Portrait Photography in Edmonton

What is Portrait Photography?

A portrait is not simply a picture of a person. I can photograph a person and be interested in the way light falls on the different surfaces of their face or body, or the various colours of their skin and clothes.What makes a photograph into a portrait is the intention of the photographer to disclose something about the character of the person they are photographing. If you are trying to convey something about a person's nature in your photographs you are making a portrait; if you are simply describing them you are perhaps photographing a still life that happens to be in human form.

What types of portrait are there?

Portraits can be taken in different places for different purposes, and it is possible to put them into many categories, some pictures will fall into several.
We can look at portraits from the point of view of the photographic practice that produces them, and divide them perhaps into:

* Essentially amateur portraits of friends and family

* Social photography (portraits for which people pay a 'high street' photographer.)

* Editorial portraiture - pictures taken by photographers for use in newspapers, magazines and other publications, where the client is not the person being photographed.

* Fine Art portraiture - photographs taken essentially for display in galleries and museums, a field in which opportunities are very limited.
Some stock photography (pictures taken to be marketed by stock photography agencies) is essentially editorial portraiture, while other stock pictures of people may be aimed at not showing a particular personality but illustrating stereotypes such as 'a businessman' or 'a businesswoman'. However the techniques used in taking these are similar.

Fomal Portrait Photography

We can look at how the person is posed, and talk about:

* formal portraits, where the subject is obviously posed for the purpose of a photograph

* informal portraits, where they are apparently engaged in some other activity and not apparently posed for the camera Location We can look at the overall treatment of the picture and decide whether it is:
* a portrait photography portrait, where they are photographed in a relatively neutral space
* a location portrait, where the person is photographed outside a portrait photography,
* an environmental portrait, where the surroundings form an important part of the statement the photographer is making about the person.

Many of the best editorial portraits are taken in the subjects' homes, portrait photographys and places of work, with often a very restricted time to work.
If, like me, you are the kind of photographer who likes the challenge of solving problems, you will probably enjoy working on location. If you like to start with a clean sheet and develop you ideas on that with absolute control, then a portrait photography may well be better.
However some photographers use a portrait photography formula that works to take all or most pictures the same way, rather like a superior photo-booth. If you are photographing sixty or more children an hour as a schools photographer, there may be no alternative, but that is hardly portraiture.

Essentials of Edmonton Portrait Photography

The essential things that you need for good portraiture are a curiosity about people and an attitude. You need to learn to observe the people you are going to photograph, study their characteristic gestures and expressions.

Sometimes finding how they look at their best can be a good start, choosing the best side and angle. Many very commercially successful photographers have worked largely by finding ways to hide or minimise imperfections in their clients faces or bodies, and to glamorise them. Artistically more successful photographers, including the great Hollywood glamour photographers, sought to emphasize the strengths in those they were photographing.

Editorial portrait photographers in particular often have to think fast and have little time to work, and sometimes virtually none to take their pictures. They often have to shoot during press conferences or meetings where their movements are restricted and they have little or no actual contact with the subject. It is often a matter of grabbing what they can, looking for a vital moment or gesture.
As an amateur or social photographer you have time to set the subject at ease, observe, arrange and light them, whether it is only a few minutes in a busy portrait photography or the luxury of a lengthy session.

Ideas and Attitude in Portraits

From your observations, you need to build up an idea of how you want to photograph a person. The best photographers are those who work and think visually, so this doesn't necessarily mean writing things down, but creating a picture in your head about the kind of pose and lighting and other aspects of the picture.

Photographers differ greatly in the way they interact with those they are photographing. Generally most like to be friendly and show they are taking an interest in the person, but Paul Strand, one of the truly great photographers of the twentieth century (see box, top right) who produced some fine portraits, by telling his subjects where to stand and face, and then leaving them to their own thoughts, perhaps for several minutes before actually taking the picture. He showed a seriousness and dedication to his work that inspired them to react with equal dignity.

No single approach will guarantee great results. The best advice is perhaps to work carefully and responsibly and to think about what you are doing.

Some of the other sections of this and the following feature will deal with the more practical aspects of portraiture.Walls and Ceilings

If you have the space for a purpose built portrait photography, the interior walls are often painted black, although it can be useful to have one white wall. The black walls prevent light bouncing from them and altering your lighting setup. A white wall can be useful when a large plain background is needed, and by using background lighting can be made anything from white to a fairly dark grey. For normal use the white wall would be behind the camera and have little effect on the scene you are shooting.

You may also want to have other white walls with dark curtains that can be drawn across if necessary when the room is in use as a portrait photography. Painting the walls a mid grey colour is almost as good so far as preventing light spill is concerned, but avoid coloured walls that will reflect coloured light to produce strange casts in your pictures.

A black ceiling is often recommended also. I'd only consider this in special circumstances, perhaps if the ceiling were rather low. A black ceiling is just too depressing for both the photographer and the clients. I prefer a white ceiling because I often want to bounce a flash from it; as the best and cheapest way to get a really large light source in a portrait photography. Avoid colours other than white that will add a colour cast to your work.

If you are going to use a part of the portrait photography for processing facilities, as a reception area, a changing area or for your computer equipment etc, you will also want to have blinds to screen these areas off from the main shooting area.
Living Room portrait photography
If you want a portrait photography and don't have room (or money) for a permanent one your living room can often be made into a useful portrait photography with a little thought. It helps if you are prepared to live with white walls and ceiling, although a background paper roll can be quickly put into position, perhaps held by telescopic ceiling poles (also good for supporting lights) or you may leave wall brackets in place for it. Your normal furniture can often be used as props, but you will need plenty of room so you can clear an area for other pictures. Like quite a few photographers, I made my first 'portrait photography' pictures using a white bed sheet hanging from a line as a plain background.Temperature

Temperature control is also important if your sitters are going to feel comfortable. This becomes even more important if you intend to photograph nudes or you will end up with pictures full of goose-pimples. As well as suitable heating, in summer you will probably need to consider air conditioning unless you live in a very temperate climate.
Props

One useful accessory is a stool whose height can be easily varied to fit your subjects. Office supplies catalogues list these, or they can be bought from specialist photographic suppliers. A five-star base gives better protection against falling over. Other office seating can also be used which gives some back support, there are some models where the back is fairly slim and will not appear in most pictures. Most people feel more comfortable in these.

There are also special 'posing tables' and other accessories available. Some portrait photography photographers find them useful, others avoid using any such standard items.
Tripods and Stands

A good tripod is essential for most portrait photography work, if only as something for your subject to look at. When using flash, you don't actually need to leave the camera on it if you want to be more mobile.
Camera stands are heavier and hardly portable, but do give more control and flexibility over the camera position. They are extremely useful if you want to use a large format camera or work with still life and other tabletop subjects.

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