The Power of the Face (ePub)

The face is the cornerstone of every portrait, no matter the portrait length. If the face does not look great, the image will not sell. As author Hernan Rodriguez proves in this book, there is a great deal of planning and skill that must go into ensuring that the person positioned in front of your camera's lens is idealized and flattered by the artistic and technical decisions you make during the session. Rodriguez is a high-powered shooter whose work with celebrities has won him great acclaim. He is a well-respected photo educator who lectures internationally to seasoned portrait pros and newcomers alike, and he is always eager to share his knowledge and empower his contemporaries. In this book, Rodriguez shows readers how to build a relationship with their subjects to ensure the utmost psychological and physical comfort during the session. He shares strategies for analyzing the face and developing a plan to flatter the subject's unique features and overall look. Simple lessons and detailed lighting diagrams teach photographers to work with continuous light, flash, and natural light and use light modifiers to control the light and sculpt the subject's face. Readers will also learn how to determine the subject's “best" side, analyze the map of the face (the trichion, glabella, subnasale, and menton), and ensure the face's proportions are idealized. Rodriguez presents compositional strategies that will strengthen the image and provides tips for avoiding perspective problems/lens aberartions that can mar the portrait. The author helps readers take their artistry to the next level by adapting strategies that will help them show the subject's personality and develop mood in the image. In this competitive, saturated market, finding a niche and really maximizing your skill set is a prerequisite for financial profits and artistic satisfaction. With the information in this book, you'll build a skill set that you'll rely upon for every shoot going forward.