Tuesday 11 December 2012

Exercise: Thinking about location

This exercise is all about scouting for locations for portraits that could either be full body or torsos. In my mind I have two types of locations, one a natural area of beauty, perhaps for a female and the other more urban.

All shots were taken within two days on a bright sunny winters day with the sun low and warm.I then had to wait for a similar day to recapture my favourite scene with a person in it.

The first set were taken at Sheffield Park Gardens, a place that looks great all year round.I like the colour and light in this shot and also the space, this would have been a good location for a full body shot but needs to be much tighter framed. I am thinking of someone sitting knees up against the tree to the right where the light is shining through. First mistake was trying to capture a nice image without someone in it!


The second image was again about light falling onto an unusual bench, a sitter here would be great.


The next image had more imagination in it for where someone would be positioned and their surroundings, perhaps with a hand slightly leaning again the end of the masonry with the tall grass in the background to the right.Again, natural light falling directly on to them.



The final image of the Gardens is an obviously one, but nonetheless one that would make a good full body portrait, perhaps leaning against the entrance. Once again natural light in the right direction.....


The final two are more urban and would require a youthful model. If I am to be honest I do not like the bus shelter. I thought at the time it may have worked because of the wooden textures and the graffiti but it is just to bland and boring.


The final one though I think works well and has many opportunities. The low light of the sun making the rusty ruin of this car very warm and inviting. Perhaps a young lad, a hoody leaning against the car as if it were his work of art.....I think for the image with a person in it it would need a tighter crop, the sky can be lost.


So I chose the above image as my site to bring along a person, a hooded child perhaps, and to my horror the burnt out wreck had been removed.

So to Plan B of some images I took over Ashdown Forest, I think these work well and am pleased with them. The light was strong that day and cast some moody shadows over the face, the images the,selves needing to processing at all.


I think have the person in this image actually balances it out better and gives it more interest.