What is a Portrait

Food heroes

Pub, Restaurant & Home of Sonnet 43 Brew House

Clarence villa, coxhoe 

The chef

Photograph by Ian Meeson

Photograph by Ian Meeson

Photograph by Ian Meeson 

Kenny Atkinson by Ian Meeson Photography

Chef Danny Parker

So what is a portrait exactly

It is a creative collaboration between the artist and the sitter and is unique, in that sense alone as an 'Art Form' and it is this that separates it from other Art Forms. An impression of the person that can be used to flatter the subject capture a unique part of the sitters personality. Or an abstract depiction of some element about them. A unique visual representation.

My aim in this section is to look at how Food photography now has a much more creative outlet, much like fashion photography and significantly relates to today’s lifestyles. Food photography shifted in 2004 when Marks and Spencer‘s memorable television campaign pushed ‘food porn’ into the spotlight. No longer were we seeing shots with shallow depth of field and clean white backgrounds; movement and texture became the key aspects of interest. Seductive voice-overs accompanied oozing, chocolate puddings, drizzled sauces and meat being craved. Juices trickled in slow motion, intensifying the portrayal.

 ‘Food porn’ as it has become, had been used in food photography since the late 1980’s but was coined as “Gastroporn” by Michael Boys, a food and female nude photographer. His term described sensually provocative and intentionally alluring imagery in cookery books. The imagery appeals to “basic carnal desires” images were so popular with “advertisements telling us that we can ‘indulge’ in eating things that we ‘shouldn't’. The cunning and powerful allure of food reaches us covertly”

These tempting, visual stimuli of erotically suggestive food greatly increased the popularity of food and cunningly turns the most mundane into a ‘must have fetish’

So who is behind this mastery of excellence-The Chef

Along with images of Gastronomic excellence, I want to showcase the masters who drive forward our love affair with food and influence our lives. But first we must a little closer at portraiture.

Considerations

When shooting a portrait many considerations come in to play. Each portrait is different, from a photojournalist perspective we shoot candid and posed, candid being the preferred platform to produce honest, believable accounts without a lot of elaborate prompting, staging or even lighting.

Good portrait photographers may indeed have to arrange and slightly stage manage elements to create the candid and honest reflection of the sitter. Here lies the skill. 

Approaching this project from a photojournalist view is proving interesting, as the latter would suggest our approach is to observe and record, not to control. A key mantra for any portrait photographer is to put the subject at ease. However on occasion you do come across a subject who is simply terrified of being in front of the camera and uncomfortable and who can blame them. All the technical skill in the world may not be enough to create an honest and revealing portrait.

Eye Contact

What we tend to forget as photographers, is that once we disappear behind the camera, eye contact is broken from the sitters point of view. The subject is now in a state of isolation and communicating with a piece of glass housed in a black box. From this each photographer will have a very different approach and skill set to relax their subject. My approach born from my newspaper days is to research and attempt to identify what is behind the person you are photographing, personality, interest’s or indeed why are you shooting them and for what purpose. Talk it over before the shoot, so during you engage the subject so much so, they are not really aware a portrait is being made, allowing for the candid shot in an otherwise controlled environment. 

Observe

Observation of your subject is paramount to a successful shoot, during and prior. It is wise on any photographer’s part to plan and arrive early to begin setting up. On occasion your subject will be present; allowing you to talk and create a relationship, whilst observing body language and mannerism’s which will lead to an exceptional portrait. How do they hold themselves? Stand? Do they talk with their hands? Are they animated or shy. So starting the shoot with this information and as you progress, remind the sitter of a particular gesture you observed or indeed observing as you shoot. Another effective technique I use often is ‘silence’ you wait long enough and the sitter will either relax or break into laughter, getting lost in their-own thoughts? Allowing you to shoot a more relaxed and accurate portrayal. Of course this technique is not a method than can be taught but born from your own personality and takes confidence.

Narrative

Another technique I learnt whilst working on features and fashion with my very good friend, exceptional journalist and now Director of Sorted Public Relations, Bernice Saltzer’ was to create a distraction for the sitter. For example, shooting fashion spreads, we found that creating a little story board for our models, from using a phone to acting out a small scenario created a distraction and therefore presenting stronger imagery.

A further and crucial element of any good portraiture is LIGHT. Light is a story telling aid, without it, we have nothing. Of course as photographers we paint with light.

Light

When used in portrait photography, the term “Key” refers to the overall tone of the final photograph. The elements of the portrait that play into the tone of it are the colour of the background, the colour of clothing used and the colour of any props or foreground elements. Portraits that have a consistent key generally have much more of an impact that those whose elements are not consistent. It is true as well that, though rare, tones can be mixed in a photo with success. A danger in mixing tones is that the potential for confusion on the part of the viewer.

Generally, portraits are classified in one of three keys – low key, middle key or high key. Low key portraits are created using a dark background and dark clothing and props. You can identify the key of a portrait by determining the average tone for the scene.

Generally a low key portrait would have more dark elements than bright ones. Clothing and background might be black or dark browns giving the feeling of drama or rigidity. Low key portraits may also be shot with a higher lighting ratio near 3:1 as contrast is acceptable due to the drama of a lower tone.

Low Key

Jamie Fox-Rankin Photography

A high key portrait set-up would involve the use of a white or off white background and brighter clothing. A high key portrait can be challenging as it requires a great deal of light control and has the most risk of overexposure and loss of detail. In general they would have a low lighting ratio near 2:1. A common background for high key portraits is paper which is slightly overexposed resulting in a pure white seamless background and a feeling of cleanliness. Great care is usually taken to separate the subject from the background to eliminate shadows. These portraits also tend to require more light and thus more power and lighting equipment to create.

High Key

Photograph by Ian Meeson

As expected, a photo which has tones in the middle of high and low would be called a middle key portrait. Often middle key portraits will use skin tone to set the mood. In these cases, clothing may be used to accent the tone of the skin with contrast rather than allow all elements to blend together. Often a high key portrait can be converted to a middle key portrait by reducing exposure.

Mid Key

Photography by Ian Meeson

Often the background sets the tone for the image and as such key should be a consideration at the beginning of a portrait set-up. A background should not take focus off of the subject, but rather help lead the eye to the subject in the final image. Take time to identify your overall tone, or key before you arrange the lighting set-up and you will be surprised at the results.

Conclusion

Setting aside light, composition and the formal elements of portrait photography other considerations come in to play. The face of your subject, hands, body and clothing reflect what is termed as a psychological state of the sitter. A face can tell us a lot, from pain, joy, satisfaction and contentment, confidence and success.

Research tell's us that from birth a baby can recognize the very basic elements of a face, such as eyes, nose, and mouth. "The face is a mirror to the soul". Just a face can reveal a surprising number of variations, shoot 20 frames of the same subject and discover how different, although subtle the expression can be.