Portraits.

The portraits below included a series of images i took after the interviews with the subjects, this was os that there would be a visual representation of the speaker for the viewer to see. The series of portraits follow the subject in their environment whether that be a classroom or outside and tells a story within the images. The images given an idea of their personalities and helps the viewer to connect wth the documentary piece more. The images were taken using a 36mm as i preferred using film to capture their stories and personalities, the use of film allowed for some great results when developed causing the images to create an authentic feel. 

Traditional portraits 

 A traditional portrait is an image that may display the expressions, personality or mood of  an individual or group of people. The images usually might focus on someone's face. However, they can sometimes show the entire body. Additionally, the background or the context might be included.  

Non traditional portraits 

 Non traditional portraits consist of pretty much anything you want it to be. This can include portraits created outside of the studio under different conditions where things such as the lighting etc is controlled. The images are usually manipulated.   

  The rules of portraiture 

There are many different rules for portrait photography and these are some of the ones; for example; 1) when taking  a portrait the preferred apertures are f8-16 as it make your image very sharp and the depth of field is just enough to keep the whole face in focus while simultaneously having the right amount of blur in the background. 2) Its important for the model to look straight at the camera in a portrait so that they address the viewer and keeps the attention on the subject. 3) A longer focal length is preferred as it compresses the image which can be flattering for the subject. 4) A black and white portraits can be preferred to colour as it strips the focus from the model and shooting it in black and white allows us to see the intricate textures of a persons face which easily brings out their personalities. 5) Off camera lighting is essential because   it adds more depth to a flat image. 

How to break it? 

You can break the rules by experimenting with the rule of thirds, positioning your model in the center can create a balanced image, however this can get predictive, you can experiment by placing the model on an angle, on the horizon the edge of the frame. Another way to break the rules is to use colour in portraits, the manipulation of different colour can create visually striking image and convey meanings much better.  Finally, digital and/or physical manipulation can be used to experiment with portraiture as see to the left, online editing tools such as photoshop allows us to distort and manipulate portraits to make them more than just simple. For example use colour to change the mood or tone of the image.