Definition: Location portraiture are taken of people in an environment that they live, work, rest or play in. The environment helps to tell that persons story: who they are, what they do or what is there passion / hobby.
Alex Soth (http://blog.art21.org/2010/03/05/the-process-behind-the-portrait/#.Vjs1AXrcY5Q )
Though there are many ways of photographing on location we will start by reviewing the work of Alec Soth. In considering his work think about:
1. Camera controls and available light
2. Interaction with the subject(s)
Camera controls and available light
Lighting on location can often influence the way a photograph is taken. Adjusting the aperture to obtain a shallow (narrow) depth of field is often used. This has the following advantages:
1. Can be used to throw the background out of focus
2. Will allow you to shoot in dimmer lighting conditions as the shutter speeds at say f 4.0, f 5.6, f 8 will be faster compared to shooting at f 16, f 22.
3. If you struggle with also allow you to operate at higher shutter speeds in order to freeze movement.
4. You may choose to operate the camera in manual focus mode and try to get a sharp focus by focussing on the eyes or face.
5. If you struggle with harsh shadows you may choose to use a reflector to bounce light back onto a subject, can be quite effective but you need an assistant
6. Many photographers work with a tripod on location shoot, examples include Alec Soth, and Philip Lorca di Corcia.
Interaction with the subject(s)
Alec Soth is a photographer form Minnesota, USA and born in 1969. His series 'Sleeping by the Mississippi' was the series were he started to show his style of photography. It became a solo exhibition of 21 photographs at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum. This finished on September 1st 2019.
Taken from https://alecsoth.com/photography/ .
Titled: Adelyn, Ash Wednesday, New Orleans, LA, 2000
In the photo the lady who by the title is called Adelyn is standings in front of what seems to be an iron gate. She has a mark of something on her forehead and is looking off into the distance. This implies to me that maybe it has something to do with religion. Ash Wednesday is a Christian holy day as its the start of Lent, and the mark on her forehead looks like the holy cross.
Taken from https://alecsoth.com/photography/.
Titled : Charles, Vasa, MN, 2002
It shows a man, who from the title you can see is called Charles, who is in a flight suit holding model aircraft. This implies that maybe his job has something to do with aircraft or maybe it is a hobby of his. Having the background thrown out of focus really sharpens and brings the man alive. The way everything is placed shows that this wasn't just taken in the moment, it was planned to show what Alec wanted to portray. Its almost like the audience is bringing introduced to the man in the photo, learning about them and who they are.
The artist Alec Soth's style of portraiture is realised through his ability to make his subjects feel comfortable in front of his camera. In an article last year in the New York Times, Julian Cox, Curator of Photography at the High Museum, was quoted, saying that Soth "communes with his subjects and his environment through the ritual of the photographic act.
Select a location
1. Experiment with photographing at narrow to medium depth of field e.g. f 4.0, f 5.6, f 8, f11
2. Work with composition and try full body shots versus half body, and close-up
3. Work with a tripod to frame your shots and discus the advantages and disadvantages of this approach
4. Evaluate the outcomes and create an image bank, work diary, contact sheet(s)
5. You may depending on your photography experiment with a reflector and on camera flash
Contract Sheet(s)
1) Manual
2) ISO 200
3) F stop 3.5
4) Shutter Speed 1/250
5) Flash didn't use
Original Photo
Analysis
The photo technique sort of worked as the back ground grows more and more out of focus the further you get from the camera. This is happening because of the F stop I used, by using the low F stop it lowers the depth of field. This means that the focus point becomes the only point to be in focus where as the further you get from the point the more the image blurs.
If i wanted to make the photo more blurred i could continue decreasing the F stop. If i did that however it would allow more light to hit the film. Therefore i would need to adjust the shutter speed, this will allow control over the extra light.
In the photo i do like how the main colour is red and that i s the bit in focus. Having the leather jacket of the subject and the red of the car matching pulls in the eye of the viewer to the centre. So i really used that pop of colour to lead the viewer through the photo.
Will i use this technique in my work?
I may end up using this in my work as it will allow me to blur out any thing in the background, and foreground. This maybe a technique i really use when looking the at bridges in London.
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