August Photography Assignment

The August photography assignment is a very broad subject - people.  Your task is to take a portfolio photograph with one or more people as the main subject.  It can be a formal portrait or a candid shot.  It can be of one person or of a group of people.  As a "portfolio" shot it needs to be more than just a pleasant memory; it needs to be something that would appeal to someone who does not know the subject/subjects.

Hints:

• Remember the "rules" of composition we have discussed many times but be prepared to break them!
• Get close, the person (or people) you are photographing are the main subject; they need to have impact in the frame.
• Think about the setting.  The setting adds to your viewer's understanding; e.g a workman with his tools, a person relaxing at home.  The setting tells us something about our subject.

Consider using burst mode (or live mode on iPhone) over a couple of seconds.  This guards against your subject looking away, blinking, it helps catch a fleeting smile, for example.  In action shots, such as a golfer teeing off, it increases the chance of catching the ball as it leaves the club.



• Avoid awkward stares into the camera.  Once your subject becomes aware of the camera they are likely to adopt  strange posture.  You want to wait for those unguarded moments when your subject is at ease.
• Get to know your subject, their surroundings and what they are doing.  When you are in familiar territory you are more likely to be able to anticipate what the subject is going to do and get the right shot at the right time.
• Practice with people you know.  You can take a shot/several shots, review them and return, if necessary.
• Get the important bits in focus.  The eyes are usually the critical part of any human subject but their hands and what they are doing may add to the story.
• Don't cut off anything important (unless you intend to).  Zooming in to the head and shoulders is usually good but slicing off the top of a head is unlikely to work unless it is compensated for elsewhere in the image.