This portrait of Rufus, our studio dog, won ‘Dog Portrait of the Year’ at the 2018 Master Photographers Association Awards. Here’s how we created it. It’s always lovely to win an award. It’s extra nice to win one for a personal portrait. This shot was taken for Sarah, my wife, as a birthday present. Sarah loves Rufus (a slightly errant working cocker spaniel) possibly more than she loves the rest of us, so I knew she’d be delighted with a …
You’ve got one light. One subject dressed in dark clothing. And one dark paper background. All the ingredients for a perfect low key portrait. This is Alan. He wanted some portraits he could use for his business profile which is a fairly straightforward brief. However, if I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it as best I can! I loved Alan’s dark suit and thought it would suit a dark background, so I had this shot in mind …
Having the subject look straight down the lens gives a feeling of direct eye contact when the image is later viewed. Just as in real life, eye contact is more arresting than a lack of eye contact – it captures your attention and is a form of communication in itself. However, it also demands more of the viewer, so a whole set of images containing eye contact can become tiring and repetitive. As with all the other elements of composition, …
Four more of your images under the loupe, OK, well in Lightroom anyway. Today we’re going to be talking about overexposure (and a possible route to getting away with it), heptagonal diaphragms, black backgrounds – and not so black backgrounds – and bits that seem to creep into the edge of the frame. If you would like your images critiqued, please use the ‘image critique’ menu option above to submit a file (or more than one of you wish). JOIN …