Tag Archives: portraits

09 January 2025 (Human Portrait Print Competition)

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In a last minute change, David Ferguson, president of Falkirk Camera Club, visited us for a second time this year to judge our Human Portrait Print competition. David had previously judged our Digital Projected Images competition. David is an expert on portrait photography and well qualified to judge this competition, but he pointed out that any marks given are just his opinion. He has himself had the same print given a widely different mark on different occasions. David mentioned that portrait photography is often described as “capturing the personality of a person or group of people using lighting, a background and props”, but portrait photography can be much more than that. It can cover any situation where people are the main subject. The eyes are the most important part of any portrait, and the general rule is that the eyes must be sharp, and at least the eye closest to the camera must be sharp. David explained how lighting can affect the mood of a portrait. Many of the portraits entered had been made under soft, balanced lighting, which works well for female subjects, but male subjects often look better when lit more strongly from one side to enhance the contours of the face. He also suggested some of the male portraits would also have looked better in black and white. He also warned that lighting a face from below eye level can be unflattering and should be avoided, unless it is done for special effect (as in some horror movies). He suggested experimenting with the lighting when taking a portrait and try several variations until you find one that works. David also commented on the pose of some of the entries. Arms can be difficult to pose naturally, and he recommended avoiding poses where arms or elbows point towards the camera, as they can look distorted and distracting.

39 prints had been entered by 13 members. Some of the portraits were of other club members, taken during last year’s studio night, and we were amused to see the same hat coming up again and again. David judged each image on its lighting, pose and sharpness, and whether the composition told a story. Although it is good to crop out distractions in the background, David felt that some images had been cropped a little too tightly to tell the full story. Sometimes it’s good to see the whole outfit. Some portraits were a little different. Charlie Baird’s portrait of a woman “Looking out to sea” broke the rules by not showing the eyes, but it still worked because of the strong narrative. John West’s double self-portrait “Is COVID behind us” also had a strong narrative. Hovhannes had blurred the boundary between art and photography by entering a series of innovative prints which combined photographs with ink drawings on plastic. The top scorers were (in reverse order):

  • 5th place (49 points)
    • Joe Fowler
    • Charlie Baird
  • 4th place (50 points)
    • John West
  • 3rd place (51 points)
    • Carol Edmond
  • 2nd place (53 points)
    • Hovhannes Hovhannisyan
  • 1st place (55 points)
    • George Todd
    • Melanie Gallacher

The top images were:

  • Siddharta Guardian of the Hoogly Imambara Temple (George Todd) – 20 points
  • A Quiet Moment (Melanie Gallacher) – 19 points
  • The Pessimist (Hovhannes Hovhannisyan) – 19 points
  • Anastasia (George Todd) – 18 points
  • Breakfast Time (Carol Edmond) – 18 points
  • Ayla (Melanie Gallacher) – 18 points
  • Little Man (Melanie Gallacher) – 18 points

Well done to George and Melanie who share the trophy, and well done also to new member Hovhannes on a well-deserved second place, and to Carol for achieving her usual high standard. Thank you to everyone who entered and thank you to David Ferguson for judging the competition for us at short notice.

  • Don’t forget to send your 3 JPEG images on “Buildings” to George Todd before the end of the weekend.
  • Next week we have a talk from wildlife photographer Gordon Rae, who judged last year’s portrait competition. Although we can’t get a reply from Gordon, we are in his talk schedule:

    https://www.gordonraephotography.co.uk/section807167.html

    Gordon describes his talk “Wild at Heart – A Photographers Journey”, as “A far from boring presentation that takes you on what can only be described as a wonderful wildlife journey“. Fingers crossed that it goes ahead as planned. I’m looking forward to it.

19 September 2024 (Fiona Brims: My Journey into Creative Portraiture)

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This week we were delighted to welcome our first speaker of the year, Fiona Brims. Fiona’s work can be found on her web site, where you can also sign up to her workshops:

https://www.fionabrimsphotography.co.uk/

Fiona described her journey into creative portraiture, which she defined as the creation of an image that is not a normal portrait, such as an unusual situation, an unusual location or an unusual prop. Fiona began by showing us her very first images from a photoshoot at an old paper mill in Bo’ness, where the idea was to shoot a bride in an unusual situation. Although it was a great idea, Fiona bravely pointed out all the mistakes she had made as a beginner:

  • There was insufficient attention to the lighting, which meant the models often had harsh shadows across their faces and no catch-lights in their eyes. Fiona had used a Weetabix packet with tracing paper as a soft box, but she could have used another light or a reflector to light the faces. She also pointed out that every pose needed careful light placement. It wasn’t sufficient to place lights on each side of the model and leave them there.
  • Always remember to iron the outfits before using them, as a photograph will reveal all the creases. Also, remember that a strongly coloured outfit could reflect light on the same colour onto the model’s face. Be prepared to correct the colour or cancel it with another light.
  • Don’t overdo your corrections in Photoshop, as they can make a portrait look unnatural. Less is more.
  • The model’s pose, expression, location and props need to make sense to the viewer. They need to tell a story, although each viewer might make up their own story.

The next set of images showed how Fiona had learned from her mistakes and improved. There were some outdoor shots at Bo’ness Railway Museum and St. Peter’s Seminary (which was a great place for graffiti but is now unsafe to access). [Note: The A1 tunnel at Newcraighall is closer to Musselburgh and easier to access for graffiti.] Fiona moved on from outdoor shots to renting a real studio, and moved on from photographing friends to photographing models. Moving on to professional models and professional make-up makes a big difference in quality, but it also costs more money. Fiona emphasised that you’ll need money to pay for the studio, the model, the make-up, the outfits, the props and the backdrop. But you can save money by looking for second hand bargains, for example buy your props from ebay, or look for outfits in charity shops. Remnant Kings is a good place to find material for backgrounds. If you want to try studio portraiture, you can join an organised model day, where a studio will rent hourly slots with a professional model.

Fiona finished by showing us a collection of stunningly good portraits that she had taken recently. Her journey into creative portraiture had been a learning experience, but it had lead to a flurry of creativity. See for yourself at her creative portrait gallery. Thank you Fiona for enlightening us.

  • Next Thursday we have a Members Evening. Please bring along any images you would like to share with other members. I expect we’ll see a lot of images from the Battle of Prestonpans, which happened at the weekend.