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Location Portraits Jeremy Webb
It may not be your specialist area of expertise, but photographers of all kinds are often called-upon to produce a good location portrait at the drop of a hat. It might be a spur-of-the-moment add-on to the end of a shoot, or more likely just one aspect of a well-planned commission which calls for a 'Jack of All Trades' approach to a wide-ranging brief. I've known highly-experienced photographers to break out into a cold sweat and curl up into a little ball at the thought of having to create a striking portrait 'on the hoof' so to speak, in unfamiliar surroundings, and with very little notice. Those photographers who rely on the security of their studios and their huge Bowens flash kits will be well-used to those factors which they can control - the lighting, the props, the patter, and so on, but good location portraits are often created in circumstances which are very often outside of the photographers control and this is where the photographer (if he/she really cares about their art) strives to create something unique and engaging rather than merely getting-by with just a standard meat-and-two-veg snapshot to give to the client. Rather than a tedious list of do's and don'ts, I'll provide a few pointers and highlight a few instances where tricky issues arise or decisions have to be made. In the end, if a photographer is competent of his or her technique, most problems with location portraiture arise through
I have to admit I'm biased. I love the challenge, not to mention the adrenaline which forces you to marshall all your creative and technical powers at once to deliver whats required. I also think that you have to love people, even the difficult old codgers who fidget and moan while you work your socks off to make your subject look lively and inspired (if that is the outcome that's required by the client).
This is a very common complaint but one which you should get your head around fast. If time pressures do not allow you to seek out that perfect background to create your striking environmental portrait, then rely on your technique and your manners to get nice and close and bring out the facial features, or the glint in the eye of your subject. Turn the situation around to your advantage and fill the frame with your subjects face in an engaging and direct way. Cast your eye over the Sunday quality newspapers and you'll see countless examples of superb black & white portraits where the emphasis is on being up close and personal. The face stares back at you the moment you turn the page and subjects are usually isolated against a black background and photographed in available light. Such portraits are often achieved by hard-working freelancers as they follow their journalists around to interview their subjects and are often given no more than a few minutes to do their thing. Other well known photographers such as Jane Bown, Snowdon, and countless other masters of their trade have known these secrets for years.
These photographers don't need flashy gizmos, assistants, or swanky props and backgrounds to give their portraits some 'zing'. Instead they rely on a good lens, good technique, and an ability to read light well, often using whatever light is available through skylight or sash windows to cast their subjects faces in a soft, revealing quality of light. If all else fails, a good flashgun bounced off a nearby wall, or even ring flash if you can afford it, would make a useful investment and a very handy piece of kit for just such situations. 2 'My subject is soooo dull' Think about this one - is the person really that dull, or are the creative juices a bit dry? Dull's not so bad anyway. There have been plenty of occasions when I'd rather have the passive type who says and does the absolute minimum, as opposed to the extrovert show-off who won't keep still or can't stop performing. Whoever your subject is, try to put them at ease, break the ice with a joke - anything you can do to relax those stiff shoulders will be worth the effort in the end.
There have been several occasions in the past when (even
using off-camera flash) I've set the camera up on a tripod and pre-focussed
the lens just so that I can extricate my head from being stuck behind
the camera, in order to interact face-to-face with my subject without
the 'barrier' which my camera can come to represent. Once you drag yourself
away from behind the camera some people suddenly relax - only to be caught
panther-like by a quick squeeze of the cable release as they loosen-up
and become once again the animated and expressive person that lurks behind
the mask of a stiffened corpse.
A good dialogue, and treating your sitter as an equal, will go a long way towards achieving a harmonious and (more importantly) more productive atmosphere within which to work. 3 'Help! I've got no ideas' Ideas come from the strangest places - - an interesting nook or cranny spotted during the walk
through the corridors,
I usually find that, for me, the most successful ideas for portraits are determined by the environment - whether this be a windswept sugarbeet field in winter or the stylish foyer of a trendy gallery. The important consideration here, is not to let the environment swamp the occasion or the subject. Unless you have complete creative freedom to do whatever you like, your editor/commissioner will not be happy with an image which renders the subject or sitter tiny within the frame. Arnold Newman got away with it beautifully in his strikingly graphic portrait of the composer Igor Stravinsky, but us mere mortals will have to show some restraint when the location appears more inviting than the subject.
Observe the persons body language. Do they 'hold' themselves in an interesting way? Are there expressions or interesting little quirks and gestures or rituals which they use which could form the basis of an interesting portrait? Watching the way people use their hands to communicate ideas and express their feelings will enable you to assess to what degree you should try to influence the portrait process, or whether you should hold back an allow your subject to express themselves without your input. 4 'This was not specified in my brief' Maybe it wasn't. But are you a Jobsworth, or a photographer? You are in danger of inviting your client to question his/her faith in you if you can't produce a decent portrait when asked for. 5 '..but all the client wants is a straightforward head and shoulders shot' If that were the case, they should've gone to a photo booth for a passport picture. Clients may well ask for the simplest of portraits since they may have some idea that this is 'the norm' for an annual report, or perhaps they work in an industry sector where to attempt anything more arty would be considered a bit 'non-butch' if you get my meaning.
If time allows, mix it up a little. Get the head and shoulders shots done, then try out a few extra ideas. Giving a little extra like this is simply providing more options for your client. They may stick with the tried and tested 'norm' but at least you've given them more choice than they expected and you've proved that you're capable of going that little bit further. They may make a mental note of this and keep you in mind for future jobs which they feel demand a bit more creativity from their chosen photographer.
At the end of the day, good location portraiture is about resourcefulness and imagination. Naturally, good technique goes a long way, but it is the means to and end and never the end itself. The same can be said of expensive telephoto lenses and high-powered flashguns. Rather than spend a few hundred quid on a new lens that you don't really need, spend it instead on a few books by the masters of portraiture to see what many of them managed with a simple 35mm rangefinder camera and an imaginative eye for a picture. I promise you it'll be money well spent.
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