Portraits and Self-Portraits Introduction

2. Play with Eye Contact

It is amazing how much the direction of your subject’s eyes can impact an image. Most portraits have the subject looking down the lens – something that can create a real sense of connection between a subject and those viewing the image. But there are a couple of other things to try:

A. Looking off camera – have your subject focus their attention on something unseen and outside the field of view of your camera. This can create a feeling of candidness and also create a little intrigue and interest as the viewer of the shot wonders what they are looking at. This intrigue is particularly drawn about when the subject is showing some kind of emotion (ie ‘what’s making them laugh?’ or ‘what is making them look surprised?’). Just be aware that when you have a subject looking out of frame that you can also draw the eye of the viewer of the shot to the edge of the image also – taking them away from the point of interest in your shot – the subject.

B. Looking within the frame – alternatively you could have your subject looking at something (or someone) within the frame. A child looking at a ball, a woman looking at her new baby, a man looking hungrily at a big plate of pasta…. When you give your subject something to look at that is inside the frame you create a second point of interest and a relationship between it and your primary subject. It also helps create ‘story’ within the image.

17. Introduce Movement

Portraits can be so static – but what if you added some movement into them? This can be achieved in a few ways:

The key with the above three methods is to use a slow enough shutter speed to capture the movement.

The alternative is to have your subject obviously move fast but to use a shutter speed so fast that it ‘freezes’ their movement.

18. Experiment with Subject Expressions

In some portraits it is the expression on the face of your subject that makes the image.

Get your subject to experiment with different moods and emotions in your image. 

Environmental Portrait 

I like these two photos because they seem so natural as if you are standing right behind the camera. I also like how these people are just going on with their everyday lives which gives you inside into who they are and what they do. 

Casual Portraits 

I like these portraits because I like the lighting and background of both of them. I also like how it is focused on the subject and both photos don't look extremely uptight. 

Self Portraits 

I like these self portraits because they both give a different perspective on the person. I especially like the mirrors because of the infinite portrait he has created. 

Paragraph: 

For my portrait I think I'm going to do an environmental shot of my grandparents because of the amount of culture they have and they both have such big stories to tell. Although now that they are older they don't do much but I think it would be cool to get some of the scars from my grandpa's open heart surgery which shows what he has been through. For my self portrait I want to incorporate other people since I am a people person. I also want to use soccer because it is my passion. So I could possibly do something with a goal post or a ball or the field. What will make these successful is good lighting and time to accomplish what I envision.