Hurter - Portrait Photographers Handbook

C ontemporary portrait styles have become more relaxed and less formal in the past decade. What is gained is a level of spontaneity and naturalness that people seem to like. What is lost is the idyllic, structured way of rendering the human form.

There are numerous reasons for the move to a more casual framework. The influence of fashion photography, with its heavily diffused lighting and untraditional posing, is one big reason. Another is the move by professional photographers to the smaller-format digital camera, with its instantaneous nature and its bag of creative tricks. The modern DSLR gives photographers a level of flexibility that lends itself to shooting lots of images and many variations, including more spontaneous poses. Also, the advent of TTL-metered electronic flash has made the modern-day portrait something that can be made anywhere, not just in a studio.

The advent of digital makes altering the reality of the image simple. In this award-winning image by Marcus Bell, the time of day and lighting angle have been altered in Photoshop. Even the location itself has been made to look more theatrical by the manipulations. Marcus darkened the image, which originally was rather flat, using traditional dodging and burning in Photoshop. He then combined a duplicate sepia layer and duplicate Gaussian blur layer until the final effect was achieved. He says of this image, Its important for photographers to understand that capturing the image is only the first stage of many to produce a final image. I wanted to emphasize their fairytale-like dresses, so I printed the image to reflect this.

TOPThe fine portrait is a lasting work of art. Elegant posing and lighting and an acute sense of the environment make an outstanding image. The camera used was a Bronica SQ-Ai with a PS 80mm lens using Kodak Portra 400VC film. It was exposed for 1/15 second at f/4. Available light from windows and lamps at the location was used, with the addition of a Lumedyne 50 Watt-second barebulb flash as a fill light. Photograph by Robert Lino. BOTTOMThe modern portrait photographer creates an image that imparts lifestyle and character in a casual, relaxed framework of posing and lighting. Photograph by Cherie Steinberg-Cot.

Digital technology offers the portrait photographer flexibility and speed and, perhaps most importantly, the ultimate in creative control. The photographer can change from color to black & white on the fly, change white balance similarly, and there is no delay for processing, proofing, and printing. Both the photographer and the client can examine the captured images instantly, capitalizing on the excitement of the just-finished portrait session. Additionally, the daunting task of traditional retouching has all but been eliminated by Adobe(r) Photoshop(r) and its many tools and techniques. The special effects tricks that were once the province of the accomplished darkroom technician are now routinely created quickly and expertly by the photographer in Photoshop.

Despite these technological advances, though, many of the techniques of the old-time portraitist have survived and are useful to todays photographers. The rudiments of posing and composition are timeless and date back to the beginnings of Greek civilization. This book attempts to combine some of the time-tested disciplines with more contemporary methods in such a way that they will be useful to the modern-day photographer. The emphasis will be on techniques rather than on sophisticated studio equipment. After all, if a specific type of portrait can be made with two lights just as simply as with five lights, why not use the simpler setup?

It is not the intent of this book to impart a series of rules that must be followed without exception. Instead, this book was created to give photographers an understanding of the traditional rules and how theyre frequently broken so they may incorporate what they will into their individual repertoire of techniques. It is my hope that after reading this book and studying the award-winning images, you will have a battery of knowledge that will enable you to produce pleasing, memorable portraits.

This is the third edition of Portrait Photographers Handbook. While the focus of this new edition remains essentially on lighting, posing, and creativity for professional portraiture, one cannot ignore the impact of digital technology in portraiture in the past few years. When the first edition was published, digital capture and output were in use by only a select handful of photographers. In those early years of digital, professional cameras could cost as much as $30,000, making them a luxury for only the welloff photographer. While the goal of the portraitist is still, above all other aims, to idealize the subject, the tools of today are not only more convenient, but they are vital to that primary task. As a result, many of the changes in both the imagery and text of this new edition of Portrait Photographers Handbook reflect the expanding role of digital technology in professional portraiture.

Portraiture has changed, but the goal still remains the same, to reveal the character of the subject. This underwater portrait by Larry Peters is unique. The black tricot background and the soft side lighting of an underwater strobe, combined with a floating light tent that is illuminated from a 2500 Watt-second strobe on the pool deck makes this a striking image. The reflection of the subject on the surface almost looks like angel wings. The photographer made the image with a Canon EOS 5D and 24mm lens. This portrait is an example of how the changing technology has opened up new means to create images that were almost impossible to conceive of a few years ago.

A good portrait conveys information about the persons self. Through controlled lighting, posing, and composition, the photographer strives to capture the essence of the subject, all at once recording the personality and the likeness of the subject. With a solid knowledge of professional equipment, portrait techniques, and a good rapport with your subject, you can create an image that is pleasing and salable-one that the subject will cherish.