Interview & Portrait of school teacher

[joel_snape]

I'm interviewing two departing teachers at my school: this is the first time I've done any "real" portrait

photography, and the first time I've ever done an interview!

 

What order do you think I should do them in? the interview first and then the photoshoot? I think that's

my preference because (hopefully) I'll have got into a conversation by then...

 

Secondly, what kind of film would you recommend? It'll probably shot in fairly low light conditions

(inside) but the catch is I'll need to develop it with Ilford chemicals since that's what we have in the

school darkroom.

 

Thanks,

 

Joel

[joel_snape]

Sorry! I forgot to mention that'd I'd be shooting in black and white because that's what I

have the equipment and expertise for.

 

Thanks :)

[matteus_clement]

interview first.

get to know them, get comfortable cause you sound kind of nervous.

Once you're both on a good level and the questions are done, snap a couple.

 

As far as film. If its a nice day, you can use a 100 or 200 iso film and shoot near a window for a light source. I am sure there may be people who are going to recoomend other things, but I like KISS, keep it simple.

Cheers,

Matteus

[olliesteiner]

When I'm doing a portrait, I like to converse with the subject, but I don't release the shutter

while he is speaking....that usually results in catching some odd distortion of the mouth.

Rather I look at the eyes while he is listening. Canadian photographer, Ted Grant gave this

advice: Watch the eyes while a person is *listening*. One finds excellent moments by doing

that. The life of the person is reflected in the eyes while he is listening in a way that

generally doesn't happen when he is merely posing.

[olliesteiner]

I would like to add to my comment above.....This also wonderfully works with portraits of dogs! I was making all kinds of funny noises while making this portrait of my human son with my beagle daughter.

[fullmetalphotograper]

I would talk to them first. Itend to talk to my subjects for 15 -20min before an environmental

portrait. The more comfortable your subjects are the easier it is get the shots you want.<div></div>

[joel_snape]

Thanks for all the advice, I'll definitely follow that about looking at the eyes and I hadn't thought of taking them whilst talking. We'll see how it goes :)

 

One thing about film though, wouldn't a 400 iso film be better for indoors? otherwise I'd be looking at a shutter speed of about 1/8 - 1/2 a second and I'd prefer not to use a tripod if possible (the one I've currently got isn't very flexible). My "usual" film is Ilford FP4 plus because the school keeps a stock and I can get it cheaply :)

 

Thanks,

 

Joel

[twmeyer]

"<i>I hadn't thought of taking them whilst talking</i>"... I think that's a good thing (don't think of it). The "mouth open" portrait (see above) isn't generally appreciated by the subject.<p>Yes 400 iso would be fine, but whether you prefer a tripod or not doesn't matter. You'd better use one if you're shooting available light with a living and breathing subject that is not a professional photographic subject. <p>By way of example, I made this portrait today of an actor/musician/writer in the stairwell of an old school, by the light of a large window behind me. 1/10th second @ F2.5, iso 100, with effectively a 150mm lens (actually an 85mm f1.8 on a D200). Use a tripod, you'll be glad you did... t<div></div>