15 Jan Every Shot is a Portrait
Photography for many may seem as simple as ‘point and shoot’ and in some respects it is. The photography artform is usually discovered with the most simplest of cameras clicking a pic of friends and everyday things found around us. Lets get deeper into it.
Everyone has seen portraits and usually they come from just a handful of sources: our friends; the local shopping center; and of course the dedicated professional. We can appreciate a great portrait, with great backgrounds, posing, and complex lighting! In my experience, every image we create is a portrait.
I became used to capturing photos of adults and small objects for business, but was soon challenged with other projects. The connection I found was very simple: treat it like a portrait.
I was asked to commission some images by a long-term client of their young child; I gladly accepted the work. It was the first time photographing kids and I was feeling a bit out of my element. I turned to my usual sources for reference and guidance. Many things seemed the same as any other shoot. I would have lights, my camera, etc. The thing that really alluded me was all the differences that make an infant different than an adult. Would the lighting need to be different? They’re so ‘rolly-polly’ and I’m used to having clients able to sit calmly in front of a background and pose. I realized it would be just fine and all I had to do was treat it like any other portrait! It went well, and I was able to capture a great many images!
Every next challenge I looked into was simply a portrait. Food; trinkets; widgets; jewelry; flowers; cars and trucks; fire engines; everything. Person or not, everything can be lit and looked at as if a portrait!
Try this: look to the side of you, pick some object that you’d take a pic of. Notice its most striking feature; what stands out the most to you as you first look at it? Use that as your focal point, just like the eyes of your ‘normal’ portrait subject. Use interesting lighting just as you would if it were a person. Find the creative shadows, and keep a great focus on that focal point.