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Environmental Portraiture by Catherine Povaschuk - part 2 of 1 2

Published 01/04/2004

A clothing consultation is a must. It is actually one of the most important elements of any portrait, be it in studio or on location. Suggest solid colours, and matching the key (lightness or darkness) and tone of clothing within the group. Mid to dark key works best for most portraits, unless you are going to a bright, light environment like a beach. Ask your customer to wear clothing that matches, for example, if they are wearing dark slacks, ask them to wear a dark, long sleeve top as well. They do not have to match each other in colour, but they should match in key. Steer your customers away from patterns, stripes, checks, or plaids. Also, discourage primary colours. Bright red, yellow or blue compete with your subject and the environment. Go with burgundy, navy, beige, brown, or shadowy purples instead. These muted, toned down colours present a more sophisticated, high-class look. Also, point out that a dark sweater with one bold coloured stripe is a pattern; clothing with words or cartoon characters will take the attention away from them in the final image. Of course, I know that with digital such things can be corrected, but it is easier to start with a clean slate than it is to clean it up.

Bright side of the road

I am happy with the background and posing in the images six and seven. As this session was done at sunset, the light was soft and directional. However, the young woman is in a white blouse that somewhat over powers the images. Fortunately, the young man is in tan slacks that do balance the overall look, but I would have been happier if she had been in a darker colour blouse. Again, it can be darkened digitally, but the young woman likes her white shirt, so I will leave it as it is.

Image six is taken, of all places, under a freeway overpass, The couple is under the edge of the bridge of the freeway going west and the east bound bridge frames the background. They are not in the full shadow of the bridge; they are on the edge of the shadow. By placing your subject on the edge of the light, you get the softest, prettiest light possible. This works with soft window light as well. Instead of using the light of the full window, take your subject to the edge of the light by the sash and look for the more shadowy, softer look.Bridal Portraiture

Image seven is by the side of a rather busy road! You should have seen the looks that we got from the motorists going by. I am sure that they wondered why in the world we would be taking a photo there. Of course, we wanted to include the ever-fleeting autumn colours and we made use of the hill to lift up our subject's faces into the light. Also, we considerably reduced the effect of the young woman's white blouse by choosing a lighter coloured environment. Bob was just out of the frame, bringing light in from a low angle to brighten the eyes. When out looking for places to create portraits, keep in mind that the camera has only one eye, and it will see only what you let it see.

Simple Posing

When you are outdoors, look around for natural or manmade posing props. Benches, large rocks, little hills, fences, steps, and logs all make dandy posing props. In image eight, the family is standing and sitting around a fallen log, taken down by our nation animal, the beaver. It was easy to arrange the triangles in the group and there was a space for the little dog to sit and be part of the group. Imagine trying to photograph that little dog in all the tall grass without that log. Again, a reflector was used to light faces, and the photo was taken in late day.

When you have as beautiful a young woman as is in image nine, what a joy! Clever posing makes her even lovelier. Having her put her weight on her 'back' leg, that is the leg furthest from the camera, and relaxing her front leg form an attractive curve formed by her body. Tucking her thumbs in her belt buckles forms triangles with her arms. The combination of the geometric triangles and the soft 'S' curve of her body make a pleasing image. Again, the setting sun and a reflector created the light. The background is plain and out of focus, making her the most important part of the portrait.

As for depth of field, I like to have only my subject in focus, and the surroundings slightly out of focus. I use a fairly wide-open aperture, f/4 or so usually, and a telephoto lens. If it is late and dark, I use f/2 and keep my subjects in as flat a plane as possible. Since I have changed from film to digital, I have noticed that the rules of depth of field have changed a bit. I seem to have more in focus than I had with film at the same aperture. I expect that this has to do with the fact the film itself has some depth, and the digital sensor is flat.

Over to you

So, go out, look for the light, check out backgrounds, and find your favorite location for portraits day and evening. You can spend many happy hours, out in the park, or by heritage buildings, creating wonderful memories for your customers. Have a super time and I hope that I've given you a few points you can use in your photography.

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1st Published 01/04/2004
last update 09/12/2022 14:53:52

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