NC - Digital Portrait

Shoot2-Window lit portrait

Target: Shoot a close portrait by window light, controlling the exposure and focus.

A portrait can be defined as a close-in view of a face, with eyes looking to camera, and the camera held in an upright (not horizontal) position. It should convey something of the character of the person.

Many photographers use soft light from a north facing window to allow light to fall on the face.

Very good examples of this can be seen by looking at photographs by Jane Bown or Steve McCurry.

Bjork photographed by Jane Bown 

How to take a portrait like Jane Bown - here's a link to a video with the Guardian picture editor discussing Jane Bown's technique - http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/video/2009/nov/16/camera-club-jane-bown-portraits

Here is a lot more information about Jane Bown in the Guardian - http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/jane-bown

Practical task:  Shoot 2 portraits by window light. One should have full-face frontal lighting, the other should be side lighting. Each person in the class must photograph and also sit for a photograph.

High resolution pictures, suitable for printing, are required.

Use clone stamp, levels, contrast/brightness and colour balance controls to edit the pictures.

Pictures that are out-of-focus or over-exposed cannot be edited in Photoshop and must be re-shot.

The name of the sitter  should be typed in Courier 18pt font on bottom left of the picture canvas. (Picture caption)

The name of the photographer  should be typed in Courier 18pt font on bottom left of the picture canvas. (Picture credit)

Plan, do, review: What do you need to prepare before starting this task?

Review Question What is the resolution, file size and file type of these portraits? What is the aperture and shutter speed? On a side-lit portrait, what would the effect be if you took a light reading from the brightest part of the face compared to the darkest side of the face?

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