The Evolution of a Portrait Shoot

[heartseye]

"Bob,
What you describe in your post is exactly how 98+% of all portrait
makers in the world approach each and every one of their cliants before a studio session."


It certainly SHOULD be......but it simply isn't. In my entire career I have met less than a dozen who insist on an in-client-house-interview before accepting the shoot.

The priest was shot on an RZ67 with 3 Norman lights. It looks as it does because I wanted it to look that way. It is shot on ,location in the actual church which was so much a part of his life. The location was carefully studied along with a couple of other possibilities. Hardly a snapshot. As you might imagine, the image qualtiy of the print is somewhat better than it appears here.....

As for the "customer passing away etc....." You are exactly right. The client is whom the image is created for.....

[felix.reichardt]

Bob, are these those masterpieces you talked about in another thread? If yes, I'm rather unimpressed by composition, expression and lighting. Honest opinion. The vignette is rather poor in number 5.

[heartseye]

Felix...I did not refer to any of these as Masterpieces. Benji asked me to post something, and to do it quickly, so I found these few and posted them. Three of them were of real importance to the clients who commissioned them......but you'd have to understand the histories.
As for you not being impressed....You don't need to be. They were not created for you. But they have substance for the people in whose homes they hang.
But....hey....why don't YOU commission me for a specific work......and I'll impress the hell out of you... Bob

[felix.reichardt]

Originally Posted by heartseye

Felix...I did not refer to any of these as Masterpieces. Benji asked me to post something, and to do it quickly, so I found these few and posted them. Bob

Lame excuse. If you say Benji's pictures don't have this or that why would you not post your masterpieces to impress us?

[felix.reichardt]

Originally Posted by Brooks

For me this photo was about the light and singular beauty of the subject. I think I just got lucky on this one.

Lover your honesty - and you got lucky or not - its a very strong image.

[kevgermany]

In a previous job (life?) I was a trainer. I went on a couple of 'train the trainer' courses. A lot of focus was placed on technique - preparation, presentation, eye contact, participation....

One key lesson was about the future - we'd find as trainers that we'd be on courses and would be tempted to criticise faults in other trainers' work. This would affect our own ability to learn from the trainers as we'd be so busy criticising his technique that we'd miss the message. What we should do was elarn to put this behind us and concetnrate on the message - and how well the trainer was coming across. Made a huge difference on my next course as a student when I caught myself in the trap.

For me photography is an evolution from novice, learning the ropes/rules, to expressing what I visualise. I've learnt to move on past work that doesn't appeal to me - be it for technique or different vison.

All creative/artistic people expose themselves to criticism - much of it unfair - by the nature of their work. We should be able to discuss our & others' work here constructively.

[kevgermany]

Bob, thanks. I really like the image of the priest. Makes me wonder a lot why you posed him giving communion, but placed the emphasis on his face and not the sacrament.... There must have been good reason for it - otherwise you'd have shown them as well. I guess that's a mystery and secret we must respect.

[heartseye]

Felix, I have no interest in impressing you.

Kev....thanks for the tolerence....there really IS a very private tale here....I never expected that just by posting the image that I'd be drawn into a thread like this....respects...Bob

[felix.reichardt]

Originally Posted by heartseye

Felix, I have no interest in impressing you.

Fair enough but I thought you wanted "to impress the hell out of me".

[alive1]

I think the problem here is the term 'rules'... I think 'Convention' would serve us all better... Merriam-Webster "generally accepted custom"... Benji is giving us a great starting point and it is up to us to expand on his ideas and perhaps establish our own style.

[One on one]

I would like to thank Benji for the information that he is willing to share with all of the members here. From photography school, seminars and one on one learning with other photographers, I have always kept an open mind digesting any useful information that others were willing to share with me. They have different experiences than me, have made mistakes and found the best way to do something for them. We would be fools by trying to reinvent continuously. After all, the way we learn is by trying something, if it works, we keep it, if it doesn’t we either discard it completely or take portions of it and attempt to make it better.

When one gives unconditionally, they deserve to be thanked, not criticized. If your critique is an attempt to do harm, maybe, you should rethink it. If your “style” is radically different, start your own thread with your ideas. We can learn a lot more by avoiding bickering. Take some of this to heart and avoid making a donkey out of yourselves.

[Benji]

Copy from the above: "We would be fools by trying to reinvent continuously. After all, the way we learn is by trying something, if it works, we keep it, if it doesn’t we either discard it completely or take portions of it and attempt to make it better."

I couldn't have said it better, and this is exactly what I have done for years. If I see a technique or pose I like, I adopt it and then try and fit it into my style of image making. Most of the time it takes several sessions for me to get the hang of it. Occasionally I even get it on the first attempt! I've heard that it took Edison 50 attempts before he was able to get a light bulb to work. Someone accused him of failing 49 times and he said "I didn't fail 49 times, I just discovered the 49 ways that didn't work first!"

Benji

[susrutac]

Thanks for the info. Immensely beneficial to me.

Susruta

[rudester]

Great thread!

I still cannot find explanation on posing techniques like 1 - 3 - 2, etc.... can you explain.

Thanks.

[Harry]

Originally Posted by rudester

Great thread!

I still cannot find explanation on posing techniques like 1 - 3 - 2, etc.... can you explain.

Thanks.

x2

[oldugly]

Just a note. I came back to this thread tonight to review how members of "The Camel" have helped push me along. As one of those lucky enough to attend one of Ben's workshops I would offer that his "rules" are really well thought out (and proven) guidelines. They work. Are they for everyone? Will they work for every client/occasion? No, to each.

What they will do is give you a solid base from which to work. They will help you shorten your learning curve by learning from someone else's experience and mistakes. Photography, as with most professions, or avocations, takes a lot of study and practice to become proficient. Unless someone has been blessed with a certain amount of genius; it is nearly impossible to become really creative without a base of experience and knowledge. Ben's "rules" are a shortcut to that base.

Learn them, practice them. Reflect on how to add your own experience and study to them. Then go out and take portraits that will make the rest of us say, "Wow! That's good!"