Portrait photography - Key moments

Reading an old photography book I have and I came accross these key moments in Portrait Photography.  I have found a few images on Google for some of those people listed below.

1838 - Louis-Jacques-Mande' Daguerre takes the first photograph of a person

1840 - In new york, US dentist Alexander S Walcott opens the worlds first portrait studio.

1854 - The photographic, Carte de Visite is invented in Paris and leads to a massive rise in the number of portrait studios.

1863 - Julia Margaret Cameron earns her reputation closely framed portraits of artists, writers and other notable figures of the day.

1930s - Angus McBean revolutionizes celebrity portrait photography, using elaborate backrounds and lighting.

2002 - Yousuf Karsh, one of the worlds greatest portrait photographers, dies aged 93.

2009 - In the UK, Jane Bown notches up 60 years as portrait photographer for the observer newspaper, with a portfolio ranging from  Bertrand Russell to Bjork.


Louis Daguerre (Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre) was born near Paris, France on November 18, 1789. A professional scene painter for the opera with an interest in lighting effects, Daguerre began experimenting with the effects of light upon translucent paintings in the 1820s.

Louis Daguerre regularly used a camera obscura as an aid to painting in perspective, and this led him think about ways to keep the image still. In 1826, he discovered the work of Joseph Niepce, and in 1829 began a partnership with him.
 
He formed a partnership with Joseph Niepce to improve upon the photography process Niepce had invented. Niepce, who died in 1833, produced the first photographic image, however, Niepce's photographs quickly faded.
 
After several years of experimentation, Louis Daguerre developed a more convenient and effective method of photography, naming it after himself - the daguerreotype.
 
According to writer Robert Leggat,"Louis Daguerre made an important discovery by accident. In 1835, he put an exposed plate in his chemical cupboard, and some days later found, to his surprise, that the latent image had developed. Daguerre eventually concluded that this was due to the presence of mercury vapour from a broken thermometer. This important discovery that a latent image could be developed made it possible to reduce the exposure time from some eight hours to thirty minutes.

Boulevard du Temple, paris - Joseph Neipce

Julia Margaret Cameron

Photographic portrait of an Italian man, possibly an artist's model called Alessandro Colorossi, by Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879). Cameron's photographic portraits are considered among the finest in the early history of photography. She set up a private studio at her Isle of Wight home at the age of 48, after her daughter gave her a camera, and she became expert at using the collodion wet-plate process. This is the only photograph in which Cameron made use of a professional model.

Yousuf Karsh

Albert Einstein 1948

• Born: 23 December 1908
• Birthplace: Mardin, Ottoman Empire (now Turkey)
• Died: 13 July 2002 (complications from surgery)
• Best Known As: Photographer of the famous grumpy Churchill portrait

Yousuf Karsh's dramatic glimpses of public figures like Winston Churchill and Ernest Hemingway made him one of the most famous portrait photographers of the 20th century. Karsh and his family fled Armenia when he was 15 years old.

He ended up in the Canadian capital of Ottawa, where he learned photography and gained access to prominent national and international figures just as World War II was beginning. He worked mostly in black and white, with a large 8x10 view camera, often catching his subjects in surprisingly intimate or pensive moments. (His famous 1941 portrait of a glowering Churchill was snapped after Karsh snatched a cigar from between the prime minister's lips.)

Many of his portraits were printed in Life magazine, giving Karsh even wider exposure. Among his subjects were Albert Einstein, Andy Warhol, John F. Kennedy, Pablo Picasso and George Bernard Shaw.

Karsh's younger brother Malak was a well-known photographer of Canadian landscapes... Karsh's portrait of Helen Keller was unusual: a close-up of her hands, pressed together as if in prayer.

Yellow Mutt Pet Photography - Theme 2 research

I have been doing some more research today on pet photography ready for my next session which will be next weekend.  I have found three more people who are willing to let me photograph them next weekend and as this will probably be the last opportunity I get i want to make sure I get some great shots to finish off the theme.

Looking through the net and came accross Yellow Mutt Pet Photography, I really like the introduction of herself (below) and how she to likes to shoot her subjects.  Capturing the beauty, charm and character of the pets and prodcuing fun images is exactly what I've been trying to do during the few sessions I have had with my friends. 

"Welcome to Yellow Mutt Pet Photography. My love for photography began 20 years ago when I took my first photography class in college.  I discovered pet photography five years later after adopting my first dog from the local animal shelter.

Photography remained a hobby until I bought my first DSLR camera. After going digital, I decided to turn my passion of pet photography into a business, and Yellow Mutt Pet Photography was established. Being a business owner and doing something that brings me so much joy is a dream come true.

I specialize in on location, natural light, fine art photography of dogs and cats. My goal is to capture your pets unique character, spirit, and charm through images that are fun, creative, and beautiful.  There is no studio, no intimidating lights, umbrellas or flashes. The photo shoot will be fun and stress free for you and your pet. Choose the location (in Seattle or the surrounding areas)  a favorite park, beach, lake,  your backyard, or leave it up to the photographer.

I will do whatever it takes to get that great shot, whether it be standing waist deep in water, or lying down in a puddle of mud; which is very likely in Seattle.  I invite you to explore my galleries. My hope is that you find the photographs inspiring and beautiful. I look forward to having the opportunity to photograph your pet, and creating treasured memories that will last a lifetime.
Debra Ducotey, owner
Yellow Mutt Pet Photography"

Here are some of the images from "yellow mutt pet photography" hope you enjoy.

Theme 2 research - Some basic tips I found on net!

Photographing Your Pets

Put Them at Ease

This might seem like common sense, but what I really mean is to photograph Fluffy in a way that makes her comfortable. If she's bouncy puppy, don't keep ordering her to sit while you frame the shot. Nope, take the camera outside and get some shots of her rolling around in the grass with the kids. If Fluffy is a cat, your best chance of getting a great photo is when she's napping in the bean bag--which means you have that opportunity about 18 hours each day.

Stoop to Their Level

Animals sit and stand much lower to the ground than we do, and a good general rule of photography is to shoot from the same perspective as your subject. To really get the essence of your pet's personality, you might want to lie down on the floor.
Of course, you can also get great results from unusual perspectives, too. For example, you could try getting directly overhead and pointing the camera straight down.

Watch Your Shutter Speed

Animals tend to change their mind without much warning and dart around a lot. To be ready for that you'll want to shoot at the fastest shutter speed possible. I recommend setting your camera to Shutter Priority and dialing in the highest speed your camera can muster, or, if your camera doesn't have a shutter priority control, try its Sport or Action setting.

Don't Be a Pet Paparazzi

When it comes to photographing pets, remember that the camera flash is not your friend. Turn off the flash and use natural light whenever possible, even if it means increasing the camera's ISO setting, which controls its sensitivity to light.
Why? Two reasons, really. First, bright flashes of light tend to scare animals, and the last thing you want to do is freak out Fluffy. Second, camera flash tends to cause the red-eye effect in animals, just as it does with humans. The red-eye reduction feature built into cameras is designed for people and isn't as effective on dogs and cats. If you really do need to use a flash, consider using a snap-on diffuser or a bounce card (available at any photo shop) to reduce the light's impact.

Nicole Mlakar-Livinstone

I've been looking at the images I have taken for my second theme which doesnt have a name yet but is based around people and their pets and the idea is to capture the emotion/bond/love between them.

One thing I have noticed immediately is that on each session I have been shooting the same images,  i.e. angles, frame, face on,legs only etc,  just different people/dogs.

With this in mind I still have time to for a few more sessions and before I do them decided to do some more research into others work.

In doing so I came accross a lady called Nicole Mlakar-Livinstone and here's what I found:

About Nicole


Nicole is a lifestyle and pet photographer in Austin, Texas. Her work has been featured in Austin Monthly, Texas Highways, Haute Dog Magazine , Austin Pets Directory, Rare Magazine and in a book titled "Barbecue Road Trip" by Voyageur Press.


Nicole is an award winning photographer, who was voted Austin's "Most Awesom-ist" Pet Photographer in 2009 and 2010 by Austin Pet Directory's reader poll. She also contributes to local non-profit pet organizations and rescue groups through financial donations and donations of her time and talent. Nicole provides photographic portraits for the Central Texas SPCA adoptable pets in an effort to give every pet an even greater chance of finding their forever home. Nicole was in turn, honored by the Central Texas SPCA as their 2009 Animal Advocate of the Year.

Looking through some of Nicole's images you can see that she has shot the subjects from various angles and doesn't always show the persons face by only showing the hands, body etc. 

I really like images 1-4 and especially love the expression on the dogs face in image number 2.  I think images 8 & 9 are very sweet and do capture the bond between the pet/owner.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Research - Pavel Zahorec - Wildlife Photographer

Looking through some images in google I came across the following image which I think is amazing and just the sort of images I would love to be able to take.

The photographer is called Pavel Zahorec, aged 56 and from Bilina in the Czech Republic, however that is all the information I can find on him.  He does have a webpage with some information on but this is in Czech! 

I really like the way he shoots his subjects and I notice looking at some of his images that he doesnt always seem to be to concerned with filling the frame, rule of thirds etc.

I would assume from the above image that a fast shutter has been used to freeze the Owl and a good zoom lens which has allowed him to get closer to the Owl and has created the out of focus area in the background.

I personally find it really challenging to get really good images of birds as you really do have to be prepared, quick and ready, it also helps to know a liitle about the birds habits, favourite perching spots, hunting grounds etc.

Here are a few more of my favourites from his webpage;

Night Photography

As I missed the trip to the Christmas Markets I decided to try some night photography, this is something I have played with before starting the course but at that time didnt have any real understanding of ISO, Shutter, Aperture and how to make these work for me.

I was aware that without the flash I would need to keep the camera completely still and in the past have used a wall or a another object to rest my camera on, but as I said above I had no idea how to make the camera work for me and would simply hope for the best.

The images below are a couple I have taken prior to starting the course and were taken in Budapest last Christmas, these were taken using a really simple Samsung Digital camera (not a DSLR).

So, whilst in Egypt and educated on the Exposure Triangle and a much better camera than the one used for the images above I decided to have a walk round the hotel.  I didnt take my tripod with me so had to find walls, tables and anything else that would be suitable as a steady surface.

I managed to get some really good images and then some not so good so have put them below with comments on each to say why I think they are good/not good along with settings used.  I used Aperture Priority on all of them as I wanted to get a wider depth of field as the hotel really was stunning and wanted to capture as much as I could.

Images 1 & 2 were taken at the entrance to the hotel and the problem I had was that the only surface available to rest the camera on was a small  concrete sign at the very begining of the walk way.  Because of this I couldnt take any shots as I walked through the trees getting closer to the entrance doors which would have been nice.  The concrete surface was also very rough which resulted in slight camera shake and was very low.  I dont think these are great shots and wished I had taken my tripod which would have given me much more opportunity.

F/14, ISO 100, S 15sec

F/14, ISO 100, S 20 sec

With the next 4 image's I love the reflection in the water which was really clear due to the lighting the hotel have used around the pool.  I used the wall here to keep the camera steady and again was quite low.  I am really happy with these images as I wanted to capture the reflection in as much detail as possible and feel I have achieved this.

ISO 100, F/22, S 30 sec

ISO 100, F/13, S 10 sec

ISO 100, F/22, S 30 sec

ISO 100, F/18, S 20 sec

The next 3 images were taken at the reception and restaurant area's and are quite nice images, again resting the camera on sturdy surfaces and trying to keep it as still as possible.  They are quite dark and could be edited to add some light, I have done this with the first image and have shown the edited image underneath.

ISO 100, F/18, S 30 sec

(light added in Photoshop CS5)

ISO 100, F/18, S 30 sec

ISO 100, F/18, S 30 sec

The final images below are not my favourite, I dont think framing was great here which was down to available sturdy surfaces in order to keep the camera still.  I have edited one of them to show how we can correct this.

ISO 100, F/18, S 30 sec

ISO 100, F/18, S 30 sec

(Cropped and edited in CS5)

ISO 100, F/22, S 30 sec



Week 8 Portrait/Street photograpy

Homework from Dave this week was people (street photography or portrait).  I think street photgraphy is one of those areas that when you try to do it, it becomes a lot more difficult than when doing it by accident or simply not trying.


I ventured out into the Christmas Markets at Manchester and trying to capture people without them knowing was tricky, I did manage to get some shots but have simply deleted them as they weren't very good at all.  I think nerves and paranoia kicked in here with some gruesome looking people, shovelling burgers and hotdogs down the throats, giving me the evil eye and looking very wary.  I will simply have to try this again and next time round be a liitle bit more blunt and just ask these people if I can take their picture.


Portrait Photography, this is a lot easier than street photography only you need people who are willing to have their photo taken.  When you do find somebody willing, why do they do nothing but pull silly faces and look ridiculous!


I came accross this description below which explains portrait quite simply:


Portrait photography or portraiture is the capture by means of photography of the likeness of a person or a small group of people (a group portrait), in which the face and expression is predominant. The objective is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the subject. Like other types of portraiture, the focus of the photograph is the person's face, although the entire body and the background may be included. A portrait is generally not a snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position. A portrait often shows a person looking directly at the camera.
Unlike many other photography styles, the subjects of portrait photography are often non-professional models. Family portraits commemorating special occasions, such as graduations or weddings, may be professionally produced or may be vernacular and are most often intended for private viewing rather than for public exhibition.
However, many portraits are created for public display ranging from fine art portraiture, to commercial portraiture such as might be used to illustrate a company's annual report, to promotional portraiture such a might be found on a book jacket showing the author of the book.


Capturing somebody's personality is one of the objective's of portrait and with not being able to get out and about to much this week I decided to shoot some images of my partner and then some more of my families children.  I find that when using children as subjects it is a lot easier to capture their personalies as they are not concerned about how they will look in a way that adults are.


So here is Dan sleeping which is soemthing that definately represents his personality and like most people must have a cup of tea before getting out of bed in the morning.  I have used aperture priority using various Fstops with an ISO of 400, I have edited these slightly using B&W and adding light/dark vignettes to create a sleepy feel to the image.

F/4.5, S 0.5sec

F/11, S 1.6sec

F/4.5, S 0.5sec

F/ 4.5, S 0.5sec

F/9, S 1sec

F/9, S 1.6sec

F/7.1, S 1/4 sec

As i said above using children as subjects seem to be a lot easier and I find the images appear to be more natural with no staging as with adults. Here is my niece and nephew playing with the family pet, again I have edited slightly by cropping, adding vignettes and using B&W.