Final Images 206 Theme 1 People and Portraits

These are my final images for 206 Theme 1 People and Portraits.  This theme has changed so much over the course of the last 16 weeks and ended up doing almost a full circle back to my original plan.  This theme started by being a collection of 10 black and white images which would be converted in post production.  Then as the winter months turned into summer I started to like the colours and decided I would produce colour images instead of black and white.  Finally when selecting my final 10 images I found that they worked really well in black and white. 

All of these shots have been taken with my Nikon D90 camera with Nikon 18-105 F3.5-5.6 lens.  On every shoot I always made sure I charged my battery fully and had a spare memory card.  I also have lens cleaner, brushes and cloths in my camera bag.  I do have a macro lens the Nidon Macro AF-S 105mm F2.8 ED-IF VR, which is also good for portraiture but it is best used with a tripod and a remote control.  I only have a remote via my phone and laptop together and as these shots were taken out on rough ground in the country a tripod would have been difficult to use.  I always fully charged my battery and made sure I had a spare memory card, lens cleaner and cloth in my camera bag.

Some of these shots which I originally planned to remain in colour do look better now converted to black and white and I did refer to a Macbeth Chart along side my images whilst making the selection which I found helpful in selecting what tones the final images would be.

This image was taken from a few images shot in a corn field and wasn't the best image taken.  Some of the images had the landscape in the background and the sky but unfortunately the cloud seemed to lose pixels and although I did try and fix the problem in post production I then became more focused on the problem and it did not work.  This image however is still a great image and I love the detail of the pattern and texture of the corn.  Taken with a shutter speed of 1/250, F8 and ISO 250 the focus is on the subject placed within the rule of thirds.  I also like the lines in the corn in the background of the subject.  This image is also a really nice image in colour but I think it looks better in black and white.  I really like the shape of the subject against the background of the corn. This image was inspired by Annie Leibovitz American Music.

I love this image which I have cropped slightly across the top in post production and converted to black and white.  Taken with a shutter speed 1/200, aperture F10 ISO 250 this has ensured exposure and allowed the depth of field to capture the subject and the car in focus.  The composition aspect of the rule of thirds is present with the car and the subject and the main focus is the subject, steering wheel and the sunglasses.  I think this image has a nice tonal range but not many really low key or high key tones.  I have taken this at a good angle ensuring that I captured the subject straight on through the window screen of the car. I have chosen this image to be one of my final 10 because I love the way it looks like she is actually driving the car looking to pull out of a junction.

This is one of my favourite images to date and this is why it made my final 10.  The shot is completely natural as the boys were not aware that I was there so it shows really funny childhood behaviour.  I have used a shutter speed of 1/400, aperture F7.1 ISO 800 which has ensured exposure on the bright sunny day.  The ISO could have been set lower but I had just been inside taking some images and forgot to alter the ISO back.  I have converted to black and white in post production and then used the history brush to paint in the original colour of the telephone box.  The image shows the composition aspect of a frame within a frame with the telephone box and also lines are present across the telephone box. 

I have cropped this image to landscape which has removed the cloudy sky at the top of the picture and made the image heavy in the frame.  Taken with a shutter speed of 1/200, aperture F10 and ISO 250 this has ensured exposure and ensured the focus is on the children and car.  This again is an image taken of children playing and I think this image has an element of juxtaposition and this is why I have chosen it for my final 10, as Oliver has the steering wheel and is looking into the sky and Molly has no steering wheel but is pretending to have one looking where she is going.  This image shows the composition aspect of a frame within a frame looking through the car window screen and I think the window screen is set at the rule of thirds as are the children.  Converting this image to black and white has given the image a really old feel which I really like.

I love this image, taken with a shutter speed of 1/15s F5 ISO 1000 with my tripod which ensured exposure and eliminated camera shake.  This was taken next to a window and I really like the light which is shining down one side of her face.  This image has been taken at a low angle so I had to use my tripod as low as possible and tilt slightly upwards to catch her face.  The composition element of the rule of thirds is present where she is positioned and this image has a nice tonal range with low and high key tones.  I like the pattern in the skirt and the guitar.  This image was inspired by Annie Leibovitz and her image of John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers after he had left the band.

This image was taken with a shutter speed of 1/320 aperture F10 and ISO 250 which has ensured exposure and that the car and subject remained the main focus with blurring in the background beyond the car.  I have converted this image to black and white in post production.  The main focus is on the subject but I like the way he is placed off centre in the rule of thirds. This image has a nice tonal range and has been taken at a nice angel level with the subject.  The reason this image was chosen as my final 10 is because I think I have framed the image and the camera controls have worked well allowing the car and subject to be in focus whilst blurring out the background.

This image has been converted to black and white in post production and then I have used the history brush to paint in the original colour of the rugby shirt.  This image was taken on a bright sunny day as you can see in the exposure in the background.  I needed a slow shutter of 1/60 wide aperture of F5.6 and ISO 400 as I was shooting into the dark tunnel to capture the subject on the other side.  This image represents the rule of thirds with the position of the tunnel walls and the subject is just off centre.  There are lines down each side of the tunnel which guide the eye to the subject.  The composition aspect of pattern is also present in the sides of the tunnel.  This image has a good tonal range with almost equal amounts of low and high key tones.



For this image I have created a backdrop using old album covers and an old 70s Amp as a seat.  I had to wait for the sun to go behind clouds for this image as the sun caused a glare on the album covers.  It was a bright sunny day and the shutter was set on 1/400, aperture F7.1 and ISO 250 which ensured exposure and the focus on the subject.  I like the tonal range and pattern present in the backdrop but I did want to use different positions of the album covers but unfortunetely Molly got bored very quickly so it did not go as well as I had hoped.  I was planning a re-shoot but the weather has not been very good when I have had time lately.  I have converted to black and white in post production.

This image was taken with my Nikon Nikkor 105mm Macro lens.  I used my tripod together with my phone and laptop as a remote control.  My phone has an app which when connected to my laptop acts as a remote control for my camera.  This eliminated any camera shake as there was no need to touch the camera.  This image was taken with a shutter speed of 1/5s F3.5 ISO 250.  It was taken against a white door next to a window letting in enough natural light.  I have cropped the image slightly to cut out the door handle and converted to black and white in post production.  The main focus is on the eyes as while researching portrait photography a top tip is to focus on the eyes.  This image is mostly high key with only a small amount of low key in the shirt.  Inspiration was taken from David Bailey who shot many of his portrait using high key backdrops.

This image was taken with a shutter speed of 1/640, aperture F6.3 ISO 250 which has ensured exposure as it was a very bright and sunny day.  This image has been converted to black and white in post production. This image was taken early in the course but still remains one of my favorite images.  I really like the location on the steps against the old building with the old window frames.  I also like the expressions on the childrens faces.  The composition element of the rule of thirds is present with the railings and children and I like the lines in the steps, the old brickwork and windows.