PORTRAIT

PHOTOGRAPHY

Portrait Photography
Courtney Smith
Product: Photography Portfolio
Mentor: Kasey Marsh, Photographer
K.Shannon Creative
Portrait Photography
ISM Multidisciplinary: Fall 2014
ISM Teacher: Mrs. Click
*Some information in this presentation comes from outside sources

What is Independent Study

Mentorship (ISM)?
ISM is a program that allows students to mentor with an
adult professional.
Each student receives individual instruction and creates a
unique plan of study.
The student must perform at a collegiate or professional
level, visit with their mentor for a minimum of 2 hours a
week and complete 3 hours a week of ISM related
activities.

Binder Portfolio
As an ISM student, I am required to keep a
binder portfolio.
The binder outlines my mentorship visits, my
project development, and other assignments.

Weebly Portfolio
Another requirement of ISM is to create a
Weebly online portfolio to provide easy access
to information.
You can see my weebly here:
http://courtneysmithism.weebly.com/

My Mentor And Me
Mrs. Marsh graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in
Community Health before deciding to pursue photography in
2005.

My mentor, Kasey Marsh, and me.

K. Shannon Creative
Mrs. Marsh has a small studio in her home, but a large portion of
her photography takes place outside
She focuses on portraits of people of all ages and serves the
Houston and Galveston area

Mentorship Site and Equipment

Mrs. Marshs studio and storage

My camera and a camera bag

My Project
I chose this project because Ive always had an interest in
photography. I loved taking pictures with my moms camera and
looking at photographs.
Ive been very involved with art as Ive grown up and this
seemed like a logical next step and a new way to explore it.
My project topic is specifically portrait photography because I
love how the photographs can capture a persons character
and the result is something they can treasure forever.

Product
My product is a photography portfolio.
Each photograph has a blurb with an
explanation.
Near the end of my mentorship, I will have
a photoshoot that incorporates all that I
have learned thus far.
Image from Clipart

Project in Progress
Shutter Speed and Aperture

I combined my
lessons on shutter
speed and aperture
(as well as depth of
field) to attempt to
take a picture with
balanced lighting,
capture of motion,
and good depth of
field or focus.

Prop Making and Assisting

I have helped Kasey

make props (such as
this headband).
I have assisted in
photo shoots in order
to better understand
the creative process
and how to make
setting decisions.

Product

Student In Action
These are photographs of me working with clients,
Kasey, and taking photographs.

Key Points
Ill be defining and explaining
aperture, depth of field, and
shutter speed and how they
apply to the differences in
photographs.
Image from Clipart

Aperture
Aperture is the opening in the lens.
The larger the aperture, the more light is let in.
Aperture is measured in F-stops: large openings have smaller f-stops and small openings have
larger f-stops
Moving down one f-stop halves the amount of light let in and moving up one f-stop doubles the
amount of light.

Rowse, Darren. "Introduction to Aperture - Digital Photography School."Digital Photography School RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2014.

Kersting, Steven. "Aperture." The Photographic Academy. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.

Verosky, Ed. "DSLR Photography Guide - Beginners to Advanced." ED VEROSKY. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.

Depth of Field
Depth of Field (DOF) is that amount of your shot that will be in focus.
Aperture also controls depth of field.
A large depth of field will have most of the photograph in focus (small aperture) and a
small depth of field (large aperture) will have a small area of the photograph in focus.

When you have a small depth of field, the rest of the photograph will be blurry or fuzzy.

Verosky, Ed. "DSLR Photography Guide - Beginners to Advanced." ED VEROSKY. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.

Shutter Speed
Shutter speed is the amount of time that the shutter is open.
Shutter speed is measured in seconds.
The faster the shutter speed, the less light is taken in.
The slower your shutter speed, the more susceptible your camera is to your movement.
Use of a tripod is best for anything under a shutter speed of 1/60
The more movement in a scene, the faster the shutter speed needs to be in order to freeze the scene.

"Photo Tip #99: Using Manual Mode." Using Manual Mode. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.

Rowse, Darren. "Introduction to Shutter Speed - Digital Photography School." Digital Photography School RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.

Portrait Research
Through outside research as an ISM student, I
used a variety of sources to learn about
photography business, posing, and portrait
photography as a whole.
On the next few slides I will cover all I
learned in my research.

"Professional Photographer Magazine Web Exclusives: May 2014 Archives."Professional Photographer Magazine Web Exclusives: May 2014 Archives. N.p., n.d.
Nov. 2014.

Web. 27

Portraits: Basics
Aperture:
You typically want a lower f-stop.

Depth of Field in portraiture is normally selective focus or a

shallow depth of field.
The shallow depth of fields allows only the subject, or part of the subject, to
be in focus.
This helps direct attention to subject.

Flash
You can use flash even in normal light to brighten up faces.

Portraits: Composition
Posing

Turn subject to a soft degree to one side: more flattering and slimming.
Turn hips, feet and shoulders slightly away from camera: adds more depth.
Relax shoulders and stand straight.
Consider a candid (non-posed photographs) which can better display personality.
Family members add intimacy to portraits

Background
Vertical photographs make it easier to fill the frame: keep out distracting
background
Focus on the face and blur the background: helps subject stand out
Keeping the background simple allows for more focus on the subject.

Portraits: Technique
Style
Technique and art together make a photograph
successful, one without the other wont turn out as
beautifully
Candids can capture the life of the client even if it
means sacrificing the perfect photograph.

The Business of Photography

Working with Clients:
It can help to have a consultation before a session so clients can meet you,
view your work, view product options and talk in an area free from
interruptions.
Giving guidance and reinforcement helps the client feel at ease and tends
to turn out better photos.
Learning about what clients want minimized or emphasized helps the client
be pleased with the end product.
The photographer should lay out what he has planned for a photograph but
allow the client to change it.

Survey Research
Hypotheses:
I believe that men will be less likely to hire a photographer, and more likely
to pay less.
I believe that adults from 20-40 will be more inclined to hire a professional
photographer.

I believe that people who have higher level equipment of their own will be
less likely to hire a professional, but more likely to be willing to pay more if
hired.

Survey Research
Are you male or female?
Male
Female
How old are you?
How much would you be willing to pay for a
one hour shoot including 20 images?
Which of the following do you consider when
hiring a photographer?
Location
Pricing
Style
Equipment
Other: __________
How often do you get photographs
professionally taken?

For what events would you consider hiring a

professional photographer?
What kind of camera do you use when taking
your own photographs?
Do you use any photo editing software?

How would you search for a photographer?

Which of the following would most likely make
you hire a photographer?

They have low pricing

I liked their website
I was referred to them
I liked their personality
I liked their style
Other: __________

Survey Research
The purpose of my survey
was to find out peoples
motivation and
expectations when hiring a
photographer for portraits.
I hoped to find out what
the participants idea of a
reasonable price for a
session as well as what was
their reason for hiring a
photographer.

My target audience is
anyone who participates
in social media and
takes photographs of
their own.

Survey Conclusion
Conclusion:
Younger people tend to be willing to
pay less for photographs.
Men seem less likely to be willing to pay
large amounts of money for
photographs.
Price is a major factor in deciding
when/ if to use a photographer as well
as what photographer.

Price also plays a role for what events a

photographer is hired.

The majority of respondents picked

major events like weddings to hire a
photographer

The majority did not hire photographers

on a regular basis.
80.77% of respondents answered that
they used their phone as their primary
mode of photography.

Professional Interview
Formal education isnt necessarily needed.
Education is continually evolving within the art community.
The future of photography is a debatable topic because of the increased access to
digital cameras.

Marketing is important because business doesnt rush to you.

There are clients that will never see themselves as perfect so you just have to do your
best to make them happy.
Many people get involved in photography through family.
Its not that easy to own your own business, you have to do all the finances and small
details.
The salary varies a lot depending on what kind of photography you do, whether you
work from home, and how much you push product sales.

Review
To review:
Aperture is the opening of the lens, measured in fstops
The larger the opening, the more light that is let in

Depth of Field is the amount of the background that is

in focus
Also controlled by aperture

Shutter Speed is how quickly the lens opens and closes

The faster the shutter speed, the less light that is let in

Conclusion
I enjoyed being able to study how to
better capture accurate and flattering
photographs.
Now I will be able to better tell the
stories of my subjects.

Questions?
Are there any questions?

Thank You!
I want to thank Mrs. Click, my parents, my mentor,
Kasey, the models, and the school for giving me the
ability to participate in ISM. I want to thank the
evaluators and everyone for coming up to the school on
a Saturday and donating their time.

Bibliography
"Back to School Portraits." Canon DLC: Article:. Canon, 22 Aug. 2014. Web. 24 Oct.
Kent, Jeff. "Expression Trumps Perfection." Professional Photographer May 2013:
Kent, Jeff. "Keeping It Real." Professional Photographer Mar. 2014: 56-62. Web.
Kersting, Steven. "Aperture." The Photographic Academy. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.
Minton, Eric. "The Art of Emotion." Professional Photographer May 2014: 60-68. Web.

"Photo Tip #99: Using Manual Mode." Using Manual Mode. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.
"Professional Photographer Magazine Web Exclusives: May 2014 Archives."Professional Photographer Magazine
Web Exclusives: May 2014 Archives. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2014.
Rowse, Darren. "Introduction to Aperture - Digital Photography School." Digital Photography School RSS. N.p., n.d.
Web. 09 Oct. 2014.
Rowse, Darren. "Introduction to Shutter Speed - Digital Photography School." Digital Photography School RSS.
N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.
"Understanding Maximum Aperture." What Is Aperture? Nikon, n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
Verosky, Ed. "DSLR Photography Guide - Beginners to Advanced." ED VEROSKY. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2014.