The Art of Portraits and the Nude

112 Pages·1983·11.602 MB·English

by  Jack Tresidder

THE ART
OF PORTRAITS
AND
THE NUDE
THE KODAK LIBRARY OF
PHOTOGRAPHY
CREATIVE
Digitized by the Internet Archive
2012
in
http://archive.org/details/artofportraitsOOtime

THE ART
OF PORTRAITS
AND THE NUDE

THE ART
OF PORTRAITS
AND THE NUDE
TIME
Published by Time-Life Books inassociation with Kodak books
THE ART OF PORTRAITS AND THE NUDE
CreatedanddesignedbyMitchellBeazley International
inassociationwith KodakandTIME-LIFE BOOKS
Editor-in-Chief
JackTresidder
SeriesEditor
JohnRoberts
ArtEditor
Mel Petersen
Editors
IanChilvers
LouiseEarwaker
Richard Piatt
Designers
Michelle Stamp
LisaTai
AssistantDesigner
SusanRentoul
PictureResearchers
BrigitteArora
Nicky Hughes
BeverlyTunbridge
EditorialAssistant
Margaret Little
Production
PeterPhillips
JeanRigby
ConsultingPhotographer
DonaldHonevman
CoordinatingEditorsforKodak
KennethLassiter TheKODAKLibraryofCreativePhotography
KennethOberg KodakLimited.Allrightsreserved
j
Jacalyn Salitan
TheArtof PortraitsandtheNude
ConsultingEditorforTime-Life Books ( KodakLimited,MitchellBeazleyPublishers.
ThomasDickey SalvatEditores,S.A., 1°83
Nopartofthis,workmaybereproducedorutilizedin
PublishedintheUnited States anyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanical
andCanadabyTIME-LIFEBOOKS includingphotocopying,recordingorbyanyinformation
storageandretrievalsystem,withouttheprior
President permissionoftheoriginalcopyrightowners.
ReginaldK. BrackJr. LibraryofCongresscatalogcardnumber82-629-77
ISBN0-86706-212-6
Editor LSB7320L05
GeorgeConstable ISBN0-86706-214-2 retail
Contents
6 Faces and Figures
16 Building a Portrait
18 The outdoor portrait 32 Full-length portraits
20 Natural light indoors 34 Closing in
22 Lighting faces 36 Changing the mood
I
24 Lighting faces 2 38 Self-portraits
26 Hard-edged drama 40 Full-face or profile?
28 Soft-focus flattery 42 Double portraits
30 Head and shoulders 44 Group portraits
46 Sitter and Setting
48 Choosing a pose 60 The importance of 70 Using reflections
50 Faces and features background 72 Double exposure
52 Interpreting personality 62 Indoor settings 74 The art ofconcealment
54 Makeup 64 Outdoor settings 76 Portraits at play
56 Hair 66 Movement and gestures 78 Portraits at work
58 Props and accessories 68 Mood with color
80 Photographing the Nude
82 The simple approach 96 Nudes in landscapes
84 Human geometry 98 Props and accessories
86 Form and figure with nudes
88 Texture and the body 100 Changing the image
90 The minimal approach
92 Figures in motion
94 Indoor nudes
102 Glossary 103 Index 104 Acknowledgments
AND
FACES
FIGURES
Good portraits are not just pictures of people. They
are interpretations of personality: instead of simply
recording what the sitters look like, the best por-
traits reveal what is individual about them, and
perhaps what they are feeling. Sometimes, unposed
pictures of friends or relatives can have this quality
if the natural closeness between photographer and
subject combines with technique in just the right
way. But a successful portrait ofsomeone you hardly
know is more difficult. You must quickly establish a
basic understanding ofcharacter and a mutual confi-
dence. You must decide what kind of surroundings
will strengthen the portrait and what kind of light-
ing will suit your subject. And then you must find
a pose that is telling and which at the same time lets
the subject feel at ease.
The same need for consideration and control
applies to nude photography. Effective pictures of
nudes are never haphazard, whether they are
studies of abstract human forms or natural outdoor
poses. This book shows how you can extend your
skill and creativity in two areas of photography that
require special planning and forethought. The
examples on the following nine pages succeed as
they do because the photographers all had a clear
idea of what they were trying to achieve.
AJapaneseactress,posingforastudio
portrait,performsadramaticrolefor
thecamera. Perfect,almost shadowless,
lightingemphasizesherexquisitebeauty.
Justasmuchcarehasgoneintothepose,
withoneexpressivehandincluded,a
gentlycurvingzvispofstrayhairanda
solitary rollingtear.