• Please use real names.

    Greetings to all who have registered to OPF and those guests taking a look around. Please use real names. Registrations with fictitious names will not be processed. REAL NAMES ONLY will be processed

    Firstname Lastname

    Register

    We are a courteous and supportive community. No need to hide behind an alia. If you have a genuine need for privacy/secrecy then let me know!
  • Welcome to the new site. Here's a thread about the update where you can post your feedback, ask questions or spot those nasty bugs!

Let me bother you with my portraits

Antonio Correia

Well-known member
I made these two portraits today on the way home.
The guy on the right is Portuguese while the other is Brazilian.
I printed a colored photo of each image and went to give them They were happy. So am I ! :)
From my new folder "Random Images"

i-ckDXjv3-X2.jpg
i-n6CcMDW-X2.jpg
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I made these two portraits today on the way home.
The guy on the right is Portuguese while the other is Brazilian.
I printed a colored photo of each image and went to give them They were happy. So am I ! :)
From my new folder "Random Images"

i-ckDXjv3-X2.jpg
i-n6CcMDW-X2.jpg

These have life in them! Do they know you from bridge games, fishing or army days or you brought then some of that special bread?

Asher
 

Antonio Correia

Well-known member
Thank you Doug ! :)

No Asher I did not offer them bread... :)
I was passing and spotted them. Stopped and asked if...
Simple ! :)

Here they are working.
I made a shot for my old "Work" project of course... but it is not the one I have chosen !

i-MHsgSHM-X2.jpg
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Thank you Doug ! :)

No Asher I did not offer them bread... :)
I was passing and spotted them. Stopped and asked if...
Simple ! :)

Here they are working.
I made a shot for my old "Work" project of course... but it is not the one I have chosen !

i-MHsgSHM-X2.jpg


What a surprise, never imagined these fellow were artisans! Splendid that you can recruit them. You are good!

Asher
 

Antonio Correia

Well-known member
I turn around and around certain photographs and end up by abandoning, erasing or recreating them.
I went back to the session of the man paving the ground. To the folder I mean.
It was my idea - one I had while in the bakery - to do another project: "Working Hands"
At the same time I have fine tuned - again ? - the duotone.
I will redo the image above but that will be tomorrow.
I hope to like my first working hands in the morning... ;)


i-pZ3DRC4-X2.jpg
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I turn around and around certain photographs and end up by abandoning, erasing or recreating them.
I went back to the session of the man paving the ground. To the folder I mean.
It was my idea - one I had while in the bakery - to do another project: "Working Hands"
At the same time I have fine tuned - again ? - the duotone.
I will redo the image above but that will be tomorrow.
I hope to like my first working hands in the morning... ;)


i-pZ3DRC4-X2.jpg

This is a great motif of repeating squares. Just a thought in case you see more such geometry in your links to artisans.

Look up the older work of Tim Armes who used to do Lightroom Plugins and did great studies of workmen.

Asher
 

Antonio Correia

Well-known member
Today I had the rare opportunity to photograph someone I do know for quite some time.
After fine tuning the flashes I edited in LR. Only in LR !

In an hour I will have another important person to include in my gallery "Gente cá da Terra"

i-cH9r8Xk-X2.jpg
 

Antonio Correia

Well-known member
You guys are kidding me about the hand !... The guy does not use a blanket unless in bed.

OK, OK ! The trousers are black and the hand was behind the leg. There you are ! Happy now ??? LOL LOL

In fact, you are right about that hand. It is missing...

If I wanted to save the photograph I could make a tighter crop instead...

The guy is too damn serious !!!
 

James Lemon

Well-known member
You guys are kidding me about the hand !... The guy does not use a blanket unless in bed.

OK, OK ! The trousers are black and the hand was behind the leg. There you are ! Happy now ??? LOL LOL

In fact, you are right about that hand. It is missing...

If I wanted to save the photograph I could make a tighter crop instead...

The guy is too damn serious !!!

Antonio

What if you did another one of yourself but pretend that you are somebody else. I think I might go make an image of myself but I am thinking that I will pretend that I am you. What do you think of this idea?
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Today I had the rare opportunity to photograph someone I do know for quite some time.
After fine tuning the flashes I edited in LR. Only in LR !

In an hour I will have another important person to include in my gallery "Gente cá da Terra"

i-cH9r8Xk-X2.jpg


I ROTFWL!

This is hilarious. How can you take a picture of a fellow with his right hand there! It looks quite suspiciously autosensotic!

OMG!

........but the fellow for sure is handsome. No wonder you are infatuated with him!

Asher
 

Antonio Correia

Well-known member
Antonio
What if you did another one of yourself but pretend that you are somebody else. I think I might go make an image of myself but I am thinking that I will pretend that I am you. What do you think of this idea?

James, I am not completely understanding what you mean... will you please explain a little better ? Thank you ! :)

How and why was this self portrait done ?
I was preparing the scene to make another photograph to include in my "Gente cá da terra". The person who was coming is quite busy and - as usual - things had to be ready.
I set one flash and tested it. I set the other one and tested again. Camera on the tripod. I focused the back of the chair, set the timer and made a few steps to seat waiting for the shot to be taken.
The timer is just enough to walk and seat.
At the computer I realized that the focus was OK and I was pleased by the lights.
I switched off the flashes and camera and waited for my model.
My hand was there as it could be somewhere else. I am sure a tighter crop is more pleasant.
The flash from our right is perfect here because I have hair. When people don't have that much hair a problem may occur. Never mind. This is not supposed to be a commercial photograph.

i-vW4NHz3-X2.jpg
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Some observations on hands in portraits.




Antonio,

This is super! I really love the lighting and your pose.

Now a realization I have. I went back through each of your portraits and discovered that, except for one other case, you either exclude the arms altogether or have completely both hands. You use the hands as a great set of perfect balancing elements with which you complete your compositions. When you exclude the arms and hands, the picture relies on the face and perhaps a scarf, but works very well in each case too.

But for the first time, I realize that, if arms are present, we naturally follow then to their ends to see the pattern. When an arm goes out of the frame, it distracts and detracts from the "unity" of the composition, as it does not seem to be "born" or created by God, anymore, as your other pictures, but rather it appears that you are hiding something from us. Of course, you might have an expression that confirms that sentiment and use an entire arm leaving the frame before we see what the hands are doing.

In a social setting, since the earliest days of courtiers who wore swords, having a glass of wine in their sword hand shows everyone that they are totally peaceful. With cigarettes, when it was acceptable, a person looked really "complete" with his/her cigarette. So we have a custom of looking for the hands when we greet people and seeing folks hands is critical to understanding intent.

I went to see my father when he was convalescing from a sick spell and the immediately saw that the physician I had asked about my father's prognosis, was concentrating on choosing the car ket from his bunch of keys. So he obviously didn't think my question deserved respect and his full attention. From that I read that he was not a person I wanted to deal with.

Now I put all this together with your wonderful series and realize that we will always track the arms, if they are there, all the way to the hands and otherwise just try to read the face and the posture of the head.

But if one arm is not complete, it will always raise a question as the eye cannot help but search for what it might be holding. I do not assert that what I have said is some absolute truth, but at least here, I'm impressed that it my sense of importance of having the hands visible or both arms hidden seems to fit.

With that caveat mentioned, I must say that your work is such a high standard and you have so many well made portraits, each so different and magnetic, that I doubt that my discovered "expectation" of hand behavior is unique to just your fine portraiture. Now I have to look at the work of others.

Asher
 

James Lemon

Well-known member
James, I am not completely understanding what you mean... will you please explain a little better ? Thank you ! :)

How and why was this self portrait done ?
I was preparing the scene to make another photograph to include in my "Gente cá da terra". The person who was coming is quite busy and - as usual - things had to be ready.
I set one flash and tested it. I set the other one and tested again. Camera on the tripod. I focused the back of the chair, set the timer and made a few steps to seat waiting for the shot to be taken.
The timer is just enough to walk and seat.
At the computer I realized that the focus was OK and I was pleased by the lights.
I switched off the flashes and camera and waited for my model.
My hand was there as it could be somewhere else. I am sure a tighter crop is more pleasant.
The flash from our right is perfect here because I have hair. When people don't have that much hair a problem may occur. Never mind. This is not supposed to be a commercial photograph.

i-vW4NHz3-X2.jpg

Hello Antonio

Yes this is much better! Self portraits are difficult but a good exercise.I was only suggesting that if you thought that you looked too serious, try imagining that you are someone else. Then maybe you won't look so serious. Just for fun!

Best, regards
James
 

Antonio Correia

Well-known member
@ Asher
My dear friend you always find something nice and useful to say. It makes me thing on that matter and be more careful when making portraits. Thank you !
As I told before this was justa testing photograph which turned out to be OK.
It is not tack sharp ! The focus was just a few centimeters away I think as the back of the chairs was focused.
I was so concentrated to check if both flashes fired that I was shot this serious LOL

@ James
Thank you James. The circumstances made me look this serious. :)

And here is a brand new one for my project "Gente cá da terra" / "Our people" Both hands in. When I made the photograph Asher had not yet posted his fabulous comment.
The portrait has issues: his head is too bright on some spot area. I have to be careful when shooting hair bolded people. And... there is a dark area nearby which I did not see just after I have captured the photograph.

i-CbwvgX3-X2.jpg


Poças-M.jpg
 

Doug Kerr

Well-known member
Hi, António,

Well, you never know what you'll get here!

In any case, congratulations on your line of portraits, and especially that wonderful one of the charming fellow with an ambiguous number of intact hands and a full head of hair.

Best regards,

Doug
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Antonio,

I think the fellow with the beautiful bald head is just fine.



i-CbwvgX3-X2.jpg


Poças-M.jpg



But if brightness of his pate bothers you, why don't you tame it in Photoshop or Lightroom?

Asher
 
Top