Elements of a Portrait

The four main elements of a portrait are the face, pose, clothing, and location.

Taking a picture of someone’s face (a typical portrait) can portray which emotion your model is feeling, or express their personality/character. Focusing on the model’s pose could again hint to emotion, and in fashion photography, show off the clothes. The model’s clothes would also be important to fashion photography as that is the whole purpose of the genre. The location may be the focus of the image, indicating that obviously that that is more important than the model in this case, showcasing that aspect instead.

For example, a portrait of a woman in a fancy dress, new shoes and shining jewellery, sat in a 5* hotel room, relaxing on a couch with a drink in her hand and a smile on her face would portray elegance. The idea that this woman may be important and most definitely rich.

In contrast, someone dressed in tattered clothing sat in a dark alleyway with a forlorn look would suggest that the theme is not a happy one.

I took 4 photos, each focusing on one element:

Face – This first photo focuses on the model’s face. A plain background draws attention to his face only. The model also being in the centre obeys the rule of thirds and makes the picture aesthetically pleasing.

Clothes – This second picture, taken at an angle, focuses on clothing. The background is slightly out of focus, bringing attention to the logo on the back of the hoodie

Location/background – Taken slightly further back, this photo focuses on the background – the plants and shrubs. The model was wearing an arboriculture hoodie so we thought plants made an appropriate background.

Pose –  The final image is focused on the pose. It’s a pretty strange one, but it really does capture the model’s personality in one frame.