlearnedthelessononhowimportantitistopickyourselfupandfindthepositivesideofanyproject,fallinginlovewithyoursubjectandworkingtowardsthemostpositiveend.FormethisistrulythejoyIfindinalltheworkIdoasaphotographer.Itisimportanttoalwaysdoyourbestatalltimesandalwayscareaboutwhatyoudo.”©DouglasKirkland(Courtesyoftheartist)

Ifyoudon’tlikepeople,portraitphotographyisnotawisechoiceforyourphotographiccareer.Unlikeseveralotherareasofphotography,portraitureispersonal.Itisbasedontheinteractionbetweenthesubjectandthephotographer.Portraitphotographyisaconsciousactthatinvolvescooperationonthepartofboththesubjectandthephotographer.Sincethischapterisaboutrelatingtoothers,wealsodosobyincludingreferencesandquotesfromotherauthorsandphotographers.

Wecanthinkofmakingalikenessmechanically,e.g.,adriver’slicensephotographwheretherelationshipisbetweenthesubjectandthecamera.Inthiscasetheoperator,usuallytheclerkwhotookyourapplicationandmoney,hasyoulookataspotonthecamera.Thecameraisactivatedregardlessoftheexpressiononyourface,andthelightisstraightonso

thattherearenoshadows.Thebackgroundisacolorusedforidentificationonly.

Withportraiture,theideaistousethelikenesstocommunicatesomethingaboutthepeopleintheportraits,theirpersonality,theiressence.Forthisreason,itisnecessarytohavearelationshipbetweenaphotographerandasubjectratherthanasubjectandamachine.Evenifthephotographerhasarecognizablestyleandintendstouseit,theportraitisstillaboutthesubject—andthephotographerneedstocommunicatethistothesubject.

Inmostcases,thephotographicprocessinvolvesacollaborationbetweenstrangers.Thesuccessoftheportraitliesintheabilityofthephotographertoevokethebestposeandemotion.Thesubjectneedstorelatetotheportraitisttoallowthebestviewstobecaptured.

Further,therelationshipbetweenphotographerandsubjectoftenbecomespartofthestyleoftheartist.Forexample,IrvingPenn,RichardAvedon,andArnoldNewmanhadmuchincommon,includingsimilarbackgroundsandlivinglocations.Theirskillswereallattheapexofportraitphotography,yettheirportraitsareverydifferent.Penn’sportraitsshowarelaxedfeelwhereasAvedon’sareedgy.Newmansaidhisstyleofportraiturewas“90%movingfurniture,”i.e.,creatingtheenvironment.Thesestylesreflectedtheirpersonalitiesaswellastherelationshipstheyhadwiththeirsubjects,thesumtotalofwhichtranslatedintotheirportraits.

Genderandagealsocanplayaroleinthesuccessofaportrait.Therearefrequentlyaffinitiesand/orabilitiestorelatetoasubjectbasedongender.Forthisreasonsomephotographersmakestrongerportraitsofwomenwhileotherphotographersmakestrongerportraitsofmen.Likewise,somephotographersarewonderfulwithchildrenwhileothershaveahardertimeworkingwiththem.

Thoughphotographicportraitureisbasedonarelationshipthatis,infact,acollaboration,theaccountabilityforthesessionfallstothephotographer.Itistheinteractionbetweenphotographerandsubjectthatmakesasubstantialdifferenceinthesuccessoftheportrait.Tobecontinuouslysuccessful,theindividualchoosingphotographicportraitureasaprimaryworkingstylemusthaveadesiretoworkwithotherpeople.

Thecompletephotographicportraitprocesshasthreepartsthatallinteractwitheachother.First,thesubjectandthephotographerinteractfromanoriginalcontact;thentheportraitismade;andfinally,thereisclosure/delivery.Theoverallsuccessofthephotographicenterprisedependsonalloftherelationshipswithineachpartoftheprocess.Iftheinteractionatthebeginning,i.e.,theoriginalcontact,goespoorly,thentherestoftheprocessmaynothappen.Asubjecttowhomthephotographerisastrangerwillmostlikelyrejecthavingaportraitmadeifthefirstmeetingisnotsuccessful.Remember,youhaveonlyonechancetomakeagoodfirstimpression.

Afterthefirstcontact,ifthesubjectchoosestohaveaportraitmade,thephotographicsessionneedstocontinuethegoodrelationshipinordertoreachcompletion.Throughoutmakingtheportrait,thecriticalissueiscomfort.Thiscomfortgoesbeyondthephysicalcomfortofposestoincludetheeffectsofthetotalityofthesession.Whiletheremaybetimeswhenthephotographerwishestoevokealessthancomfortableexpression,ifthesessionistoouncomfortable,thesubjectmaynotcontinue.

Lastly,theclosureoftheprocessrequiresrespectforthesubject.Formanyphotographers,closurehappensshortlyafterthephotographicsession.Thereasonisthatwhensubjectsaretotallyinvolvedinthemakingoftheportrait,theyaremorelikelytopurchase.

Thoughcommercialandcelebrityportraituremayseemdifferent,similarconceptsapply.Inthesetypesofportraiture,thecontactmaynotbewiththesubjectbutratherwitharepresentativeofthesubjectforfinalusemedia.Thefirstcontactwiththesubjectmaynot

occuruntiltheactualphotographicsession,andfulfillmentmaywellbewiththeoriginalcontactandnotwiththesubject.Withportraitsforadvertisements,theremayevenbeathirdcollaborator:theartdirector,whohasaspecificusefortheportraitandthusspecificexpectationsastohowtheportraitwillwork.Thesubjectwilljustarriveatthesession,andthatcontactwillbetheonlytimethephotographerinteractswiththesubject.Itisnotunusualforacelebrity’sagentorassistanttokeeplookingattheirwatchtoensurethattheportraitsessiondoesnotexceedtheallottedtime.

ConfidenceRegardlessoftheapproach,purpose,orstyleoftheportrait,theissuesofcomfortandrespectforthesubjectremainparamount.Thesubject’scomfortislargelydeterminedbytheirlevelofconfidenceinthephotographerandtheprocess.Confidenceandtrustarethelinchpinsoftherelationshipneededforportraiture.

Thereareseveralwaysthatconfidencecanbegeneratedinthevariouspartsoftheportraitprocess.Theeasiestisifthesubjectrelateswelltoworkthatthephotographerhasalreadyproduced.Whenthesubjectcanrecognizehimselforherselfinpreviouswork,thenheorshedevelopsconfidencethatthephotographercanproducethetypeofportraitdesired.Therefore,itisnecessarytointeractwithsubjectsanddeterminehowtheyseethemselves.Whetherthroughimagesonawebpageoronthewallsofthestudioorthroughwordofmouth,howthephotographerisperceivedpriortotheinitialcontactcanstarttheprocesswithconfidence.

Introductorymeetingsandinteractionsallowconfidencetogrowthroughconversation,actions,dress,bodylanguage,humor,andconsiderationforthewishesofthesubject.Theactionsthatdothemosttobuildorretainconfidenceareknowledgeappropriatelydemonstrated,thephotographer’sself-confidence,preparationforeachpartoftheportraitprocess,andacalmdemeanor.

Theportraitistneedstoexhibittheconfidencethatcomeswithbeingproficientwithphotographictechnology.Photographic/technicalequipmentneedstobeaseamlessextensionoftheartist’smind.Separatebutequallyimportantaretheaestheticaspectsoftheportraitprocess.Throughtheexamplesonthewalls,thecareandattentiontostyling,andthewaydesignconceptsarediscussed,theartistcandemonstratehisorhercommandoftheaestheticportionsoftheportraitexperience.

Partofthesuccessoftheprocessliesinhowthephotographerisperceivedbythesubject.Appropriatedressandactionssettheparametersforsuccess,whereasinappropriatedressandactionscandistractfromtheportraitprocess.

ComfortDouglasKirklandsaid,“Yourjobistomakepeopleascomfortableandcalmaspossible.”Inthetotalityoftheportrait-makingprocess,thesubject’scomfortleadstoahighlevelofconfidenceinthephotographer.Amajorinfluenceinthecreationofcomfortforthesubjectiscalmness.Theideaofbeingcalmisnottoshowalackofenthusiasm,butrathertoensurethatyourdemeanordoesnotcreateanuncomfortablesituation.

Whilewecaneasilyseecomfortasaproductofthephotographiclocation,temperature,lightlevels,posingequipment,etc.,themostimportantfactoristherapportbetweenthephotographerandthesubject.AccordingtoTonyCorbell,“Youtrytoputthem[thesubjects]atease.Youcandoanawfullotforyourselfandforthembygettingtoknowthembeforetheshoot.Spendtimetalkingtothembeforetheshoot;donotjustwalkstraightintothestudioandstartshooting.”

Inarecentlecture,photographerJoyceTennesonspokeaboutherapproachtoputtingthesubjectatease.“EvenifIaminadumpyplace,Ihaveonebeautifulflower…somethingofbeauty.Orabeautifulcandlewithafragrance,orsomethingthat’swelcomingtotheperson,withaglassofPellegrinooraglassofwine.Igreetmyclientswhentheycomeinwithsomethingofbeauty,andIamtheirs,100percent.SoI’vedonealltheworkbeforetheycome.Thelightsaresetup,everythingistested,IhavedonesomekindofaphoneintervieworresearchsoIknowwhatthey’relookingfor.I’vegottenit.Ifitisanauthorwhoisoverweightandisreallyfrightenedofwhatheorsheisgoingtolooklikeinfrontofthecamera,IknowhowamIgoingtoputthatpersonatease.”

Thiscanbedoneevenwithcelebritieswhohavelittletimescheduledfortheportraitsitting.Withthestudioready,timecanbetakentorelax,communicate,andbuildcomfort.Manyphotographersbuildrapportwiththeirsubjectssimplybytakingthetimetotalkwiththem—notabouttheportrait,butjustrelaxingconversationtobuildtrust,createcomfort,anddevelopacommunicativelink.Tennesonfindsthatresearchingthesubjectfirst,speakingaboutfamilyissues,andopeningherselfuppersonallybuildstrustandcomfortforthesubject.

Partofdevelopingrapportissharingenthusiasmwiththesubject.Whenthephotographerisenthusiasticabouttheportraitsession,thenthesubjectcanrelaxabouttheprocess.Sharingenthusiasmandgiving100percentattentionbuildsthetrustthatisneededtodirectthesubjectduringthephotographicsession.

Analysisofthesubjectforfaciallightingandposingchoicesisbestdonebeforethephotographicsessionstarts.Whenworkingwithcelebrities,theanalysiscanbebasedonpreviousimages.Witha“stranger,”thetimeforanalysismayneedtobeatameetingbeforethephotographicsession.Theanalysisneedstobedone,butitshouldbesubtle.Theabilitytoworksmoothlyandeffortlesslyoncethephotographicsessionbegins,withoutexperimentationtosolvelightingneeds,establishesconfidence.

Theremaybetimeswhenstressorangstisdesiredasanemotion.Thecomfortlevelofthesubjectmayallowaninteractionthatisneededtocapturethedesiredportrait.RichardAvedonwouldescortthesubjecttowardthestudioandthenstopandtalk.Hewouldsitinacomfortablechairwhilethesubjectwouldsitonahardbench.Whiletalking,Avedonwouldanalyzethesubject’sfaceuntilherecognizedthepersonwasatthelevelofcomfortdesired.Hewouldthenmovethesubjecttothestudioandstartthephotographicsession.

Astheportraitprocessmovestothephotographicsession,thesubject’scomfortandconfidencewillbuildiftheprocessiscontrolled.Ifanassistantisavailable,youcanhavearelaxingconversationwiththesubjectwhiletheassistantdoesabasicsetupforthelightingandanybackdroporsetarrangement.Ideally,theconversationshouldnotbeheldinthephotographicspace.Ifyouareworkingaloneorunabletosegregatethephotographicspacefromthemeetingspace,presetthespaceasmuchaspossible.

Aparticularlygoodtimetobuildconfidenceandinstillasenseofeaseinthesubjectiswhensomethinggoeswrong.Camerasjam,lightsdonotflash,propsfall—thesethingshappen,andthecalmnesswithwhichproblemsarehandledaddstothecomfortofthesubject.Therequirementsincludetheabilitytothinkonyourfeetandpreparefortheunexpected.Staycalmandcollected,regardlessofwhathappensinthephotographicsession.

Inadditiontomechanicalproblems,otherproblemscanunderminecredibility.Forexample,whilethephotographermaydoeverythingcorrectly,anassistant’sinappropriateactionsmayhaveadetrimentaleffectonthephotographicsession.Ifanassistantisslovenlyorinconsiderate,itcandamagetheconfidencethatwaspreviouslydeveloped.

Whetheranalysisofthefaceisdoneatthemeetingbeforethephotographicsessionorthroughresearch,thisinformationwillallowyoutosetlightingandexposureaswellasgivedirectiontomakeasuccessfulportrait.

©GlennRand

Totakethebestadvantageofthelightingandsetup,thephotographerwillneedtogivedirectionandsettheposeforthesubject.Usuallythisinvolvesverbaldirectionformovingorplacingthesubject’sbodyorfaceinaparticularorientation.Therearetimeswhentouchingisrequired,butposingthesubjectviaphysicalcontactisaseparateissue.Somesubjectsandphotographersarecomfortablewithtouchingforposing,andothersarenot.Beyondacalm,confidentdemeanor,thereisaneedtodirectpeoplewithoutbeingoffensiveorinsulting.

Regardlessofthestyleofdirectionused,mostportraitphotographicsessionsarefluid.Smallmovementsgivetheopportunitytofinelytunethebaseportrait.Asthesesmallchangeshappen,thecalmnessandconfidenceofthephotographerandsubjectmakethesessionmovesmoothly.Whiletheremayneedtobefirmdirection,itmustremaincalmandnotdomineering.

Duringthephotographicsession,theattentionofthesubjectmaywaneandadverselyaffecttheoutcome.Therearecluestothissituation.Thesubject’seyesprovidegoodevidenceoftheengagementofthesubjectinthesession.Lackofeyecontactmayindicateeithershynessordisengagement;however,thereisapointwherethephotographermayneedtocallontherapportpreviouslycreatedwiththesubjecttocompletethesession.

Whilenotuniversallyrecommended,therearetimeswhenaggressiveactionsproducedesiredresults.WhenYousufKarshmadehisiconic1941portraitofSirWinston

Churchill,hesetuphiscameratophotographChurchillathisdeskwithhisbacktothecamera.JustasKarshwasreadytomaketheimage,hegrabbedChurchill’scigar.AsChurchillturnedandglaredatKarsh,hepressedtheshutterreleaseandcapturedtheimageofaresoluteChurchill.AsimilartechniquehasbeenusedinrecenttimesbyJillGreenburgtocapturepicturesofchildrencrying.However,shetooktheircandyratherthanacigar.

AuthorandphotographerBillHurtersuggeststhattheinabilitytoholdaposecanbeadeadgiveawaythatthesubjectisdisinterestedordistracted.Boththesubjectandthephotographerneedtoremainfocusedduringtheportraitsessiontomaketheportraitasuccess.

Insomesituations,mostlyinhigh-endorcelebrityportraiture,astylistisresponsibleforthemakeupandattire.However,itordinarilyfallstothesubjecttopreparefortheportraitsession.Ensuringthatthesubjectisreadytochangetheirlook,ifnecessary,alsoaddstothecomfortofthephotographicsession.

FulfillmentWhentheportraitiscomplete,therelationshipwiththesubjectneedstocontinue—evenifthereisnothingmoretodothandeliverthefinishedprints.Itisvitaltounderstandthelong-termimplicationsoftheeffortputintotherelationship.Foraportraitstudio,itmaybefutureprintsales;foraneditorialportraitist,itmaybefutureassignments;andforthefineartist,itmaybefutureprojects.Experienceshowsthatasuccessfulportraitsessionleadstocontinuationportraits.Therefore,anexperiencewithasubjectthatissuccessfullyfulfilledmayleadtorevisitingtherelationshipthroughfurtherportraits.

glenn rand (glennrand.com)dl.booktolearn.com/ebooks2/art/photography/... · different approaches to...

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