Portraiture Shooting Assignment

Overall, I thought this was a very SUCCESSFUL photo shoot! This is my baby cousin Julianne. I mentioned her at the beginning of the year and how she was born with her organs outside of the body. She has been through a long healing process and it is a miracle that she is here today. A few weeks ago, my family came up for a surprise visit and I thought this would be the perfect photo opportunity. At 8 months, she has the most adorable expressions and she was so content during the shoot. I was rummaging around for some type of basket I could sit her in and I luckily found at least 3 baskets to choose from. We had also gone pumpkin picking at Ashcomes so I had a couple props to work with. I started taking pictures around 5ish but it had been a semi-cloudy day so the lighting wasn't the best but I tried to work with what I had. At times it was a bit frustrating because my shutter speed wasn't high/low enough and some of the pictures came out blurry. She was very happy in the beginning of the shoot but after about 15 minutes, with an outfit and location change, she was done! It was an honor to use her for my project and I'm really really happy with my results.

Portrait Examples

 Elaine Gates 

Serious

I love the soft lighting on top of her hair and the green grass in the background is really vibrant and makes her stand out. It creates a very warm touch to the photo.

 Elaine Gates

Smirk

I love the color of her eyes in this picture, I think they really stand out. I also love how she isn't serious but she's not laughing, it's in between. Her expression is sweet and innocent.

 Elaine Gates

Serious

The eyes in this picture are so blue and are really sharp. I also love how his outfit matches his eyes perfectly. He almost looks a little scared or frightened!

 Jen Baltgalvis

Laughter

This picture is also on the tummy and I think it adds variety.  I like the all white background and then the pink/red pops out which makes her the main focal point. The expression is adorable and her eyes are beautiful.

 Amanda Hodges

Serious

I love the background and the use of the bin that she's sitting in. The color scheme is continuous and works really nicely together.

 Amanda Hodges

Serious

This is another good use of a bin/basket. I love the different side angle of her and the color scheme is still blue but the photographer changed it a bit. There is a leading line along the side of the basket and the eye directly runs across the middle.

 Amanda Hodges

Smile

This shot is super super cute! I love the vibrant colors, the floor, vertical lines, the basket, and her expression.

 Amanda Hodges

Smile

I love the green in the background and the use of the chair, ( how the back of the chair frames her body). Her eyes are very sharp and blue and I love the expression on her face.

Amanda Hodges

Smile

This picture has a very soft feeling. I love the green in the back, the side of the chair, and the pink. I think the use of soft colors creates a sweetness and warmth in the picture.

Klose Photography

Smile/ Laughter 

I love how the photographer captured an angle looking down on the baby. His expression was caught in the midst of a laugh which is super cute. I love how he's not looking directly into the camera and I think the photographer made good use of the wagon.

Senior Portait Article

• it's important to get to know the teenager first
• photographers who discover their clients interests are the most successful at putting them at ease
• listen to the client's ideas and use different objects to represent them
• "smile with your eyes"
• most teenagers want editorial looking shots, like the ones in magazines
• full frame DSLR's are used for senior portraits
• photographers want the client to bring trendy outfits and an outfit that won't look outdated in years to come
• create a "natural look for the parents" and "high fashion look for seniors"
• urban and beach settings are popular

Elaine Gates Recap

I thought Elaine Gates' photography tips were really helpful. I liked how she put examples of her own work on a power point for all of us to see and talked about how her business grew rapidly. I thought it was helpful when she talked about different weather conditions. She talked a lot about the lighting and how important it is in a photograph. Elaine said about an hour before sunrise/sunset is the best time to be out shooting. She also gave very good tips when it's windy outside and how you just have to rotate the other way around. One of the most important things she said was that the photographer doesn't necessarily have to move the model around. The photographer should be moving, trying to capture different angles of the model. The main goal is to make the model like her pictures in the end result. Elaine's pieces are really beautiful and you can sense the passion through her pictures. She loves what she does and it's inspiring to see the amount of work that is done and she ends up getting beautiful results.