Ex5: Eye contact and expression

For this exercise I thought it would be fun to set up a studio session with my HNC Photography class. My brief to them was: I wanted to take very quick, fun portraits in which they had to pull a face while maintaining eye contact with me. The shot was organised for the week before Xmas as everyone was in good spirits and up for a bit of fun.

I decided to use an evenly lit, white studio to focus attention on their expressions. A colleague helped me set up four lights, angled at 45°towards the subject and background. Two were set to give a bright white background and two positioned in front and to either side of the subject. The lighting set up has proved slightly harsh on a couple of the shots and the power setting could probably have been dialed down slightly. Camera settings were manual, based on a meter reading ISO 200, F8. All shots were take at either 58mm or 70mm, good focal lengths for portraiture, as this range keeps faces looking natural.

Each student posed for a couple of shots, taken quickly to keep their expressions fresh and spontanious. Because the atmosphere was relaxed I felt comfortable directing the students. I am happy with the results, given that I have very little experience of studio portraiture and would feel confident to try and more formal, structured shoot next time.