Environmental Portrait Assignment
Student Images from previous - Environmental Portrait Assignment
Who are the people we should know but don't?
There are interesting people all around you and they all have stories to tell. Former Journalism Dean James Brown, describes Charlie Baker Williams as one of the more interesting people he has photographed. "He was a maintenance man for the building where I had my office. I was working late one night. I noticed the door to his equipment closet was slightly ajar. I opened it to say hello. There was Charlie studying. He was taking a course in music theory. I asked him what he played. Electric guitar was his pleasure. I asked if I could make a picture of him with his guitar. He lived in a barber shop just across the river from campus. But it got better. He was a member of seven or eight Masonic orders, each with its own uniform. All of them were quite elaborate. He had a Masonic apron that had been handed down from a relative from the Civil War era. I began to photograph and Charlie changed from one uniform to another. I made amazing pictures. What started as a casual conversation in a janitor's closet turned into an outstanding photo session. I had a one man exhibition coming up. I had so many great pictures that I made a special alcove in the exhibit of nothing but pictures of Charlie. I invited him to the opening. He stood back on the periphery watching people look at pictures of him. He was thrilled."
The difference between a portrait and an environmental portrait is that an environmental portrait includes enough of the person's surroundings that we get a sense of that person's character or personality. It is a picture of a person, NOT rocks and trees.
The Assignment:
You may NOT use family members or pets for this assignment.
Your task is to find someone other people will think is interesting (your roommate playing video games is NOT interesting) and make the definitive picture of that person in a visually interesting environment. Choose a well lit environment - You may not use flash so bars and nightclubs will not be conducive to good images. In choosing your three star image, be sure we can see both eyes. The test of a successful Environmental Portrait is that we immediately know what the person does and, if we met them on the street, we would be able to identify them.
I like to let people do whatever they do and then try to make the image as they work. If you pose people, do it in a noninvasive way. Don't move things around to make a better composition. If the person's environment is messy, don't tidy up. The environment says something about the person.
Think about the lighting in the location where you plan to shoot. Pick somewhere that will help you turn in clear sharp images - stay away from dark locations that require high ISO and slow shutter speed. This picture requires an extended caption. Indeed the caption should be a short story about the person. Your caption should make other people want to meet and talk with the person. Expect to make many pictures in your quest for just the right expression. This is not a five minute assignment.
What to turn in:
You should turn at least ten, one and two star images and one three star image (11 total images).
All the images your turn in must be sharp, straightened, properly exposed and be corrected to show the full dynamic range and correct color balance in Lightroom Classic CC.
As you import your images for this assignment, put them in a Collection names Environmental.
Give them all the keyword “Environmental”
For your three star selection, be sure to fill in the Caption information with the subject’s name and specifics about why this environment is important to this subject. You will also need to enhance the image in the Develop mode the Highlights slider almost always goes to the left and the Shadows goes to the right. Only touch White and Blacks after you have adjusted Highlights and Shadows.
After you have rated your images and corrected your 3 star image:
- If you have used the Attribute Filters to limit your sort to three star images, be sure to select None to ensure that all you images are submitted.
- Double check the number of images you are exporting. You'll find a line above the check boxes that says "Exporting a Catalog with ## photos."
Export a Lightroom Catalog of all of your good shots. Name the catalog: Environmental YourLastName LabDay
Upload your catalog to the Environmental Portrait folder in the J210 Fall 2018 Box.com folder.
Rubric
| Grading Rubric | |
| A | Most of these criteria are met (1 or 2 may be missed): Your three star Environmental Portrait must show someone interesting in relationship with their environment. We should immediately know what the person does and, if we met them on the street, we would be able to identify them. Focus is sharp and on the eyes. Exposure is correct. Color balance is correct. Highlights and shadows are properly adjusted to show detail in both. Metadata (keywords and captioning) is correctly entered for all pictures. Collection and Catalog are properly named. |
| B | Some of these criteria are met (3 may be missed): Your three star Environmental Portrait must show someone interesting in relationship with their environment. We should immediately know what the person does and, if we met them on the street, we would be able to identify them. Focus is sharp and on the eyes. Exposure is correct. Color balance is correct. Highlights and shadows are properly adjusted to show detail in both. Metadata (keywords and captioning) is correctly entered for all pictures. Collection and Catalog are properly named. |
| C | A few of these criteria are met (4 or 5 may be missed): Your three star Environmental Portrait must show someone interesting in relationship with their environment. We should immediately know what the person does and, if we met them on the street, we would be able to identify them. Focus is sharp and on the eyes. Exposure is correct. Color balance is correct. Highlights and shadows are properly adjusted to show detail in both. Metadata (keywords and captioning) is correctly entered for all pictures. Collection and Catalog are properly named. |
| D | More than 5 of these criteria were missed: Your three star Environmental Portrait must show someone interesting in relationship with their environment. We should immediately know what the person does and, if we met them on the street, we would be able to identify them. Focus is sharp and on the eyes. Exposure is correct. Color balance is correct. Highlights and shadows are properly adjusted to show detail in both. Metadata (keywords and captioning) is correctly entered for all pictures. Collection and Catalog are properly named. |