{"id":30707,"date":"2017-03-07T17:01:19","date_gmt":"2017-03-07T22:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/?p=30707"},"modified":"2017-03-07T17:19:34","modified_gmt":"2017-03-07T22:19:34","slug":"how-to-become-a-portrait-photographer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/how-to-become-a-portrait-photographer\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Become a Portrait Photographer"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is no such thing as a golden rule when it comes to portrait photography. I can’t simply hand anyone a \u201cone size fits all\u201d solution to become a portrait photographer. What I can do is share my personal experience and the information I’ve picked up along the way to becoming one.<\/p>\n

Although there is no right or wrong way to make a portrait, there are definitely certain standards, trends and directions in this genre of photography. Starting out, as\u00a0long as the photograph is well thought out, and you considered all the elements in your viewfinder, then you are on the right track.<\/p>\n

There are many different approaches to taking a portrait, and one is not necessarily more “pro” or “amateur” than the other.<\/p>\n

Candids<\/strong><\/p>\n

Candid portraiture is made without any prior interaction between the photographer and subject\u00a0and is often taken without their knowledge. This approach comes directly from street photography and was started back at the beginning of 20th century by photographers like\u00a0Robert Doisneau<\/a>. His black and white portraits of Parisians are still as fresh as they ever were, and it’s often hard to believe that they were not posed.<\/p>\n

I think that’s the trick with street portraits. Everyone has his\/her own approach. My technique is to \u201cfind and wait.\u201d When I see a situation that can potentially become a\u00a0photograph, I wait for my \u201cmodel\u201d to look directly at the lens. Sometimes I wait just for a second, sometimes for a long time, almost trying to provoke the glance.<\/p>\n

To make the photograph of the young horse trader, I kept coming back to the same spot throughout the day, waiting for everything to align the\u00a0way I liked it. \u00a0Once it did, I just waited for the boy to look at me – \u00a0it happened and that’s when the decisive moment took place. On the other hand, the photograph of Norman was just\u00a0a matter of being at the right place, at right time. The moment he saw my camera, he ducked away from the lens, but as I was waiting for his glance, I released the\u00a0shutter and there was my photograph.<\/p>\n

This approach works especially well in busy situations, at events, and in crowded areas where permission to photograph is not required. I encourage you to try it and see if it might be the approach you enjoy.<\/p>\n

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Young horse trader. Cahirmee (2016). \u00a9 Marcin Lewandowski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Horse trader. \u00a9 Marcin Lewandowksi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This, of course, is not the only approach and some photographers might have the completely opposite idea when photographing people. If you are not aware of\u00a0Bruce Gilden’s<\/a>\u00a0work, you should check out his portfolio to get a better feeling for opposite end of the spectrum. He made many of his portraits from a distance of barely a meter or so using a wide angle lens and handheld flash – this is not for everyone but it shows how the personality of the photographer shapes his approach and portraits he will produce.<\/p>\n

Maybe try this approach with people you know first, at a house party or family gathering to have a different perspective on the events. See how these photographs will be different from your other portraits. You might even try going wider than is usually \u201caccepted\u201d and use a fish eye lens.<\/p>\n

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10mm on tripod (2011) @ Marcin Lewandowski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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10mm with flash (2011). @ Marcin Lewandowski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Environmental Portraits<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are other photographers that excel in candid portraiture, including\u00a0Mary Ellen Mark\u00a0<\/a>. Mark’s work ventures more into environmental portraits, which I think is located somewhere on the intersection of candid and constructed portraiture.<\/p>\n

The godfather of environmental portraits is Arnold Newman. Many of his portraits shaped how we see certain people, and for starters,\u00a0his portrait<\/a>\u00a0of composer Igor Stravinsky is a great example of Newman\u2019s approach – the subject is closely tied to the environment and its elements. It is also a\u00a0great lesson in how different the initial vision is compared to the final photograph. Newman\u00a0extensively cropped this image<\/a>, significantly changing the aspect ratio.<\/p>\n

Next time you edit your portraits, crop differently than you originally envisioned, and try different aspect ratios – if you shoot digital,\u00a0it’s probably 4:6 so maybe try 1:1 to give your photograph a more monumental feel. Exaggerate and crop 2:1 like the above-mentioned portrait of Stravinsky for a more cinematic feel. Other masters I would suggest you research\u00a0are: Yousuf Karsh, Annie Leibovitz, and for something completely different, David Lachapelle. \u00a0All have very distinct styles and have shot iconic images that you will probably immediately recognize.<\/p>\n

Environmental is definitely my favorite type of portrait photography and whenever I have a chance to photograph my subjects this way I always jump on it. What’s great about it is that I can stick to my favorite focal length of 50mm and not distort anyone\u2019s facial features, which becomes tricky once you start getting closer to people. Interesting fact for beginners – you can get a fast aperture (f1.8) 50mm lens for almost any camera system, maybe you even heard about the nifty fifty or fantastic plastic – these names relate to cheap versions of 50mm lenses which on APS-C sized sensors work as the portrait \u201cfavorite\u201d 85mm, all courtesy of the crop factor.<\/p>\n

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50mm f1.8 on Nikon D200. Hag at the wheel of Edvina (2009) @ Marcin Lewandowski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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50mm f1.8 on Nikon D200. Friends (2008). @ Marcin Lewandowski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another great aspect of environmental portraits is that more often than not I can use available light as my main source. \u00a0There is always a window or a bulb somewhere. Try placing people at various angles and distances to available light and see how their features change, how shadows and light travel\u00a0over their faces and bodies.<\/p>\n

Environmental portraits also allow the richest image in terms of placing the person in a surrounding that is somehow tied to them, and creates not only a\u00a0visual background, but also tells a bit of their story. If you are, however, into strobes and meticulously lit scenes, then\u00a0Joe McNally<\/a>\u00a0should be definitely your next stop.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Christopher Presswell at Bodega. Christopher just released his feature thriller “Candlestick” so when during our lunch together I spotted this location we immediatelly went for it. @ Marcin Lewandowski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Dave and Zeus. Just like with any other assignement its important not to put the camera away too soon, sometimes the real moments happen after we say “ok, got it”, sometimes inbetween the “official” photographs. Especially if someone is very concious of the camera you might catch them off guard and more real. @ Marcin Lewandowski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Martin Vallely, IndieCork Film Festival. 2014. His feature in a film festival I was photographing for was a horror so i quickly decided to give him strong light from teh bottom for that classic “horror” look. @ Marcin Lewandowski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Oliver Smith. Director, animator and composer. Sometimes you just have to ask people to turn away from the camera for meaningful photograph, especially if that look works in synchrony with the location, it this instance that dreamy look and cobwebs combined with all the highlights in the back bond this photograph together. @ Marcin Lewandowski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Patrick O’Shea. When I was photographing Patrick I asked him to go to location of his latest short film and we went to the back of the building as the wall was much nicer there. I saw the combination of spotlight reflected by a nearby window with square feature on teh wall and it was just a matter of placing Patrick in the rigth spot. @ Marcin Lewandowski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Helio Leon is a photographer that photographs a lot at night, often using colour of mixed white balance sources to create his work so i though it was only appropriate to treat his portrait same way. ON a different occasions i flipped it and photographed him with a ringflash but thats a whole anonother story. @ Marcin Lewandowski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Brian O’Sullivan plays a black metal band Bogs of Aughiska so it was just a mattter of stepping out from teh light to create a darker, more sinister photograph. @ Marcin Lewandowski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Studio Portraits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now that we’ve covered street and environmental portraits, we finally get to studio portraits. As you can already imagine, the approach for this type of photography can range from very simple and natural, to creative and complicated, but again, \u00a0some ideas never change (at least until someone proves that another approach works better).<\/p>\n

Anyway, there are few things to keep in mind that are probably even more important in a studio environment than anywhere else. Very often, it will be just you and the person you photograph, so they need to trust you, they need to see that you are confident in your actions. Even if you lose it for a moment and you don’t know what to do next or something doesn’t work, keep calm and don’t panic. Simply take a breath and let things fall into the right place again. Once you have your sitter in place, ask them to move his\/her\u00a0head around, up and down, into key light and away from it. Try using their hands, and look at details of their appearance that can be made the\u00a0centerpiece. Eyes are the most important thing that you want in focus but that’s just another rule that sometimes needs to be broken. Draw attention to other features, exaggerate them, play with colors by using gels, maybe add offbeat props to loosen up everybody but most of all,\u00a0be yourself. There are two masters of controlled environment I would like to suggest to you – both created images that you are aware of but the rest of their portfolios are equally stunning – Richard Avedon and Philippe Halsman.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Luno Valetti. Writer. @ Marcin Lewandowski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Gerr Finn. West Cork Drama Festival Director.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Rory Ward. Actor.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Robert Rodziewicz i Micha\u0142 Lewandowski. Community Radio presenters.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Jamin O’Donovan. Music Video Director. Use an odd prop and see what happens. Sometimes little elements like the squinted eye creating same line with the hat will make the picture for you.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Selfie<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is one more, quite recent addition to this list – the selfie. \u00a0Don’t be boring, do something else, think about reflections, interesting components,\u00a0unusual angles. You are the only model that\u2019s always available to you. (There is also a matter of headshots which are almost a separate thing altogether, and I will cover this topic in one of the upcoming episodes of\u00a0\u201cThe Viewfinder\u201d<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"\"
Marcin Lewandowski. Selfie.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As with everything in photography, you can start with a very simple setup like a simple APS-C DSLR plus 50mm f\/1.8 lens (for the 85mm feel). Or, maybe if you are already ahead of that, why not try something out of the box, like the Lensbaby Velvet, the Petzval 85, or investing few extra dollars in the ultimate 85mm f\/1.2. There are, naturally, Ferrari\u2019s of portrait photography, like large format cameras or the almost unreachable beasts like legendary 20\u00d724 Polaroid Land Camera, but let’s not forget what Eve Arnold once said: \u201cIt is the photographer, not the camera, that is the instrument.\u201d This couldn’t be more true than when creating somebody’s portrait.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is no such thing as a golden rule when it comes to portrait photography. I can’t simply hand anyone a \u201cone size fits all\u201d solution to become a portrait photographer. What I can do is share my personal experience and the information I’ve picked up along the way to becoming one. Although there is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":165,"featured_media":30844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17772,639,645,17770],"tags":[14389,9030,2064],"class_list":["post-30707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-become-photographer","category-how-to","category-photography-645","category-photography","tag-how-to-become-a-portrait-photgrapher","tag-marcin-lewandowski","tag-portrait-photography-2064"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow To Become a Portrait Photographer - Adorama<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There is no such thing as a golden rule when it comes to portrait photography. 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