People

The art of capturing people is often underestimated. Yes, to take a head and shoulder shot such as a classic portrait representing how you look is quite easy. However, to take an image of a person that really captures that individual including personality is a very different matter.

Some photographers enjoy ‘Street Photography’ as a method of capturing representations of human life, by taking candid images of unsuspecting subjects going about their lives and/or to engaging in conversation and capturing images whilst the subject is interacting with the photographer. This highly dynamic style of photography has become quite popular. For those who in particular, who have the people skills, the results can be highly impressive.

On the other extreme you invite or people ask to attend a studio shoot. The studio or indeed a location shoot are completely artificial environments by the way that photographer and subject have arranged to meet a location they are unlikely me in the daily lives. In this case, instead of relying natural opportunities, the photographer needs to create both the environment and energy to create their image. In some cases it is part of the purpose of the image that it is clearly staged, however, even in such images certain aspects must not feel awkward. This comes down to the skill of the photographer working with the model to pull of this type of imagery.

As an artist you may simply want to use the individual to represent a character in a story you hold in in your mind. This is the approach I particularly like and often the portrait becomes part of a storey telling image. Please see my Story Telling project for examples of these, however here are a few images that are solely just representing people taken under various settings.