Exercise 1.
The brief calls for four scales of portrait in one session:
Face, cropped in close
Head and shoulders
Torso, taking into account arms and hands
Full figure
John, a publican, was enthusiastic about having his photograph taken. I’d wanted to take his photograph, but when the opportunity came I wasn’t ready; though what preparation I proposed to do I don’t know. He asked me what I wanted him to do; he wanted me to direct him. I learned something straight away: I need to plan the portrait session beforehand, and have a plan prepared before proposing the session. I need to build up a repertoire of options; not to replace thought, but to fall back on, as my Plan B, when thought fails. And that means (for me) documenting them.
The session was directed substantially by the sitter. Later on, in the bar, I got him to ‘pull a pint’ and tried raising a smile by telling him a Graham Whistler story about the aspiring Page Three girl, but in his profession he hears every story so the effect was limited. A better strategy would be to ask him to tell me a story, or about his dogs.
Because I don’t have the luxury of a photographic assistant like Hoppé had, to actually press the shutter, I think the rhythm of session needs to vary: interact with model without camera; shoot a few frames while continuing rapport; come from behind the camera again. An option is to widen the angle slightly, put the camera on a tripod, and shoot with a remote release when the moment appears right.
Here's the cropped head. He looks a tough customer. He was perfectly friendly with me but I felt there was another side to him.
The open shirt suggests strength, the forward set of the head indicates determination and readiness to act. He's alert, not relaxed.
John's a businessman. He called this his 'Alan Sugar' pose. The index finger looks as if could stab out: "You're fired", though he's sitting back, relaxed and in control.
The brief calls for four scales of portrait in one session:
Face, cropped in close
Head and shoulders
Torso, taking into account arms and hands
Full figure
John, a publican, was enthusiastic about having his photograph taken. I’d wanted to take his photograph, but when the opportunity came I wasn’t ready; though what preparation I proposed to do I don’t know. He asked me what I wanted him to do; he wanted me to direct him. I learned something straight away: I need to plan the portrait session beforehand, and have a plan prepared before proposing the session. I need to build up a repertoire of options; not to replace thought, but to fall back on, as my Plan B, when thought fails. And that means (for me) documenting them.
The session was directed substantially by the sitter. Later on, in the bar, I got him to ‘pull a pint’ and tried raising a smile by telling him a Graham Whistler story about the aspiring Page Three girl, but in his profession he hears every story so the effect was limited. A better strategy would be to ask him to tell me a story, or about his dogs.
Because I don’t have the luxury of a photographic assistant like Hoppé had, to actually press the shutter, I think the rhythm of session needs to vary: interact with model without camera; shoot a few frames while continuing rapport; come from behind the camera again. An option is to widen the angle slightly, put the camera on a tripod, and shoot with a remote release when the moment appears right.
John's relaxing on his patio, enjoying a joke. His dress and the fact he's sitting back, ignoring the camera though he knows it's there, suggest he's confident of his place in the world.
Lighting is daylight only: sunshine burning a stripe across his shirt but allowing him to relax in the shade of a parasol.
I found that the trick with this exercise is to prepare for the long shot first so you've got room for it. Then you can ensure the background doesn't need tidying up and don't need to stumble backwards, scattering patio furniture!
