Learning to capture the essence of a person and make a statement with a studio portrait.

Learning to capture the essence of a person and make a statement with a studio portrait is even harder than it sounds. First you have to figure out the essence of the person. Can that really be pinned down in one photograph? I have always felt the eyes are the window to the soul, which means the eyes are very important to me in an "essence" photograph. As an art student I have learned "it isn't art if it doesn't have a concept". Could one then say "it isn't photo journalism if it doesn't make a statement"? No pressure there (sarcasm intended). But will it make the right statement? I suppose a photograph will be open for interpretation in journalism just like it is in art. Should I tell you what statement I am trying to make? Where is the fun in that?

Camera: Pentax K10D
Focal length 55mm
ISO 100
Aperture f11
Shutter speed 1/180 

Camera: Pentax K10D

Focal length 55mm

ISO 100

Aperture f11

Shutter speed 1/180 

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" "What are you going to school for?" These are typical questions the student has to answer, especially for themselves.  But being a student is more about finding the answers than knowing them.

Camera: Pentax K10D

Focal length 50mm

ISO 100

Aperture f16

Camera: Pentax K10D

Focal length 50mm

ISO 100

Aperture f16

About the lighting: A picture is worth a thousand words right?

From the camera's perspective: Front right is a soft box attached to a 500 strobe at full power, rear right is a 150 strobe with a silver umbrella reflector, behind that is a 150 strobe with barn doors and a red gel, front left is a 500 strobe at half power with a gold umbrella reflector, back left is a 500 strobe at half power with snoot used as a rim light.  For the pictures in the white hoody I switch places of the strobes with the soft box and the gold reflector. 

Some lighting experimentation was involved. She "likes" pink in a big way which is why I added the color gel. Part of the whole identity thing. I also wanted to try to use a gel since I never had before. I can see it is a skill I need to work on.  I used the silver umbrella reflector hoping to keep the "pink", pink. I used the gold umbrella reflector trying to keep her skin tone warm. 


This was really fun for me. I would love to practice this on people all day and see how creative we can get.  I took 185 photos in a little over an hour. She was very ready to be done.  This is one of my favorite people to photograph and I have been doing it her whole life, but these are probably the best professional looking photographs I have ever taken of her. I asked her to bring outfits for her four distinct personas: dressing up to go out, the casual student, executive assistant's assistant, and health nut. She picked these two of the four.


I cropped the second image as my class suggested.

Camera: Pentax K10D

Focal length 55mm

ISO 100

Aperture f11

Shutter speed 1/180