Our presentation tonight was by John Tice (johntice.com) on portraiture. 

  • Make it creative, loose, and fun
  • You have to learn the rules… so that you can break them.
  • No one thing about it is hard, but putting it all together is challenging.  Learn each piece individually.
  • Prefers one light technique to keep it simple
  • Feminine vs masculine poses
  • Broad (light on closer side of face) or short (light on far side of face) lighting.  Most of the time use short lighting.
  • Watch the nose shadow to know if you’ve got the light in the right place.
  • Learn to really see the light
  • Learn to really see the model.  Look for asymmetries.
  • Shoulders have to support the head
  • Spot focus on front eye
  • Catchlight important, but any light will do, even weak ones
  • When photographing a couple, you have to compromise.  Always give priority to the woman.
  • Don’t let them throw a shadow on each other
  • Generally use a long lens.  If using a short lens for an environmental shot, careful with the subjects near the edges that tend to distort.
  • Ears – in shadow and out of focus
  • Generally start at F5.6 – adjust for depth of field or light from there
  • Nose should always be contained within the cheek
  • If shooting B&W, contrast and fill much more important for tonal range
  • John Tice will be holding a workshop soon, write if you are interested in joining!

Upcoming Themes

  • April – Patience
  • May – Portrait using artificial light
  • June – Sunset/Sunrise

Announcements

  • The April meeting will be held May 4th
  • John Tice will be holding a portraiture workshop.  Contact him through his website.
  • Photography basics class starting Thu Apr 8 running for 4 weeks.  Register online at the YMCA Open University.
  • Jon Fleming will be holding a “Sports Photography for Parents” workshop.  Schedule is not final yet.

Theme Winners

The theme was Flash Photography

  1. Nathan Sharp – Magic
    Magic by Nathan Sharp
  2. Joe Zhou – Child
  3. Dale Goorskey – Couple

Open Winners

  1. Laurie Ashley – Sunset
    Sunset by Laurie Ashley
  2. Rebecca Heaton – Sunset
  3. Mike Diersing – Kid in Bath

Next Month

Presentation by Parv Sethi.