Shooting a portrait of a man

This tip is about taking a portrait of a man. To create a portrait of a man there are no special restrictions, as well as when shooting a portrait of a woman. Imagination and a photographer’s skills are key. Together with professional photographers we will find out what a portrait of a man should look like. Share their secrets with Marina Sheglova, Alexander Annenkov, Pavel Sokolov.

Author: Alexander Annenkov

Portrait plate, drawing light on the model, background light and cone-shaped reflector with honeycomb

Camera: Nikon D700

Lens: AF NIKKOR 24mm f/2.8D

Aperture: f/11

Shutter speed: 1/125

ISO: 200

Focal length: 24mm

Alexander Annenkov’s secrets

“A black and white men’s portrait is always a focus on the model. Light, shadow, contrast, texture are the means of expression, and the black and white light adds drama and brutality and brings out the model’s gaze.

My preference in portrait photography is natural light, because it gives me an opportunity to add volume by blurring the background and reflecting natural light sources and reflecting surfaces, not the studio soft boxes, and the natural movement of the model in the frame.

Pavel Sokolov’s secrets

“You have to be inspired before you take a picture! Of course, everyone will have their own sources of inspiration: photographs, music, beautifully falling light, which has been pre-sighted. Sometimes an insight or idea just comes along that is good to write down right away for future implementation.

First of all I look at the exterior and decide for myself what interesting I can emphasize, sometimes one detail is enough. Maybe the model has an attractive gaze and we can express her charisma through it, or maybe there are certain facial features.”.

Camera: Nikon D800

Lens: AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G

Aperture: f/4

Shutter speed: 1/400

ISO: 200

Focal length: 50 mm

“The choice of location may depend on the combination of the color of the clothes and the background, the graphic or certain light, which greatly affects the final result.

Once upon a time when I was looking for a location in a St. Petersburg courtyard I realized that there was nothing better than the dumpster that was just around the corner. “That’s where the great oblique light hit, there were planks with red stripes thrown in the background, and the nearby wall of the house reflected the light onto the model’s face.

Camera: Nikon D800

Lens: AF-S VR MICRO-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED

Aperture: f/4

Shutter speed: 1/800

ISO: 320

Focal length: 105 mm

“In the studio I very rarely get attached to the interior, it’s the light that counts for me! In male portraits, I most often use hard light to emphasize the brutality of the subject. Here I used three light sources plus a reflector. Two reflectors shine into the frame from behind the model, and a portrait dish with honeycomb falls on the face. Bottom part of face lit by reflector”.

Here, I used three light sources plus a reflector. Two reflectors shine into the frame from behind the model, and a honeycomb portrait dish shines into the face. The lower part of the face is illuminated by the reflector.

Camera: Nikon D300s

Lens: AF-S DX ZOOM-NIKKOR 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED

Aperture: f/11

Shutter speed: 1/160

ISO: 200

Focal Length: 38mm

Secrets of Marina Sheglova

“Very often in the case of a male portrait, the successful model of behavior for the photographer is to create &bdquo comfort zone” for the photographer. It’s very important to communicate with a person to try to feel what’s important to him, to feel his mood, to understand and isolate for yourself some character traits, which later become the so-called basis for the future portrait. It is necessary because men are not inclined to pose and it is harder to draw them out to express their emotions. Besides, not always the photographer faces a strong, charismatic personality with a rich inner world, creative potential and a desire to work for the frame.

Camera: Nikon D610

Aperture: f/5.6

Shutter speed: 1/100

ISO: 800

Focal length: 70 mm

TIP FROM NIKON.

MAIN TYPES OF LIGHT SOURCES IN THE STUDIO

1. DRIVING LIGHT

The main light source that creates the light and shade pattern.

2. FILL LIGHT

Softens shadows and fills in the light on parts of the subject or the entire subject.

3. BACKGROUND LIGHT

Separates the subject from the background and creates a tonal perspective.

4. CONTROL LIGHT

Emphasizes the conformation of the subject and adds volume.

5. MODELING LIGHT

Useful for highlighting the sides of the subject.

IDEA

A number of sources can be replaced by reflectors

IMPORTANT

The larger the emission surface, the softer the shadows