Candid portraits are one of my absolute favorite themes to photograph. I love it so much because it really captures a moment and in my opinion, that is what photography is all about. Capturing a moment of a scene in an artistic, interesting, and different way. I took this one morning just playing around with my camera and I didn't think it would turn out so well exposed and clear. I love how simple it is and the softness it gives off. I love the way he is leaning, it gives the image a sense of balance. I also have his head off-center (using rule of thirds) to draw the eye towards the corners of the picture, not just the center. I named this photograph WJ ! because those are his initials (William Jones) and I added the exclamation mark after looking at the picture for awhile. I noticed the light in his hair and it resembled an exclamation mark. Ever since I noticed that, I see it every time I look at the picture!
Why I was so surprised this came out so well is because of how dark his room was and I had my shutter speed set relatively low at 1/60th of a second. Generally in a dark setting, you use a slower shutter speed so that it allows the film to be exposed to light longer. With a low shutter speed, it is common that a photographer will accidentally move the camera. Even the slightest little bit will compromise the photo, leaving the image blurry. However, this didn't happen which is why I was happily surprised when I developed it!
That's too funny! I hadn't even notived the exclamation mark until you mentioned it. Anyways I love this blog simply because I can relate. My senior year I was apart of yearbook and we would stress the importance of candids. I too love candids over posed pictures, simply because it truly captures the moment. However, my teacher would get annoying with the stress factor of candids. UGH! I also liked how you talked about the perfection and qualities of the candid that make it an excellent picture overall, something ny teacher failed to provide and thus the candids looked posed (and most likely were).
ReplyDeleteI agree with Imbroglio: this is a really nice candid shot. But I don't know about the title (of the post, that is, not of the image). Wouldn't you think an exclamation point is a very forceful point, an "exclamation," a yell, agressiveness. This photo has a quiet strength, but the ! really seems superfluous. But then again, that's just one opinion!
ReplyDeleteCan you share with us other good photographers/samples of inspiring portraits to you? I'd like to have a comparison...