Creative Industry (Portrait Photography)

INTRODUCTION

Creative industries have their origin in individual creativity, skill and talent. They have the potential to create wealth and jobs through the generation and use of intellectual property. Creative industries can include music, performing arts, film, television, radio, advertising, games and interactive content, writing, publishing, architecture, design, and visual arts.

Photography is the art or process of producing images by the action of radiant energy and especially light of a sensitive surface (as film or an optical sensor). There are many types of photography. It is a combination of different types of photography techniques which provides the viewer a message in the form of art. It’s all about the right angle, correct lighting and great lens. For different types of photos, the lens has to be changed accordingly. 

You can see a lot of people taking pictures on their cameras and mobile phones, if you want your photo to stand out from the rest, it’s important to learn some retouching works, by using photoshop etc. Some people get confused with beauty photography and glamour photography. Glamour photography is like fantasy photography and beauty photography is like shooting portrait photography. One of the major types of photography is portrait photography.

WHAT IS A PORTRAIT?

A portrait is defined as “a likeness of a person, especially of the person’s face. Simply that. But, the word in general use has deeper connotations. A photographic portrait is understood to be a good quality image that not only captures a person’s physical likeness on film or on a digital camera's sensor, but also something of the person’s character, generally in a manner that is attractive and pleasing to the subject”.

A good portrait will contain at least one element that reveals the subject’s personality, attitude, unique characteristic or any of the other features or traits that form the individual nature of the person. It will tell us something about the subject. The portrait photographer who has never previously met the subject therefore has quite a challenge.

HOW DO YOU DISCOVER CHARACTER TRAITS?

We all reveal our feelings and attitudes differently. Some of us may show our individual character immediate, while others may be more difficult to read at first. The portrait photographer must become proficient at studying people whom he or she doesn’t know in order to capture their essence. This means watching for signals in a subject’s mannerism, reactions, expressions, body language and so on, and then judging how best to have the subject’s character revealed for the camera.

This takes skill and an understanding of human nature. It almost always requires engaging the subject in conversation, and quickly finding a suitable topic that will grab her or his interest and evoke a reaction. Find common ground or a topic of particular interest to your subject, which can be a hobby, the latest news, a mutual acquaintance, or any number of topics. Building a rapport with the subject is important, whether a three-year-old child or a ninety-five-year old statesman, because it makes the subject more at ease in your presence, and therefore more-relaxed and natural-looking for the lens. You must take all possible steps to put a subject at ease in order for her or him to appear natural. 

10 CHARACTERISTICS OF GREAT PHOTOS

1.  HAS A GREAT COMPOSITION (MUST HAVE)

There are many different rules and methods out there for creating great compositions. You have common rules and techniques such as the rule of 3rds and rules of symmetry as well as the not-so-common techniques involving asymmetric compositions using object balancing, leading lines and framing. I mention this rule first because it doesn’t matter which particular style, technique, or rule you follow, so long as every image has a solid composition. There will be times when composition needs to be thrown out the window in order to just grab the shot, but where possible, it should always be considered.

2. CAPTURES EMOTION

Whether it is something that makes us laugh or cry, emotion is what ties each and everyone of us together, images showing emotion and timeless moments will always capture the audiences attention.

3. TELLS A STORY

 They may not be great compositions or have anything unique to them other than the fact that they capture history. Some of the best examples of these types of images are found all throughout news and photojournalism.

4.  LEAVES SOMETHING TO THE IMAGINATION

Everyone knows that the book is always better than the movie, because it allows us to use our imagination to create the most amazing and personalized special effects in our minds. Images that leave something to the imagination tend to do the same thing. They allow us to have just enough information to imagine the rest of the scene.

5.  CAPTURES AN ICONIC MOMENT

Iconic moments are moments that are created or modeled after meaningful pop culture. Whether it is a reproduction of a shot from a classic movie, or creating a unique moment based around something trendy, these shots allow the audience to feel emotionally connected to the moment within the imagery.

6.  PRESENTS THE UNIQUE

What’s an easy way to create an interesting image? Simple, shoot something that is unique to the respective audience.

7. JUXTAPOSITIONS CONTRASTING CONCEPTS

 (compare) completely contrasting objects and concepts.

8. USES UNIQUE LIGHTING AND COLOR

Lighting and color is really where a lot of great images start. Great lighting can turn a mundane scene into an amazingly colorful scene full of texture and life. In nature, these types of scenes happen all the time during sunrise and sunset and while we can’t control the lighting of those fleeting moments, if you happen to be in the right place at the right time, you just may be able to capture it. However, we can control and create unique lighting on our own with the proper knowledge using off camera lighting, flashes and more.

9.  SHOWS OVERLOOKED DETAIL

In our time and society where everything is about speed and efficiency, images that capture overlooked detail can be enough to make someone stop to smell the roses. While pictures of unique and unseen detail is amazing and breathtaking, you can often get the same reaction out of your audience by simply shooting the detail in everyday life.

10.  USES A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE

Most of us live our lives viewing the world with relatively the same perspective. This is what makes unique perspectives so interesting to the audience.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR A PHOTOGRAPHER

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that photography will steadily increase at a rate slightly lower than the national average for all occupations from 2012-2022. However, the demand for professional portrait photographers is expected to grow a bit more quickly, as people will continue to need head-shots and portraits for professional and personal reasons. Additionally, corporations will continue to need competent photographers to produce images for advertising purposes.

THREAT FOR A PHOTOGRAPHER

1. COMPETITION FROM OTHER PHOTOGRAPHERS

With an estimated 3.8 trillion photographs taken since the first at the start of the 19th century, attempting to get your own work appreciated amongst the noise can begin to feel futile. With the majority of this astonishing number coming after the rise in popularity of digital and mobile photography, it doesn’t seem likely that this task will become any easier over time.

Today, everybody seems to fancy themselves as a bit of a photographer, and as a result online image platforms like Instagram have had billions of photographs uploaded to them in the short time they have existed. Facebook alone has reportedly had over 250 billion photographs uploaded by users since it began 11 years ago in 2004. So, no matter how good your photography, this is a very difficult climate in which to make a name for yourself.

2. THE DECLINING PRESTIGE OF PHOTOGRAPHY AS A PROFESSION

With the rise in amateur photography, there has also been an increasing tendency for people to think that the art of photography is nothing more than taking decent photographs. Many of this new type of self-styled photographer claim to be professional, however, the term ‘professional’ is often used far too loosely to encompass anyone who is paid to take photographs. In order to rise above the pack and become a professional in the eyes of the industry leaders you need to do much more than take photographs for money.

A true professional photographer has technical expertise and an in-depth knowledge of the industry at large. They provide consistent quality, and a high standard of customer service to all of their clients.

3. THE HIGH COST OF PHOTOGRAPHY EQUIPMENT

With so much digital equipment on offer it is easy to let the advertisements persuade you that the quality of your kit is what will make you a good photographer. Indeed, many amateur and professional photographers alike can be seen with giant backpacks and kit. The quality of the kit, however, is never a reason of the quality of the photographer.

5. COPYRIGHT VIOLATIONS

The threat of photographers having their copyright violated is very real. Many modern photographers are put-off posting their images on social media sites, or even on their own blogs or websites, for fear that they will be copied and pasted into someone else’s portfolio. However, there are ways you can combat this.

CONCLUSION

Photography spread vastly throughout the world whether its professional or amateur photography, “selfie” or wildlife, this will continue to grow and leads to competition. Competition maybe a disadvantage but it also to test of one’s self.