The Art of portraiture
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A lesson on replicating the elements of famous or important portraits with a cell phone camera.
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At the end of this lesson, students should better understand the role of light and composition in portraiture.
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Students will be tasked with replicating the style of of four images using their cell phone after reviewing some highlights of portraiture art history.
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Materials required: Cell phone camera or digital camera.
Portraiture, is a type of art aimed at capturing the personality of a person or group of people by using lighting, background detail, backdrops, and poses. It can also be used to convey an emotion or moment in someone's life.
Yousef Karsh is responsible for one of the most iconic and reprinted photographs ever produced.
Karsh captured his famous image of Winston Churchill in 1941 at the height of WWII. Think about what the image conveys and then watch the video from the 3:00 minute mark until 4:30 to see what Karsh says about capturing that moment.
Portrait Photography's Grandfather
(The OG selfie master)
Rembrandt Van Rijn's influence cannot be understated on modern photography and portraiture. Look at the lighting in the previous Karsh photograph (Or most of Karsh's work) and you can see the influence of the Dutch painter/printmaker.
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These two images are self portraits painted at age 22 and 53.
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What is Rembrandt telling us with his lighting choices? Why is his younger self mostly in the shadows but his older self illuminated so fully?
Watch this short video that discusses Rembrandt's influence on modern portrait photography.
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After watching it, consider what you could use as focused light sources when making your images:
Flashlights, lamps, cellphone flashlights, natural light, light from a lit room into a darker room, etc.
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What do you have to diffuse a light source?
Fabric, paper, tissue, plastic, ect.
If working in class find a group of two to three students. Students working from home will want to find a subject for this project or use a tripod or selfie stick. Replicate to the best of your ability four of the following six images. The backgrounds and settings will be limited by either the classroom approved locations at the school or if you are studying at home, your immediate surroundings. Low resolution images are acceptable. The purpose is to explore light and composition. Low resolution cameras will often still work well for high contrast work like this.
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What you want to duplicate is the message of the image conveyed by the lighting, and poses. Each image provides some prompts to get started.
"Life etches itself onto our faces as we grow older, showing our violence, excesses or kindnesses." - Rembrandt Van Rijn
“A lot of photographers think that if they buy a better camera they’ll be able to take better photographs. A better camera won’t do a thing for you if you don’t have anything in your head or in your heart.” -Arnold Newman
In this self portrait Rembrandt captures a sense of foreboding by illuminating a small portion of his own face. What do you think the foreboding represents? Consider what direction the light is coming from when creating a portrait or self portrait.
Martín Chambi was and indigenous photographer in Peru who was famous for his documentary style.
In this photograph the subject is looking at a photo album. What emotions are conveyed by this act? How would you convey something similiar?
Xyza Cruz Bacani is a contemporary photographer who uses her imagery to bring light to under reported issues. The subject of this photograph has a weight and tired nature to them. What about the lighting and composition gives this subject their weight? How can you communicate this tiredness in a similiar way?
Arnold Newman took an opportunity to make Alfred Krupp look "Evil". Newman's family had used slave labour for their business in Nazi Germany. Newman used the chaotic background and lighting to give Krupp a sinister feel. Can you use those elements to make someone look either sinister or alternatively angelic?
"When I do something, I do it passionately. I want a passionate colour – something that’s both beautiful and disturbing at the same time, like a car accident you can’t help but look at" (Guardian, 2017)
Aida Muluneh went to high school in Calgary before returning to Addis Ababa. How can you use colours to create a portrait that "you can't help but look at"? Use a backgrounds and poses. No body or face painting required. You may want to consider previous lessons in complimentary colours.
Herb Ritts was able to work with some of the biggest celebrities in America including Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp and Jodie Foster seen here. In 1994 when this photo was taken Foster was one of Hollywood's biggest stars but Ritts was able to create a sense of vulnerability in his portrait. What about the pose and lighting accomplishes this? Use lighting and your subject's pose to create a sense of vulnerability.
Accommodations:
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Student's who don't have a camera/phone may need to sign out a camera from the the teacher.
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Students working from home without a camera/phone may need to either have an alternative assignment or have assignments rearranged until they return to class.
Variations:
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Students with strong backgrounds in photography or looking to add a degree of challenge can be tasked with replicating images from 4 contemporary/active photographers of their choosing but must then provide a short paragraph for each explaining their choices.
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ART 20 COMPOSITIONS:
Students will:
USE NON-TRADITIONAL APPROACHES TO CREATE COMPOSITIONS IN BOTH TWO AND THREE DIMENSIONS.
Concepts
A. The use of non-traditional media affects the development of a two- or three-dimensional object.
B. The exploration of existing technology may influence the development of two- and threedimensional images.
C. Chance occurrences or accidental outcomes can influence the making of a work of art.