Hi Alex Cummings here again.
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This is a direct quote from the internet so excuse me if some where
along the line I may not wholly agree with it so Quote:-
"Portrait photography or portraiture in photography is a photograph of a person or group of people that captures the personality of the subject by using effective lighting, backdrops, and poses. A portrait picture might be artistic, or it might be
more clinical, as part of Documentary requirement but to me the person
should be easily identified in it. A partial image or even a whole
body image where the subject could be anyone is exactly that a figure
study, I have seen nude works where the only thing for certain was the
sex of the subject was determinable, this is not a portrait it is as
stated a figure study. However I have also seen silhouettes where
there was little or no features discernable but one from previous images
could work out who was being photographed which I would definitely class
as portraits. I have even come across a completion for 'Faceless
Portraits' most of the entries were just figure studies but some
could be classed as portraits because they depicted a lifestyle or
occupation but to be safe try and include the face". Call me
old fashioned in this respect but changing of meanings is confusing to
others so stick to what is acceptable to all.
Monochrome can also make pleasant images I do not use it too often and choose which images I convert.
Below a reclining young lady makes a presents pleasant portrait
WOmetimes a plain background works but sometimes just a touch of colour helpd
These two wins were a pleasure to photograph, notice the background matches their skin tone.
I only photographed this young lady once but she was very happy with the results..
One of my favourite models
Another young lady who I had the pleasure to photograph often I think this is the only one I have with sh Here hair short.
One of the Twins.
Above is an example of a portrait I did of one of twin girls it is not
exactly high key but it borders on it since a lot of the facial detail
is not obvious, this young woman had an impeccable complexion and it was
not done like this to hide any imperfection although this style is often
used for that purpose. If you notice the banner image on this page
there are two images treated differently one depicts a light higher key
version and the other a darker lower key version, none of which actually
qualifies as high or low key photography but borders on it. I tend
to try and make portraits of ladies on the light side
.
Above the girl with the guitar as you may have noticed lends its self to
modification, originally it had a black background and as she
was wearing black trousers they almost blended in I did not
particularly like the slight sign of them so in later versions I
made them disappear then I made a lighter version with a sky
background but during the course of time I came up with this
one.
I am here again with a reminder.
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If you want to watch Videos I have posted on YOUTUBE go to this link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ago6SnaMNo&list=UUqYvY3NT179MuJ8oSS11FKg
Abobe this young lady I photographed over the years from a school girl to a finalist in the Miss SA competition
.
Above a full length portrait, yes they can be full length, of a young
lady with a prop lamp post and artificial lighting and background added.
Portraits can include more than one person such as a family group. a few
club or team members or work environment etc. What I do not like
to see is a person surrounded by others who have no obvious relationship
to the main subject and then calling it a portrait to me that is simply
a group.
A portrait with a difference keeping up with contemporary photography this one has surround and or background details too
Above "Felicity on Canvas" young lady on a canvas baking
Above "Felicity thru a veil" the same picture as before but with a whimsical overlay and if you look at the signature you will see that I flipped it horizontally, these changes make it look entirely different.
Above Two girls wearing feathers in different ways
Above an abstract creation. using photographs of flowers to surround the models face, anyone who knew the young lady would be able to identify her immediately therefore it could be classed as a portrait although I made it originally more to display my ability to make collages.
AT ANY TIME YOU CAN GO TO THE SITEMAP PAGE
Below a nice simple portrait of a young girl with soft focus for effect
Below is the surreal version of what was a pleasant portrait
this too is the young lady
surrounded by a collage of flowers
perhaps a little more visible so more of a portrait than the one
above.
When doing this type of multiple image it is important to select
the two or more images carefully so as not to overpower the
intended subject.
Above a study of a theatrical performer in the production of Madam B I
deliberately gave this image a soft look and added a whimsical look to it
Above succulent from my garden used as a backdrop, sunrays, images are from three photographs used including a portrait, some images are very recent the other from several years ago all merged together and colour changed to give an ethereal look
Above sometimes you may decide to adjust the image one way or another like this
This portrait of the lady looking in a mirror is an improvement on the original in respect of eeriness but there is an even newer one on photo-art. and the portrait of the elderly lady with a straw hat is slightly manipulated.
The above image is what I was saying about including items in the portrait giving some clue as to the persons activity, notice the colour photographs behind him
I have talked about different lighting for
portraits and to emphasise it I have included this animation to let you
see the difference exposure can make to an image, I will leave it to you
to decide on which one of three you prefer I know which one I like.
To see more manipulated images or try the menu at the side or select your choice of subject.
Other Pages on the site include Information Boats, Cars,
Comp-n-clip
Composites
Composites 2
Creative
Different ? Examples, Flowers, Framing high or low key.
How to Landscapes,
Landscape-n-Nature Manipulation,
Minimalism More examples, Multiple images, Nature, Nature
Wildlife Photo-art, Portraits Sliding images, Straight, Surreal Surreal-pg.2 Rules, Windows
and the page index or
the site map and
My coposition Rules
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Photographs and graphics are ©
& belong to Alex Cummings unless otherwise stated, these and other
photographs can be seen at
https://plus.google.com/collection/ULgVRE
or at https://www.facebook.com/alex.cummings.1940/
