Summary:

For exercise 2.3 I;

– Mentioned the choice of location and my reasoning for changing positions, in terms of safety while making sure I still covered what was asked in the brief.
– Stated the camera settings and my approach to the task by adjusting my focal lengths, in addition to my own personal distance from the model.
– Analysed the images briefly to understand the visual elements created by the various settings before
– Reflecting on the task as a whole, the difficulties faced while executing it and the importance of going out of you comfort zone.

Brief:

‘Find a location with good light for a portrait shot. Place your subject some distance in front
of a simple background and select a wide aperture together with a moderately long focal
length such as 100mm on a 35mm full-frame camera (about 65mm on a cropped-frame
camera). Take a viewpoint about one and a half metres from your subject, allowing you to
compose a headshot comfortably within the frame. Focus on the eyes and take the shot.‘ (Bloomfield, 2018)

Taking into consideration I had to focus on the subject’s eyes, I adjusted her position so the direct sunlight was shining on the side of her face to avoid eye strain, yet providing enough light for the portrait. My SONY A57 was already set at a wide aperture of f/5.6 from the previous exercise, the SONY 18-55 3.5-5.6 SAM lens only reaches 55mm so, unfortunately, it was the longest the focal length could be. Therefore I stood about a metre away instead of one and a half to make sure she was framed appropriately.

• 

The model was positioned roughly 3 metres away from an old brick wall at the bottom of our local town, which towers over a pathway and forms a heavy shadow. As well as the background being soft and blurred due to the wide aperture and distance between the subject, the intensity of the sunlight and the dark shadows help the subject stand out even more, making sure she is the main focal point.

It’s interesting how the soft focus creates an illusion of the background being a studio backdrop right behind the model, however, in reality, it is quite a distance away. While you can see subtle shapes and colours, it’s difficult to decipher what is behind the subject which creates a little bit of surface tension between the two.

Reflection:

I use a wide aperture regularly for personal work, so I knew what kind of effect this exercise was meant to achieve. However, direct sunlight isn’t something I have challenged myself with before due to how intense the highlights and shadows can be. These exercises are all about testing your abilities and pushing your comfort zone, which is why I decided to shoot at midday and stop avoiding the fear of intense light.

While it took a little while to figure out which position was best for the model and me, in the end, it worked out better than I expected. In conclusion, exploring different locations, lighting and subjects is something I need to do more.

References:

Bloomfield, R., 2018. Photography 1: Expressing your Vision. 4th ed. [pdf] Barnsley: OCA, p. 45. Available at: https://www.oca-student.com/course/photography-1-expressing-your-vision [Accessed 5 February 2020].

List of images:

Figure. 1. Powell, L. (2020) Focus [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.