A friend of mine, while we were having dinner at one of those tourist packed terraces in front of Barcelona marina. I don't remember the name of the restaurant, maybe the Rey de la Gamba or similar. The point is that he was sitting next to my daughter, laughing and joking and suddenly gave me this stern look, with his peculiar moustache and I couldn't help thinking of that famous Dali portrait. Portrait photography is not one of my gifts so I try to learn about the light, the focal length, the best aperture and most important identify myself with the subject to trap that inner something. I can't teach you portrait photography cause I have a long way to go myself but I will recommend a good tutorial on how to take portraits to start over with and the work of a couple of modern photographers that serve as an inspiration to me. One is the solid work of Istoica and the other the provocative art in David Lachapelle's collection of portraits.
He DOES look rather like Dali. Now, if he would only grow the mustache a little longer and wax it our into curling points...
ReplyDeleteI greatly enjoyed your links in this post. I'm taking an introduction to portrait photography workshop this summer and and any information likes this helps me prepare. However, Greenspun's article makes me wonder your post was shot with a point-and-shoot. The image might be a little better if the background were much more out of focus.
Look forward to seeing more of your work.
St. Louis Missouri Daily Photo Blog
Hi Strangetastes, thanks for reviewing my picture. I am glad you liked my links. After looking at their pictures I can't feel but strength to keep on going out pointing and shooting. Here is the exif info in case you might be interested.
ReplyDeleteCamera: Nikon D70s
Exposure: 0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 65 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/6 EV
Yep, I should have used a bigger aperture, something like 3.5 or 4 but much better if I had true wide-angles lens!
I reckon you're doing all right!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sally that's very kind of you.
ReplyDeleteuoh... yo no tengo ni idea de todos estos términos numéricos... pero me gusta como enfocaste la cara, y el bigote es espectacular! ya quedan pocos como él!
ReplyDeleteA good intense portrait. But he doesn't seem to like to be photographed.
ReplyDeleteI apologize for making such a bad guess about your camera! You are shooting with quality equipment. Many lenses won't open wider then F 5.6 so I appreciate the problem. Thanks for the EXIF date. It helps me understand the shot better.
ReplyDeleteBob
St. Louis Missouri Daily Photo Blog