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Photo Tips & Techniques

People Photography: Part 2 of 3 by Russ Burden In the second installment of his three-part series on photographing people, Russ Burden offers tips about using black and white, capturing the casual look, and telling a story. Article rating: 8.48

For most photographers, the majority of their early work started with taking snapshots of people. Whether it was of friends, family, or strangers on the street, people are practical and great subjects. With regards to family it’s a great way to document milestones and growth of kids. If it’s travel, the images you make allow you to relive the memories of your experience. Regardless of the reason for which you make the photos, getting better pictures of people is what I want for you. If you’re a regular reader of my Tips and Techniques on Take Great Pictures, you know that last month I shared some ideas about people close ups, using different angles, and achieving eye contact. For this month and the next in this three part series, I will walk you through some more concepts to improve your people pictures. Save them or bookmark them and when the final installment is complete, you’ll have many tips to help you with your image making.

Black and White: Black and white is seeing a resurgence thanks to Photoshop. CS3 provides a wonderful new adjustment layer that makes converting all of your color files to B&W easy, efficient, and intuitive. As a long time user and lover of the Kodak T-Max films, it’s great to see what can be done in the digital darkroom to get a black and white image. With regards to portraiture, B&W means mood, impact, and feeling. There’s even a growing demand for B&W family portraiture. I sort of joke about this, but there is a reality to the idea that when I do travel photography, I photograph no one younger than sixty or older than ten. There’s something about the character lines of the elderly and innocence of the young that translate well to black and white imagery. I encourage you to take some of your digital files and convert them to B&W. There are many ways to accomplish this in Photoshop - some good and some not. If you have CS3, you have to try the new B&W adjustment layer. If you have earlier versions, use the Channel Mixer. Not the most intuitive tool in Photoshop, but once you get the hang of it, it works wonders. 

Casual Look: A casual portrait is sort of like a snap shot but a bit more formal. A casual portrait can be controlled with regards to lighting, backgrounds and circumstance, but not in such as a restrictive way as a formal sitting. Casual portraits are often made outdoors with some sort of setup but the area in which the photo is made is large and the subjects are not formally posed. A key factor to consider when making them is capturing the moment that sums up the purpose of the image. It may be interaction between the subjects, a special smile, a glance that shows alert eyes or simply showing the subjects are enjoying what they’re doing. Depending on the number of subjects, orienting the camera in a vertical or horizontal format is important as to not waste image area including unnecessary information. Fill the frame with the subjects to give the image more impact. If it’s sunny outside, use   flash to fill in dark shadow areas under the nose and in the recesses of the eyes. Make sure your background is not cluttered as it will compete for attention with the subject.

Tell A Story: Working with subjects in their natural environment often helps convey a story. For instance, photographing a teenager next to his or her new car, at the mall, or at the beach is much more natural than snapping a few shots of them in front of plain brick wall. Additionally, props help tell a story about the person. For instance, a photograph of a craftsman using the tools of his or her trade will add interest to the overall image. Often a story can be told using a photo journalistic approach. Travel to third world countries provides the alert photographer with images of people that show poverty, need, alternate culture, mood and many other concepts. With regards to all of the above, show just enough to tell  the story without making the image look cluttered or busy. Be cognizant of what you include in the background. Don’t have it compete for attention with the subject. Use your zoom to include just enough to tell the story, make sure the light is focused on the person, and wait for the decisive moment before you press the shutter.

To learn more about this topic, join me on one of my Photographic Nature Tours. Visit www.russburdenphotography.com and click on the NATURE TOURS button for more information. Also, pick up a copy of my new book, Amphoto’s Complete Book of Photography. You can purchase a signed copy directly from me or visit your local book store or Amazon. Contact me at rburden@ecentral.com to order your signed copy.

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