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INTRODUCTION
One of my earliest photographic influences was portraitist Yousuf
Karsh, a man who photographed some of the greatest faces of the
twentieth century. His iconic black and white portraits of people
like Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, and Pablo Picasso were my
early windows into a craft that Ive spent my life learning.
I couldnt have told you in my earlier days what it was
Einstein looks like; it dares to say, this is what Albert Einstein is like. Its descriptive, and limited, for
INTRODUCTION
CONTINUED
How we accomplish that revelation depends
1. RELATE
Ive told this story before, but I think it bears repeating, at least
to illustrate. I was shooting in Cairo when I walked around the
corner to see three men sitting on three chairs drinking tea. On a
fourth chair was a cat. I knelt to make the shot, the cat ran away
with a meow, and the three men looked straight at me. Busted.
One shook his finger at me and said, Ten dollars. I smiled, put
my camera down and asked one of the others if I could make a
photograph. He said yes. I made a quick portrait, printed it out,
and gave it to him. He smiled and bragged to his friends, after
which the first man pointed to himself, and asked for a print. I
shook my finger at him slowly, and said, Ten dollars. His stern
expression gave way to a smile and he asked me to sit and have
tea, which I did. And eventually I made this portrait of the man.
1. RELATE
CONTINUED
The single best photographic skill when mak-
PORTRAIT PROFILE
Nepal. f/2.8, 1/1250. ISO 100. 160mm.
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PORTRAIT PROFILE
Laos. f/2.0, 1/210. ISO 200. 23mm.
I made this portrait of my friend Allen in Laos while traveling around Laos and Cambodia. I was shooting the entire
journey on a new Fuji X100, which has a fixed focal length
lens of 23mm (according to my metadata. 24mm according to the marketing materials.) Its not whats generally
considered an optimal portrait lens, but I think for any
portrait where the environment or context is important, a
wider lens pushed in close can be exactly the right lens.
Longer lenses often force us to move back, placing a
distance between ourselves and our subjects. But shorter
lenses, by forcing us in closer, also force an intimacy, or
can change the dynamics between photographer and
subject. This changed dynamic is often reflected in the
photograph, resulting in something with the potential to be
much stronger and personal than is possible when youre
30 feet away with a 300mm lens, shouting instructions.
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dimensional, far more complex than any one frame can rep-
fill in some of the layers, but few of them ever do more than
imply a story, rather than tell the whole thing. Where the
single frame fails to complete this story, consider using two
or more frames. These frames might include different facial
expressions, or different angles of the same face. They might
include a more traditional portrait of the face and a portrait of
the hands as well, especially appropriate if your subject works,
much and in most cases its better to be very clear about what
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PORTRAIT
PROFILE
This boy sold hollowed and
dried gourds to tourists. I
was drawn to his smile, the
colours, and the gourds
themselves. Neither image
told the whole story for
me, but both together have
always seemed to work and
complement each other.
Notice that the first of the
two was taken with a 26mm
lens, a wide shot that not
only helped establish the
context, but also gave
me a chance to get him
comfortable with me and
my camera before I started
getting closer for the detail
shots I had hoped for.
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PORTRAIT PROFILE
Kashmir, India. f/1.2, 1/160. ISO 400. 85mm.
This little guy was hanging around while I was trying to photograph his grandfather
in India. The grandfather had a really great hat and seemed like an interesting man,
but it was his affection for his little grandson that really caught me. But the little
guy was shy and initial efforts werent well-received. So I sat and waited and once
he got comfortable, he became curious, though still reserved. When he finally settled in to the safe cradle of his granddads hands, thats when the moment became
an important part of the photograph. His gesture in this image is everything and
without the hands placed where they are (and they stayed only briefly), this would
be a completely different photograph. Patience is more important than f/stops.
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This isnt really a portrait, per se, but I think its a great example
of catchlightin this case the light being reflected is an umbrella
lit by a single flash off to the upper right of the model, placing a
light in her eye at the upper right.
Vancouver, Canada. f/4.0, 1/250. ISO 100. 200mm.
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the second set. What are the eyes saying to you? See
they still communicate volumes? The more you understand the eyes, the stronger your portraits will be.
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are few things I like less than having to fuss with studio
the way light plays within a scene and what you can do
21
white sheet, between the subject and light and see how
Youre going to need a little gear for this one, but dont
use. Find the largest 5-in-1 light disc you can. I use a
about light is that its visible. You can see it! So study your
large one from Photoflex. First, pull the outer sleeve off
the disc and play with placing that diffuser between the
ing the face depth from the way the light feathers off,
giving the areas under the eyes and the nose and lip
now. Hold it five feet away from your subject and then
move it closer. Watch how the light changes. Now closer
still. See it get softer, the shadows fading away? Now
move it around a little, towards the front, and watch the
catchlight shine in the eyes. This is my favourite light tool
Piet Van den Eynde has also written two excellent eBooks
on off-camera flash, Making Light and Making Light II,
play with it. See how strong backlight allows you to create
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find I use the diffuser the most, and then the white surface
pieces of gear you can own making portraits. And if its just
bounces and colours the light, allowing you to use, for ex-
most often after than because I like the softer, more natural
you, you can get stands to hold them exactly where you want
some light to fill the shadows, knock the strength out of the
ing a warmer surface will bounce warmer light back onto your
Get light disc and play with it: thats my advice. It takes no
batteries or AC power and Ive used them all over the world.
how its position relative to the light source and your subject
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light, the softer the light and therefore the shadows. When
You can also use the 5-in-1 light disc with flashes, either to
you bounce light back onto the face of your subject, you can
PORTRAIT PROFILE
Kashmir, India. f/2.8, 1/60. ISO 500. 62mm.
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sloppy or poorly chosen background. You are responsible for the environment in which you make your
In the absence of an amazing background, all I had was the wall of the Vancouver Art Gallery.
So I moved this Coast Salish dancer to a spot where the light was best, then shot with my
85mm towards the patch of wall that was least visually distracting. A shallow aperture, f/1.8,
softened it enough to give me something a little less urban.
Vancouver, Canada. f/1.8, 1/1600. ISO 400. 85mm.
27
9. GET LEVEL
Shooting in his parents tent in Kashmir, this little guy
demanded I make some photographs of him. He was
a little ham, and his posture was all his own, but it
required me getting down on my belly to photograph
him eye to eye. Any higher and not only did I get a
different background, but the face-to-face point of
view (POV) is much more appealing and dignified
to me than a POV that looks down, and therefore
forces the reader to look down, on the child.
9. GET LEVEL
CONTINUED
Your position, assuming the camera moves with you, is the only thing
even that is more about allowing you to change the position of the
camera or focus plane . . . never mind, just anticipating that one guy
who writes me a long letter . . .) So if you want to change the perspective, get that camera off the tripod for a while and move around.
Moving around changes the background, as weve just discussed, but it also
changes the way you, and therefore the readers of your photographs, will
look at the subject. Making a portrait of a small child? Try getting down on
your knees and making that portrait from the same level from which they
view the world. Making a portrait of a baby? Lie down. Sure, sometimes
you want that higher perspective, you want to look down on the child,
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PORTRAIT PROFILE
Old Delhi, India. f/5.0, 1/200. ISO 800. 135mm
What struck me about this kid was how young he was, yet he seemed
to have such wisdom and age in the lines of his face when he smiled.
Young body, old soul, like so many in India. He was open and friendly
with me, and gave me the chance to crouch down with him, though not
so much that I was level with him. I wanted him to look up just a little.
Heres why: I was in a back street in Old Delhi, which is generally dark
because those streets are so close together, but you can always depend
on a strip of light above and as long as your subject isnt looking down,
their eyes will reflect that light. Cover this boys mouth with your hand
and look at those eyes - no mistaking that his smile is the real thing.
30
which they live. Just watch and listen, and then use
those as a starting point. Second, the moment you
use the word pose you introduce an unnecessary
contrivance to the dynamic. A pose is false. At
least it is most likely considered false in the mind
of your subject. You want to keep them thinking
naturally, not about poses. So dont use the word.
Now find those positions they most naturally find
comfortable, because how we sit or stand or fidget when restless, is much more a part of us, much
more genuine, than any pose will ever be. Poses
are for fashion models, not authentic portraits.
CONCLUSION
There is much more to making great portraits than a step-by-step
guide. Portraits are about people. In the case of photographic portraits,
its often about two people: the photographer and the subject. Its a
collaborative thing and its worth the time to do it slowly, intentionally,
and as foremost a relational process, with an aesthetic destination.
Only then are the mechanics and techniques worth pursuing, I think.
The ten steps in this book arent magic. Theyre
Find the work you love and ask yourself what it is you
love about it. When you find work youre less drawn
DAVID DUCHEMIN
info@craftandvision.com
CraftAndVision.com
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