Art 250 News: assignment #3 is Portraiture.

environmantal portrait of - Matisse by Henri Cartier-Bresson

I would like to see some creativity here...
Shoot all three and make a print of the following categories:

1) Environmental - Have your subject in their own environment
or place them somewhere that adds harmony or even conflict to
the subject. Questions to ask yourself- what are they
wearing? Who are they? What special ideas do I want to
present to the viewer about this person?
Try different shutter speeds and f- stops for affect.

Picasso by Newman

2) Close-up - Usually this means a shot where the head fills
the frame and it may or may not include the shoulders. Be
careful with this one. Longer lenses 80 mm+ usually work
best, but I know some of you only have 50mm (normal) lenses.
Also be aware of harsh shadows on the face. Try to find a
place where the light bounces off a white wall so the the
light has a nice even glow but not direct sunlight. (This
will keep the squinting down too). Bracket!

Carolyn Smith (portrait assignment Spring 2007)

Self portrait Graham Nash

3) Self Portrait- this may be the hardest one for most of
you. First think about an interesting way to present
yourself. Then find interesting lighting. A tripod will help
and most of you have a timer on the camera so that you can
trip the shutter and run to the other side of the camera.
Mirrors are OK and so are images that imply your presence.
Plan this out so you don't get a bunch of backs and “oops” shots.

Bracket and use different shutter speeds to enhance the idea
of your picture. We now are getting to the point where I need
to start seeing some creative solutions to these assignments. Composition, lighting, subject, and tonal quality will be important in my grading. Hand in 3 images of each part of the assignment: Environmental, Close up and Self. The first two should be of 3 different people and the self portraits should be of 3 different set ups.