Cold, Electric, Purple

Environmental Portraits

I chose this picture because its very raw and
it captures a very beautiful moment.

I chose this picture because you can tell a lot about
the man in the image and I believe it captures emotion.

Portrait Tips

Play with Eye Contact

It is amazing how much the direction of your subject’s eyes can impact an image. Most portraits have the subject looking down the lens – something that can create a real sense of connection between a subject and those viewing the image. But there are a couple of other things to try:

A. Looking off camera – have your subject focus their attention on something unseen and outside the field of view of your camera. This can create a feeling of candidness and also create a little intrigue and interest as the viewer of the shot wonders what they are looking at. This intrigue is particularly drawn about when the subject is showing some kind of emotion (ie ‘what’s making them laugh?’ or ‘what is making them look surprised?’). Just be aware that when you have a subject looking out of frame that you can also draw the eye of the viewer of the shot to the edge of the image also – taking them away from the point of interest in your shot – the subject.

B. Looking within the frame – alternatively you could have your subject looking at something (or someone) within the frame. A child looking at a ball, a woman looking at her new baby, a man looking hungrily at a big plate of pasta…. When you give your subject something to look at that is inside the frame you create a second point of interest and a relationship between it and your primary subject. It also helps create ‘story’ within the image.

Fill the Frame

One way to ensure that your subject captures the attention of the viewer of your portrait is to fill the frame with their face.

It’s not something that you’d do in every shot that you take – but if your subject is the only feature in the shot – there’s really nowhere else to look.

Candids: Being Unobtrusive

You may want to make photographs of people going about their business—vendors in a market, a crowd at a sports event, the line at a theater. You don't want them to appear aware of the camera. Many times people will see you, then ignore you because they have to concentrate on what they are doing. You want the viewers of the image to feel that they are getting an unguarded, fly-on-the-wall glimpse into the scene.

There are several ways to be unobtrusive. The first thing, of course, is to determine what you want to photograph. Perhaps you see a stall in a market that is particularly colorful, a park bench in a beautiful setting—whatever has attracted you. Find a place to sit or stand that gives you a good view of the scene, take up residence there, and wait for the elements to come together in a way that will make your image.

If you're using a long lens and are some distance from your subject, it will probably be a while before the people in the scene notice you. You should be able to compose your image and get your shot before this happens. When they do notice you, smile and wave. There's a difference between being unobtrusive and unfriendly. Another way to be unobtrusive is to be there long enough so that people stop paying attention to you. If you are sitting at a café order some coffee and wait. As other patrons become engrossed in conversations or the paper, calmly lift the camera to your eye and make your exposure. In most cases, people either won't notice or won't mind. But be judicious. Don't keep firing away and become a nuisance. They will mind. You can also set the camera on the table with a wide-angle lens pointed at your subject and simply press the remote release when the time is right. Modern auto focus and auto exposure cameras make this easy to do as well.

Aperature

1. We should relate aperture to our eyes, the pupil.

2.The smaller the aperture, the larger the f-number. The higher the aperture the smaller the f-number.

3. Aperture impacts the depth of a field because it separates the foreground from the background so it makes objects sharp or blurry.

f/2.8

f/16  

Cancer

As I looked through these images I got very sad to the point where tears came down my face. It was very emotional to see the woman's transition through cancer and process itself must be very exhausting. I think the comment the photographer made means that yes, this is what happened and this is what they went through but their story isn't limited to just the content of these photos. I definitely wouldn't be able to shoot photos if I was in this situation because I would be too emotional and too consumed in appreciating the last moments. If I could write a letter to Angelo, I'd tell him that he is very brave and strong to be able to document his wife's death. I'm sure it was incredibly difficult to surpass his emotions and take the photos. I would salute him for his wonderful photography and courageousness as I would thank him for taking me on a minute long emotional journey via a computer screen and photographs.

Captions

Here we have photographed Margaret on this past May 29th celebrating a very healthy century of life, she has taken very good care of herself her entire life allowing her to live this long. Margaret was very excited to reach "triple digits" and celebrated with a cigarette, one of her vices as an adolescent.

Alfredo, Thomas, Julie, and Howard are high school friends, gathered here on the 7th of June to remember their lost friend Lisa. This bunch graduated in the class of 1951 and have been friends ever since, unfortunately, Lisa passed about 40 years after their graduation.

Grace doesn't actually hate everyone, her granddaughter, Priscilla made her wear this shirt. Grace and Priscilla have a very good relationship, in fact, Priscilla is Grace's favorite grandchild.

Great Black & White Photographers, Part 3

1st Photo

Next to this woman, the subject of the photo, I see the remains of a small party that ran very late. I smell coffee brewing and drunken morning breaths also the smoke from cigarettes.  I hear people moaning in their sleep. I taste whatever a margarita tastes like and whatever cigarettes taste like. I feel the sun warming my skin.

2nd Photo

Standing beside this woman, I see a boardwalk with people walking by holding food in one hand and holding a frozen drink to their face with the other. Behind the people I see bars and restaurants lining the boardwalk. I smell salt water and the aroma of fried food. I hear people speaking amongst themselves and someone preforming live at one of the bars. I hear people applauding and singing along, I hear feet hitting the floor as they dance along. I also hear waves crashing on the shore and little kids laughing as the race with the water. I taste the saltiness of the air and the remains of the french fries I had just before walking over to the bay and standing in this spot. I feel the sun heating me, I feel my feet beginning to ache because I've been walking for so long.