portrait photography

An example of a late 19th century family portrait. Note the custom of mourning the dead in a family photo during that era. A shrine to a deceased child is visible in the background. Also, two of the female members are dressed in black; a contemporary mourning tradition. (c. 1894)

A classic example of a contemporary family portrait.

Portrait of Romanian writer Mircea Cărtărescu.

The goal of portrait photography is to capture the likeness of a person or a small group of people, typically in a flattering manner. Like other types of portraiture, the focus of photograph is the person's face, although the entire body and the background may be included. Many people enjoy having professionally made family portraits to hang in their homes, or special portraits to commemorate certain events, such as graduations or weddings.

Portrait photography has been around since the invention and popularization of the camera, and is a cheaper and often more accessible method than portrait painting, which had been used by distinguished figures before the use of the camera. The popularity of the daguerreotype in the middle of the 19th century was due in large part to the demand for inexpensive portraiture. Studios sprang up in cities around the world, some cranking out more than 500 plates a day. The style of these early works reflected the technical challenges associated with 30-second exposure times and the painterly aesthetic of the time. Subjects were generally seated against plain backgrounds and lit with the soft light of an overhead window and whatever else could be reflected with mirrors. As the equipment became more advanced, the ability to capture images with short exposure times gave photographer more creative freedom and thus created new styles of portrait photography. Contemporary portrait photographers strive not only to capture a person's likeness, but also the person's mood and thoughts in an instant in time.

As photographic techniques developed, an intrepid group of photographers took their talents out of the studio and onto battlefields, across oceans and into remote wilderness. William Shew's Daguerreotype Saloon, Roger Fenton's Photographic Van and Mathew Brady's What-is-it? wagon set the standards for making portraits and other photographs in the field.

Contemporary artists Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger, Mitch Kern and others use portrait photography as a vehicle for cultural criticism.

Portraits need not be posed or formal as seen in this candid portrait of a flower girl.

Lighting for portraiture

With pictures being composed and captured in a studio the photographer has complete control over the lighting of their subject and can adjust direction, temperature, quality, and contrast to meet any requirements. The basic lighting types are termed key light, fill lights, kicker lights, and background lights. The key (or main) light produces the light meter reading, is the basis for all other light positions and intensities, and is the main generator of shadow on the subject's face. Fill lights "open up" areas of shadow, they lighten it but do not cast visible shadows of their own onto the subject. Kicker lights (also called hair lights or side lights) 'kick' the subjects out from the background, increasing contrast. Background lights are those which do not fall on the subject but the background.^[1]

The key light generating equipment is one or more strobes (flashes, either on-camera types or monoblocs) backed with modeling lamps. The light produced is modified with dishes, "barndoors", snoots, grid spots, umbrellas, fill cards (can act as gobos, flags, or fingers), mirrors, "cookies", "bookends", or soft boxes.

See also

• Catchlight

References

1. ^ Grey, Christopher (2004). Master Lighting Guide for Portrait Photographers Amherst Media, Inc. ISBN: 1-58428-125-1

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