Inspired by the photographer Adde Adesok http://www.adde-adesokan.de/albums/triptychs-of-strangers/. Adesok makes triptychs of strangers by taking photos of the face, hands and feet.
Your assignment is to make diptychs of family members by taking photos of their face and hands.
Portraits are one of the most powerful kinds of photographs. A great portrait can last for decades, memorializing a person’s entire life, or just a single instant. For this assignment you will be taking photos of someones face and hands as a diptych to give an expression of who they are.
What makes a good portrait?
First, a good portrait draws attention to the subject. This is normally achieved through some combination of a shallow depth of field, composition, color, and lighting. When it’s done right, as soon as a viewer looks at the portrait, their eyes instantly settle on the subject.
Second, a good portrait tells you something about the subject. It shows some element of their personality or their life. You should be able to look at a good portrait and know something about them. The best portrait artists can tell a whole story in a single image.
Why hands?
Take a brief moment and stop and look at your hands. Not only are they unique, but they share more about you then you are aware of. Photographing hands can capture a person's hidden details and stories, from calluses created with hard labor, leftover paint stains of an artist, to tan lines of a never-removed wedding ring.
As humans we use our hands to talk, weave stories with our hands through pencil and paper, we cry into our hands, use them to show love, and affection, to climb mountains, and to stifle laughter. What more could you ask for when capturing a subject for a photo then one full of chapters ready to share?
When taking a typical portrait of a person you focus on capturing their face. When taking photos of hands, a small part of someone becomes the only subject, so it’s important to be creative. Instead of just a straight on shot, try to incorporate the story into the image.
While photographing children, who enjoy using their hands to play make believe or with toys, I recommend getting down on their level and capturing them in natural play. When photographing a musician's hands, incorporate the instrument in the action. For personal or family photos, try a lifestyle photo and capture a simple everyday task, such as washing your hands. Though hand washing may seem like an off topic for a photo, sometimes the most mundane images you capture of your family can become the most treasured.
For your Portraits and Hands Project you will:
1. Choose 3 people to take photos of.
2. You will take 10 portrait photos and 10 hand photos of each person (HEADSHOTS ONLY).
Remember- watch the background, make sure there is nothing in their teeth and be nice!
3. You will edit 3 portrait and 3 hands for each person in Lightroom (see our Lightroom tab https://skylinehsdigitalphotography2.blogspot.com/p/lightroom-cc-on-your-phone-and-lightroom.html for basics and ADVANCED VIDEOS at the bottom of this page). Black and White (there is a button for this in LR but you might need to look it up) or Color.
4. You will post a total of 18 images (see layout below). Title each set (Portrait and Hand). Your new Weebly page should be titled Portraits and Hands.
5. Artist Statement must be 5 sentences long and describe the person to us. It can be a poem, it can be a quote by the person, or it can be you describing what they mean to you.
2. You will take 10 portrait photos and 10 hand photos of each person (HEADSHOTS ONLY).
Remember- watch the background, make sure there is nothing in their teeth and be nice!
3. You will edit 3 portrait and 3 hands for each person in Lightroom (see our Lightroom tab https://skylinehsdigitalphotography2.blogspot.com/p/lightroom-cc-on-your-phone-and-lightroom.html for basics and ADVANCED VIDEOS at the bottom of this page). Black and White (there is a button for this in LR but you might need to look it up) or Color.
4. You will post a total of 18 images (see layout below). Title each set (Portrait and Hand). Your new Weebly page should be titled Portraits and Hands.
5. Artist Statement must be 5 sentences long and describe the person to us. It can be a poem, it can be a quote by the person, or it can be you describing what they mean to you.
There is an article below that explains how using the environment (where they work/ desk), props, side light or soft light can enhance who they are.
Please note going forward if you have the Lightroom CC app on your phone please use this app to take your photos. If you missed the Food Photography demo on how to shoot with your Lightroom CC app here it is.
How to WHITEN TEETH in Lightroom
Here are some links to amazing Portrait Photographers.
Great site for more Portrait Photographers: Top 10 Photographers for Travel Portraits http://www.boredpanda.com/top-10-photographers-for-travel-portraits/.
More from Jimmy Nelson (similar to Steve McCurry) https://www.jimmynelson.com/peoples-places
and Lisa Kristine https://www.lisakristine.com/shop-image-collection/bhutan/
10 Portrait Photographers You Should Follow Right Now
Great article 7 Tips Your Camera Manual Never Told You About Portrait Photography
How To Take Wonderful Portrait Photos With Your iPhone https://iphonephotographyschool.com/portraits/ and
10 Great Ways To Take More Interesting iPhone Photos Of People
Sue Bryce is a great Portrait Photographer. Here are some of her tips on lighting.http://blog.creativelive.com/sue-bryce-on-the-sexiest-cheapest-and-most-fabulous-thing-she-owns/
Hand Photography resources https://iso.500px.com/how-to-photograph-hands/, https://www.lightstalking.com/hands/, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-26/a-show-of-hands/6886374 and search for Edward Weston's hands.
Portraits Take 2 by Meredith Giltner on Scribd
https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/digital-photo-editing-workflow.htm
http://lightroomsolutions.com/articles/10-things-i-wish-i-could-tell-a-slightly-less-new-lightroom-user/
