This blog will showcase my favorite collection of my portrait shots and my never ending journey in learning portrait photography.
What is portrait photography?
As defined by a newbie (me lol), I think portrait photography is capturing a subject’s face. Not just a “face” per se but a portrait that shows the personality of the chosen subject. The way I see it, a portrait can also be a painting that is open for an interpretation. Aside from being able to capture beautiful faces and conveying a story, my favorite part in doing portrait photography is seeing the reaction of the viewer. I am curious about what they will feel and how they will interpret the portrait.
So these are my sisters. Everyone, meet LJ and EJ .
I always love taking portraits of my sisters because they are so natural in front of the camera. They are so self aware about there good angles and the lighting. To give you an advice, if ever you’re planning on doing a portrait shot, always make sure that the subject or the person is comfortable with you. Taking portrait shots is a two-way relationship.
I once saw a portrait of Donyale luna. I was so stunned by her beauty. She has dramatic eyes and sharp jawline. Her face is just ughh * chef’s kiss *
Donyale Luna happens to be the WORLD’S FIRST BLACK SUPERMODEL. Despite being racially discriminated, she rose against all odds and proved everyone that anyone can be a supermodel no matter what skin color you have. She graced the cover of British Vogue in 1966. Her life story was such an awe, that I recreated one of her iconic photos and gave her a homage.
My version was the story of my sister being the World’s first Morena Supermodel. I’m sure that all my fellow Filipinos know what its like to be a morena and moreno, and we take pride being one. In this photo shoot, I learned a little bit about production design. Making a similar set of Donyale Luna’s was not an easy task but luckily we were able to manage because we got the strong key points of the photo: the subject and the background. I learned that the background is one of the factors that can make a good portrait.
A plain background will suffice in making a good portrait. It will easily highlight the subject.
A strong background can be good too.
Can a photographer be the subject of the photo?
That’s easy, all you need is a camera and a tripod, set the timer and then POSE! There are days that my sisters aren’t around or days that I just feel taking a portrait of myself. Ain’t nothing wrong with self appreciation right?
Having self-portraits taught me to have confidence in my craft. It also reminded me to trust myself just like trusting a camera and a timer. I used to have a poor self-esteem but thru my passion for photography, I learned to appreciate simple things in life which lead me to appreciate myself also.
The lighting???
To tell you honestly, I don’t know the technical aspects of lighting in photography. I’ll study it someday if I don’t feel lazy >.< I just know how to distinguish good lighting, that’s all. I am also aware that lighting can make or break a photo.
I love playing with colorful and bright lights when I take portrait shots.
I also love playing around with shadows.
And don’t forget about natural lighting too.
This has been my favorite blog -yet, and I hope you guys enjoyed my collection, and somehow learned something from a newbie. I'm still in the journey in mastering my craft and I'm looking forward for you guys to witness it. See you on the next one.
"When you take a photograph of someone, you take a portrait of their soul."
-Winna Efendi