Portrait Photography

Research

Steve McCurry

Steve McCurry is famous for his photo ‘Afghan girl,’ taken in a refugee camp in Peshawar, Pakistan. This photo was named the most recognised photo of National Geographic. His photos inspired my studio shoot with my friend Kate. I really like the direct eye contact the girl has with the camera, as if they are looking straight at you.

 

Lee Jeffries

Lee Jeffries is a photographer who captures absolutely stunning photos of homeless people. I find his photos so interesting to look at, the detail in every photo is incredible. I love that they are in black and white, it really helps to draw the attention to the subject of the image and what it’s capturing oppose to distracting colours that it could have in it. In my final images I will be taking the black and white effect and applying it them.

 Experimenting with outside light and a reflector

Shooting outside in bright sunlight can be really difficult because you can’t control how bright it’s going to be and the weather can change really quickly. I do really like how this photo has come out after editing it and changing it to black and white. I think the detail come out really well, but I do think the light in the background is a bit over exposed as the detail in the sky is lost in black and white. If I chose to take this photo again I would choose either in the morning or evening when the lighting is less harsh, and at these times of day the light is softer, the sun is lower in the sky and would cast softer shadows.

 

Experimenting with window light

Using window light adds a really nice natural look to the photo and illuminates her face. I really like this type of light in a photograph because direct light from studio lights or inside lighting can be quite harsh sometimes. I think I’ve caught the light really well in this photo as the sunlight isn’t too bright as this could cause intense contrast between the light and shadows.

 

Window Light- Self Portrait

For my self portrait I asked my friend Hollie to take it of me near a window light. I instructed her how to frame the image and I adjusted the camera setting to how I wanted it to look, so it wasn’t over exposed or too dark. I do like how this image came out, I like how the light comes in from one side and lights up my face. Using window light is probably my favourite type of lighting as there’s a lot that can be done with it. This light source you can easily manipulate because you can just move your subject closer to it or further away to create strong or soft lighting.

 

Studio Photos of a friend

From looking at Steve McCurry’s photos they really inspired my work in the studio. I really like the direct eye contact Kate has with the camera. I wanted her to look at the camera because I feel like it connects her from the audience. The great thing with shooting in a studio is that you can control the light, you can choose exactly how you want the photo to be lit without any limitations.

 Photos of a Stranger

I took these photos of a stranger when I went back home. I went to a race course where I live. I really like this photo I took because of the focus on the subject and how the image is lit. I photoshopped the shadows of the people out of the frame as I thought they distracted the viewer from the main focus of the image.

 

 Contact Sheets

Studio Photos

Light and reflector

Self Portrait