Not quite a portrait

[jkantor]

Actually a test shot for a cd cover for a friend of mine. He wants the same shot, but with a little less smile next time.

 

<p>

 

<img src="http://www.photo.net/photodb/image-display.tcl?photo_id=108637&size=md" height=468 width=582 hspace=10>

[altaf]

Actually of the 3, this seems to be the best portrait.

[wayne_harrison]

um, i can only see one image. that one, a headshot against a dark

background, i find to be very, very good. it is obvious that the

subject is comfortable with you as the photographer, which i think is

one of the keys to good portraiture.

my only complaint is the presence of the "ghosts" in the upper

right quadrant, which i feel detract from the impact of the

"suspended" image.

[jkantor]

(One image in each of the three posts.)

 

<p>

 

The background is the trunk of a 500-year-old oak that he is sitting

in front of. He's very metaphysical and chose the location because of

his connection to the tree.

[jkantor]

And, actually, none of them are intended to be "portraits" per se.

[Tony Rowlett]

I'm not sure I understand (not that that's news or anything). If this

and the others were not intended to be portraits, then what did you

intend them to be? This one is a particularly good portrait in my

opinion. I like it a lot.

[chris_y.]

Actually I didnt know that Jesse Ventura had launched a music

career...

[john_thurston]

If the tree is a significant object in his life, I think it should be

a little more recognizable. How about increasing the depth of field

a touch? I'd have a better chance of seeing the trunk texture and

determining that it <I>was</I> a tree.

[jkantor]

Well, "portraits" - at least the way this board thinks of them - seem

to be based on the idea of communicating something meaningful about

the subject. I really approached this (as I did the others) from the

opposite standpoint - with only the desire to create a strong image.

In this case, however, the result is somewhere in between, both

because of the subject's involvement and probably because he feels

pretty relaxed with me since we've known each other for a while (and

he used to do photography too). And personally, I think that's the

ideal relationship for any shoot: let the photographer concentrate on

creating the image, but with the active involvement of the subject.

 

<p>

 

As for the background, I don't think pictures need to be self-

explanatory. (After all, it could just have easily have been a

painted canvas back there.) This picture will probably end up being

used in the CD insert along with some text about the tree. We'll

reshoot this without the necklace and with less smile and then crop

it square from the left and right down the center of his face for the

cover, leaving plenty of room for the title over his shoulder.

[twmeyer]

Hey John... when you reshoot, try a few from a lower point of view,

which would give more emphasis on his face, and less of the dual

hotspots on the dome. Now that I think about it, maybe a black cloth

from one side of the tree out to his right (camera's left) would

remove one hot spot, and serve the second purpose of creating more

modeling of the contours of his face. Maybe a flying black flat,

above and to his right (again, your left) would do the same for the

hotspot, yet still give a nice keylight effect on his jawline/cheek,

which would seperate his face from his neck (got a 'roid back for the

rb?). A turtle neck would help with this last seperation issue, as

well, but might not be his style... t

[altaf]

Don't touch the necklace! Why would you change something about him

that he apparently values enough to wear around his neck? Personally

i like the picture because of his expression and posture, its coming

at me and I assume what he aspires his music to do as well. I think

you'd have to be crazy to dump a shot with this much personality

coming across. It's rare to have a nice honest shot, unlike the other

2 which don't really speak to me or make me want to meet the person,

this one definately makes me curious and that's in my mind a good

thing. I wouldn't make the tree in focus either, the lack of DOF adds

to the focus on him and not on the tree.

[altaf]

What is his name?

[jkantor]

Good suggestions, but I think you can overanalyze a shot. We went

with this look when I serendipitously caught him changing positions

through the viewfinder and then "Polaroided" it (if that's a verb).

In larger sizes the separation is better - and avoids giving it a

disembodied head look (though we will probably use a turtleneck on

the final shot for the impact). I also specifically chose the angle

to make him look a bit more imposing and to keep the hotspots there

to emphasize the 3D effect.

 

<p>

 

This is a shot we did some time ago - but under the same tree. (It

needs a bit of tweaking to fix his complexion and to add some

catchlights.) He actually looks better with hair than bald, so that's

another reason I went with the angle I did.

 

<p>

 

<img src="http://www.photo.net/photodb/image-display.tcl?

photo_id=109158&size=md" height=384 width=576 hspace=10>

[altaf]

Looks better blad, gives him more character.

[twmeyer]

but blad is more of a hassel (hahaha, couldn't resist)... t

[jkantor]

He looks better bald from this angle. He tends to look rather "gnome-

ish" otherwise. Becasue of the crop we need for the cover pic, we'll

do without the necklace, but as I said, I think this one will be the

interior shot. He also wears some terrific rings that I'd like to get

in a shot sometime.

 

<p>

 

His name is Vick DeGiorgio and he's a local (Orlando) folk-singer who

writes both lyrics and music, performs, and records all the tracks on

his albums (at least for the first mix). He's a technical writer by

day and used to be a research chemist as well as a photographer. Of

course, with his name, I keep telling him he should get a satin

jacket and become lounge singer ("The song stylings of Vick

DiGiorgio").

[struan_gray]

I really like the first picture, but think it would loose a lot of

its impact if it lost all the symmetry as you propose. Can't you

crop it sqare from the left edge, leaving in his whole face and head

(and the pendant)?

 

<p>

 

I think the reason I like it so much is the tension between the

dramatic angle and lighting, and his smile - which is the sort of

smile you give to someone you know well. I can't help feeling I've

been caught stealing apples by a tough but indulgent neighbour.

[jkantor]

Here's a mockup of what we're talking about. (Actually I like it the

way it is. We may not have to reshoot.) The tricky thing about a CD

cover is leaving room for the text while still creating a strong

image.

 

<p>

 

<img src="http://www.photo.net/photodb/image-display.tcl?

photo_id=110125&size=lg" height=395 width=390 hspace=10>

[allan engelhardt]

<p>Oh! Wow. Like that cover. Very powerful indeed. Mmmm, well

done. Like it a lot.

 

<p>Funny thing is it surprised me after having seen the original

shot. I hadn't seen it comming, as it were. Very interesting

illustration of how one can create covers. Thanks.