What is a Portrait?
And what is the difference between a picture and a portrait?
Is a 'selfie" a portrait?
Is one person - or a group of people - considered a portrait?
What about a painting?
Or a piece of sculpture?
Can animals have portraits done?
Does it matter what status you have?
And has portraiture changed over time?
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From the Oxford English Dictionary:
Portraiture has historically been understood as: “a painting, drawing, photograph, or engraving of a person, especially one depicting only the face or head and shoulders.”
There are other forms of portraits, such as group portraits, portraits of couples and families as well as self-portraits, but we’ll be focusing on the individual portrait, which has historically been implied by just saying “portrait.”
Historically, only dieties or those with high status and money could have portraits done.
And portraits changed over time from stylized realistic, to very realistic, to abstract. Do any of these styles have advantages the other styles do not?
Is there a difference between a self portrait and other types of portraits?
Who are the 'royalty' or 'dieties' of today? Who today has large portraits all over their walls, on their clothing, or in the public eye?
Do we photograph our portraits differently today than in other times?
Are we any more artistic than historically?
What can we do with our technology that could not be done before?
Are 'selfies' really new?
Portrait Assignment:
For your new portrait assignment, think about fashion photography, as well as historic, contemporary, documentary and abstract portrait photography. Research some artists of each genre.
What are your favorite types of portraits? Are they individual portraits? Groups? Selfies? Animals? Do they contain artistic or historic elements? Typography?
Who can you photograph that is the 'royalty' of your peers? How can you make a self portrait stand out from something you take on your cell phone? Can you think about lighting and posing? Can you do a selfie in the studio? What makes a good fashion or documentary portrait?
What can YOU do with our technology and cameras that would tell a story about you or someone else?
For this shoot, you will learn how to use one light portrait lighting and will hand in 3 different types of portraits.
Criteria:
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3 portraits - at least one in studio and one 'on location'
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exposed properly
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has impact through use of color, line, composition choices, angle, etc.
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has been edited, cropped and added to template
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reflection shows insight into what was learned in studio and in taking different styles of portraiture
Research and Resources:
Here are just a few artists of each genre to look into:
Fashion Photography:
Helmut Newton Annie Leibovitz Steven Meisel Richard Avedon
Louise Dahl-Wolfe Irving Penn Inez & Vinoodh
Photojournalistic/Documentary/Street Photography:
Henri Cartier-Bresson Dorothea Lange Diane Arbus Yousuf Karsh
Steve McCurry Stephanie Sinclair Edward Burtynsky Mike Brodie
Kitra Cahana
Animal Photography:
Robyn Arouty Illona Haus Serenah
Ken Drake Seth Casteel Charlotte Reeves
Gideon Knight George Stoyle Greg Lecoeur
How to pose a Portrait: The Portrait Photographers Guide
By Bill Hurter
http://soul-foto.ru/photo_books/Bill%20Hurter.%20The%20Portrait%20Photographers%20Guide%20to%20Posing.%202nd%20edition.%202012.pdfLinkhttp://www.techradar.com/how-to/photography-video-capture/cameras/54-portrait-ideas-free-downloadable-posing-guide-1320788
Reference
A Glossary of Digital Photography Terms
Web Site: B&H Photo
Link
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/buying-guide/glossary-digital-photography-terms
Reference
12 Colours and the emotions they evoke
Web Site: Creative Blog
Linkhttp://www.creativebloq.com/web-design/12-colours-and-emotions-they-evoke-61515112
Reference
Poll: Selfies Now Make Up 30% of All Photos Taken by Young People
Web Site
Relevant magazine
Link
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/slices/poll-selfies-now-make-30-all-photos-taken-young-people