This document discusses various types of portrait photography and provides tips for taking portraits. It outlines common portrait types such as candid, posed, formal, couple, environmental, sporting, children, and group portraits. It then provides details and examples for each type. The document concludes by offering tips for choosing backgrounds, focusing on the eyes, using lighting, changing formats and framing, altering perspectives, experimenting with expressions, playing with focus, giving subjects space to look into, and using reflection, shadow, movement, and serious expressions.

1. Portrait Photography
“A portrait! What could be
more simple and more
complex, more obvious
and more profound.” Charles Baudelaire
“Portraiture is a window to
the soul”
Holding Virgina - Sally Mann

2. Types of Portraits
When we speak of portrait photography in general terms there's a tendency to
overlook the sub-categories. From the strictly formal to the candid street shot.
Here is a range of the more common types of portrait photography.
Candid
 Posed
Formal
Couple
Environmental
Sporting
Children
Group

3. Candid
un-posed and
unplanned photo
o

4. Posed

Communication
between
photographer and
the subject about
the body position
and expression

5. Formal

Communication between
photographer and the
subject regarding
clothing, location, style
and mood

6. Couple

Interpretation of a relationship
between two people
Hiroshima, August of 1945

7. Small Group

Interpretation of a
common bond between
members of a group

8. Environmental

An environmental portrait shows the subject(s) in their own
territory.

9. Sporting


shows the subject with their uniform, equipment
in their sporting environment.
The important factor is to let the equipment and
location tell part of the story.

10. Children

11. Portrait Tips

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Choosing the Right Background
Focus on the Eyes
Lighting, Lighting and more Lighting
Change the Format Framing
Alter Your Perspective
Experiment with Subject Expressions
“Play” with focus
Give Your Subject Space to Look Into
Reflection & Shadow
Movement
Get serious

12. Choosing the Right Background

13. Focus on the Eyes
“the eyes are the window to the soul”

14. Lighting, Lighting and more Lighting

Lighting is the most important element in any photo composition
and sets the mood, feeling and character of your photo.

15. Change the Format Framing

Mix your framing

16. Alter Your Perspective

completely
change the
angle that you
shoot from

17. Experiment with Subject Expressions

18. Same shot+different focus
=different story

19. (UN)Focus

It adds
some
mystery
to the
image

20. Give Your Subject Space to Look Into

21. Reflection & Shadow

22. Movement

Use movement
to show action,
even if it blurs
out the subject
entirely.

23. Get serious

Not all
portraits
need to have
a smile,
capture the
serious
emotions too

24. but not too serious….
Take 35 self portrait
photographs in order to
create a contact sheet for
next lesson , take into
consideration how you can
represent different aspects of
your life and personality . The
35 frames do not have to be
35 different images – try
different compositions and
angles !

25. MOOD BOARD

27. BEN WATTS

28. DIANE ARBUS

29. THOMAS RUFF

30. CINDY SHERMAN

31. ANNIE LEIBOVITZ

32. DAVID LACHAPELLE

33. Ben Watts
Diane Arbus
Thomas Ruff
Cindy Sherman
Annie Leibovitz
David LaChapelle
Research one of the above photographers include :
•A brief history
•2 portrait images
•An analysis of one of the images – composition, lighting ,
colour , framing and your personal interpretation.