Final Project: RAW HONEST Self-Portraits

The final project is as follows: You will be orchestrating 4 self-portraits. You will be receiving the grade for each photo you are in, so a word of caution: Be VERY direct. Explain to your photographer EXACTLY what you want. You are in charge. Be VERY picky and pay CLOSE attention to each detail.

In these portraits what I would like to see is an artistic raw look at the beauty inside you. That sounds intense, right? Good. I don't want to see snapshot- "hi, this is me" photos that we have seen ALL YEAR. I don't want to see portraits with fake smiles and chin tilts. Those are nice, but NOT what I am asking for. I don't want to see hands on your hips standing in front of the 7000 building because it is hot outside and you wanted to get it over with.

I want to see YOU in 4 different shots, expressed ARTISTICALLY, CREATIVELY, UNIQUELY, POWERFULLY.

I will expect you to bring or wear clothing specifically for your shoots; makeup, props whatever you need to set your pictures apart from everything you've done, and everything everyone else has done ALL YEAR!

I want these portraits to be awesome. I want these portraits to be honest. I want them to be RAW BEAUTY.

Your 4 portraits:

-WILL ALL BE BLACK AND WHITE

Keep in mind black and white photos work the best with bright contrasty light. Shadows become very interesting. Lights and darks stand out, while colors are grayed.

-WILL ALL BE COMPLETLEY DIFFERENT

This means that the final four shots submitted will be in different settings, different costumes, different angles, different moods. If they look at all alike, only one will be graded. You need to stretch your creativity and expression. I mean S T R E T C H.

-WILL ALL HAVE A CLEAR EMPHASIS

Meaning the focal point will be clear to everyone

-WILL ALL DISPLAY CONTRAST & VALUE

White whites, black blacks... and a good strong gray scale in between.

Your 4 portraits will include the following:

1 that incorporates STRONGLY the elements of either LINE, SHAPE, TEXTURE or SPACE.

1 that uses light in a very obvious clear way.

1 that uses the rule of thirds in its composition.

1 that incorporates a prop that is meaningful to you. (however no ipods or phones etc.... dig deeper)

They will each be graded on their CREATIVITY, CRAFTSMANSHIP, COMPOSITION, and their COMPLETENESS.

You will have 4 days to complete the portraits (thursday-Tuesday) That is two full days for each of you to be both the model and the photographer. DO NOT WASTE TIME.

USE all your skills. Your camera techniques, your composition.

BE AWARE of the background. Don't take a brilliant picture in a stupid setting.

GOOD LUCK. Impress me.

Shutter Speed

When exposing for a photograph a camera uses 3 major components. These are: ISO (film speed), Shutterspeed, and Aperture.


The shutter speed refers to how long or short the shutter of a camera is left open. Shutterspeed effects two major aspects of photographs.

1. The amount of light let in

2. Movement

Slower shutter speeds allow more light to enter the camera, but also capture movement creating blur. A faster shutter speed enables a frozen motion picture, but it requires a brighter light source since the shutter will be firing so quickly.

In our cameras shutterspeed is measured from seconds down to fractions of seconds. We can manipulate the shutterspeed in both S mode (shutter mode) and M mode (Manual mode). In Shutter mode, we get to choose the shutterspeed and the ISO, while the camera chooses our aperture for us. In Manual mode, we choose the settings for ISO, Shutter and aperture.

In class we have been experimenting with long and short shutter speeds. We have turned all the lights out for dark exposures leaving our shutters open for up to 15 seconds. We have also ventured around the school, taking indoor photos using our shutterspeed to allow for more light. We also experimented with Panning. Which is when you follow a moving subject, taking a photo while your camera is moving which freezes your subject and blurs the rest of the shot.

ISO: Film Speed

ISO is the film speed. Film speed refers to how fast or slow the camera reacts to the light given. In other words, how sensitive the film or pixels in the camera are to light. Back in the day, when we bought film, we would choose the film speed for the whole roll. We would buy ISO 100, 200 or 400 speed film. Now days with digital cameras we can change the ISO with every picture if we desire.

As a class we experimented with ISO. We started off by taking a picture of our partner in a dark room, lit up with Christmas lights, with the flash on. We then turned the flash off, and with our camera on P mode (Program mode:The camera chooses the appropriate aperture and shutter speed) we took pictures at different intervals up the ISO scale.

Our cameras ISO range is 50-5000.

One can see how much more light is able to get in when using ISO 5000 in comparison to ISO 50. One can also see how a flash destroys the ambiance of the scene.

Light metering

Light meters measure the amount of light. Then, for a given film speed, (ISO) they calculate what settings the camera needs to be on to create a perfectly exposed photo.
Light meters are designed to measure for middle gray.
This means that the camera after choosing a middle gray will create highlights and shadows based on the where the middle gray lies.

Most digital cameras now days have built in light meters, that are activated when pressing the shutter half way down. (at the same time you are focusing, you are reading the lighting)
•In regular lighting the camera does a pretty good job of metering correctly.

However, sometimes lighting plays tricks on the camera.
This is often found when there is a really bright background.
The camera meters for the sky, leaving the subject dark.

We used our camera meter to purposely meter for the computer screen, and then for the light on our partners skin. As you can see, when the camera rereads the light on our partners skin, they become visible to us, even though the room was dark.

It is not always necessary to meter, but when the situation arises, it can make all the difference.