Happy June, blog readers! It was in fact, a very dismal summer day in SF. Just right for staying in and editing more photos. I'm finally working on a set of kid portraits. These are for a modeling portfolio. I was put in contact with the Ford agent, to find out what sorts of shots they needed for kids. Amongst other things, the agent said: "We also need some fun shots to show off the kid fun side." I looked through some sample model portfolios. I was relieved to see that kid portfolios are much different from adult ones - they are much more relaxed, kids being themselves; unlike the women's portfolios in which models were contorted into odd poses, plastered with make-up, wearing scraps of material etc etc.
Off we went to the park. She had a tendency to put on a cheesey smile and cock her head to one side (right photo). To get her out of that mode, her mom asked her to tell a funny story. That worked - she told us of a dream that involved squirrels and zombies (but no, she was not afraid), and her story telling photos made for great candid portraits.
Wait - how is a candid a portrait? Aren't they opposite? Portrait actually has a broad definition to me - one can do a portrait of a e.g. person, or a car, or a city. When I use it with clients, I mean that that image is going to focus on a single person, or small group of people. They may or may not necessarily be ready for the photo - so, it can be a posed portrait (right) or candid portrait (left). As long as the image gives some insight into the personality of the person, I consider it a portrait. Hence, a driver's license mug shot is not a portrait.