I was browsing through my subscribed news feed and bound onto this site showing a collection of portrait photographs. Those close-up photographs of models, artists, and celebrities are stunningly beautiful and alluring.

View it as you scroll down one after another photographs posted in 35+ Captivating Images of Beautiful Portrait Photography.

Lady Gaga Portrait Photograph

You are an amateur photographer who love backpacking. Do you travel with your digital compact camera or the professional dSLR camera?

Amateur photographers love taking pictures of beautiful portrait and natural landscape as one travel on a shoestring.

It’s a common sight to see traveling photographers carrying a 80-Litre backpack, and another bulky pack of dSLR camera, expensive gears with mini tripod carrying as a front-pack.

Both bags could easily add up to maybe 17kg of carrying weight. Is this too heavy for you?

You may look super cool, like a traveling nomad, a photojournalist, travel adventurist, or even one professional photographer.

Perhaps, one inspired to be the next Steve McCurry who shot the “Afghan Girl” that originally appeared in National Geographic magazine.

So be it a day-hike in the national park, eco-tour in wildlife park, visiting hill tribe villages, a dairy farm visit or walking distantly with high hopes of hitchhiking on the dirt track.

Those are activities most backpackers would love to experience. At the end of the day, one will happily says ” No sweat! We made it!”

Well, it also sounds like any traveler photographer who proudly owns dSLR camera like an inseparable companion touring the world. How could one refuse to leave home without these equipment to capture moments in life?

Your thought maybe…

Firstly, the burdensome weight is safe from having overcharging at the airport luggage check-in service. It is well within the prepaid baggage 20kg. That is practically true for backpackers traveling on shoestring.

Secondly, the existing weight, front and back, is wholesomely balance with near-perfect equilibrium on your body. Weighing down and securing your foothold even at the most adverse condition and natural disaster, like the earth trembling underneath your feet. Suits more for a physics-freak.

Generally, there are good points for one who has the physical strength and endurance. How about a thin fellow who has the agility to move fast, yet no strength for heavy load? Oh, I have not mentioned an extra 2kg of laptops for photo editing and uploading to Facebook album.

Is it worth carrying the additional weight of 7 ~ 10kg, while your back start to hurt painfully on the first day of your trip?

Or do you consider carrying a pocket-size compact camera that might just capable of capturing great photograph.

Like any0ne else who reads this post, I used to be in the same dilemma too. For me, I recommend to bring only the compact camera.

Here are the 10 guidelines that can help you on decide-making of carrying a pocket-size compact camera can be as worthy as your trip deserve to be.

Here it goes:-

1. Travel lightweight if you don’t like to worry about loosing your expensive equipment. Regrets if getting robbed or breaking in to cabinet lockers can happen anytime.
2. Be experimental to try out all shots; randomly or intentionally. Compact camera is capable of helping you to compose your shot as good as any dSLR camera, eventually gaining more photography experience.
3. Identify your purpose in terms of function, weights, and portability. Professional dSLR camera and high-end equipment weigh 7kg. A netbook weighs 2kg, allowing you to surf the resourceful internet and upload nice photos. Compact camera weighs less than 1kg.
4. Plan for multiple short getaways rather than an extended trip. It help to record places you have surveyed. Like what many have said, “there is always a next trip” more professionally.
5. Creativity works as brilliant as quality photograph. I agree with dSLR produce better quality images, but the expensive and heavy gears doesn’t make perfect photograph. One has to be artistic to acquire inventiveness.
6. So you have joined a guided tour group? I see… Do you know scheduled tour bus wouldn’t wait just for you to snap the best shot for sunset. As time is a concern. Maximize your time with quick snapshots from compact camera, instead of leisurely waiting for great photographic moments.
7. Compromise has to be made somewhere. One cannot have the best of everything. Focus on planning your itinerary. How about a free-and-easy trip, you could have all the time u want.
8. Take time to meet other traveling photographers and learn from them. Make new friends of same interest or travelers who own dSLR camera. Your hand holding the compact camera wouldn’t diminish their self-esteem as a profession.
9. Know your skill set of handling all functions in dSLR camera. As amateur photographer, it takes time, experience and effort to pick up the skill completely. Most give up after realizing results are the same as ordinary compact camera. That doesn’t mean compact camera is better.
10. Apply the last rule “Learn the Hard Way”. There is no restriction, you can bring both digital compact camera and dSLR equipment. “If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” ~Albert Schweitzer

I’m sharing my photography based on a digital compact camera, with some photo editing on colors and contrast. There are not from dSLR camera.

Free to visit below link to view 45 shots of travel photographs from Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos.

http://photos.cyperwin.com/travel-vietnam-laos-and-cambodia/

Conventional design of a camera captures images which technically translate into either still photographs or motion pictures. This device is nothing new, even to adorable children who love taking portrait photography.

Camera with small lens are integrated into most of our mobile phones these days.  It has become indispensable in our daily life in many ways; making it much simpler and conveniently to capture moments in a few clicks.

How camera works? How it record pictures? These simple questions should leave it to those encyclopedia writers.

To write down in detail of each individual design modular and components, and then explain the mechanism how camera works would, I think, occupy another long series of blog posts. Theoretically, it is still doable.

Such a lengthy explanation shall not be included in the context of this advanced technology I am about to introduce next.

Have you heard of ball-camera capable to capture panoramic photographs?

Imagine a spherical ball, evenly spaced and integrated with multiples of such miniature lens onto it’s round surface. User throws the ball up into the air, cameras automatically capture a panorama of surroundings. As the ball-camera descends, user catches it.

Till this point, everyone agrees it is absolutely easy to use. My great grandma living in the old folk’s home wouldn’t have any problem on this usage, either.

What comes next will require a bit of techies knowledge. One would only able to view all the recorded images in the computer by using a specialized software application.

Just last month, expertise from Computer Graphics Groups, TU Berlin, has engineered a new photographic technology dubbed as the Throwable Panoramic Ball Camera. An Emerging Technologies demonstration at SIGGRAPH Asia 2011.

The technology as described, “it captures a full spherical panorama when thrown into the air. At the peak of its flight, which is determined using an accelerometer, a full panoramic image is captured by 36 mobile phone camera modules.”

Obviously, its not a mobile camera phone. Never will the mobile phone going to design in spherical shape. Likewise, how cumbersome it can be if a traveler would to bring such a ball-camera.

While watching the video below, instead of expecting any advance technology, my first impression was user throwing the round object that look more like a volley ball player ready serve behind the line.

Whatever is your thought, this interesting technology could possibly given new experiences on how one can view the world in a panoramic perspective.

Thinking of it, how ingenious and awesome to capture portrait photographs of children in a party with a throw of the ball-camera into the air?

I have been learning to blog about basic photography since last year. As an amateur photographer, sharing my past experience has been my genuine purpose.

Helping those beginners to have a good grasp of how-to on basic photography and using the dSLR. Albeit, photo portrait painting is also my primary topics in this blog.

Therefore, you will not be able to see any topics sharing too much of in-depth knowledge, but more about fundamental.

You will be able to see below 7 good posts that I wanted to share.

At the same time, I’m also listing them out for my review. Seeking improvement, as well as, wanting to add more interesting and short topics for future photography blogging.

1. Shoot At The Widest Aperture Setting for Basic Portrait Photography
2. Generic Packing List for Outdoor Portrait Photography
3. Simplified ‘Rule of Thirds’ to Photo Portrait
4. 10 Reasons Why Compact Digital Camera is Better Choice For Photo Portrait Painting
5. How to have portrait photography without lighting studio
6. What Makes a Good Portrait Photograph
7. Full Length Portrait in Photography

Pls share your comments or opinions, if you find any of the above-mentioned topics that interest you.

PS: I know… I seriously need to revamp of my current “About Me” page. As time goes by, my aim has become more definitive on purpose for this blog.

Photorealism in the context of describing an art movement, has nothing related to computer graphic rendering.

It is a class of art having the characteristic of making a painting from the use of a photograph. The term, ‘Photorealism’, is primarily applied to paintings from United States art movement that began in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Origins

1. In the late 1960s and early 1970s in United States, photorealists were much more influenced by the work of Pop artists and were reacting against Abstract Expressionism.
2. Artists from this genre of paintings use a photograph or several photographs to create their work of art.
3. The invention of photography in the 19^th century had 3 effects on art:-
   • Many portrait and scenic artists acquired the skill of photography as career, because there were deemed inadequate in this discipline.
   • Conceptually, artists between 19^th -20^th century, used the photograph as source material and as an aid. Despite the fact of fearing that their work would be misunderstood as imitations.
   • It created new openings for artists to explore for more creativity through experimentation.
4. Thereafter, photograph has became the main references for photorealists. Reproducing reality and abstraction was the focus of art world.
5. Pop Art and Photorealism were both reactionary movements stemming from the ever increasing and overwhelming abundance of photographic media.
6. It became such a massive phenomenon in mid 20^th century, that it was threatening to lessen the value of imagery in art
7. The difference of art movement for Photorealism and Pop Art:-
   • Photorealism were trying to reclaim and exalt the value of an image. Also sustaining the fact that reproducing paintings from photograph is not mere imitation.
   • Pop Art, usually for commercial usage, were mainly pointing out the absurdity of much of the imagery. Focusing on humor or leisure purposes.

Definitions

1. The word Photorealism was coined by Louis K. Meisel in 1968. Sometimes labeled as Super-Realism, New Realism, Sharp Focus Realism, or Hyper-Realism.
2. Louis K. Meisel developed a five-point definition at the request of Stuart M. Speiser:-
   • The Photo-Realist uses the camera and photograph to gather information.
   • The Photo-Realist uses a mechanical or semimechanical means to transfer the information to the canvas.
   • The Photo-Realist must have the technical ability to make the finished work appear photographic.
   • The artist must have exhibited work as a Photo-Realist by 1972 to be considered one of the central Photo-Realists.
   • The artist must have devoted at least five years to the development and exhibition of Photo-Realist work

Style

1. Photorealist painting cannot exist without the photograph.
2. Change and movement must be frozen in time which must then be accurately represented by the artist.
3. Camera and photographs are the primary source to gather information, that aids the progression of photorealism art into another stage.
4. Image of developed photographs will be directly transfer onto canvas precisely. Either by enlarging the image by its aspect ratio, or combining a few photographs to a canvas.
5. Common means of such transfer is by projections or traditional grid techniques.
6. This results in the photorealist style being tight and precise, often with an emphasis on imagery that requires a high level of technical prowess and virtuosity to simulate, such as reflections in specular surfaces and the geometric rigor of man-made environs

Above content is a summary of defining photorealism art movement. Some of the content are duplicated, concise  and mainly the purpose of personal blogging and learning. Original content may be found in Wikipedia, with title of article as “Photorealism”

I started off to learn photography with a prosumer digital SLR camera. My initial thought was to learn basic portrait photography, without spending much on equipment. Back then, this equipment was new to me, and I don’t have a good background of which portrait lens is best for me. Neither do I know about the term ‘aperture’ and ‘focal length’, nor knowing how this 2 terms affect the photographic results.

Are you one of the self-starter, yet troubled by deciding what is best for you?

You may say, “This is not the main concern, because purchasing a new digital SLR usually comes with a general purpose kit lens”. I agree, it is either a standard zoom lens or a telephoto zoom lens. Even today, I have also noticed that most amateur photographers use kit lens as well. There is nothing wrong with this, and this was what I did back then.

After months of diligence learning in portrait photography, I realized that the results of portrait shoots does not has maximum emphasis. In particularly the background, it looks equally as sharp as the subject. Shouldn’t the background supposed to be blur? Have you experienced this before?

Please read on to learn about the causes and basic criteria for good portrait photograph.

1. Using telephoto zoom lens, wide angle lens, or macro lens is not the key factors for blurring the background. However, it does contribute to the portraiture composition. The main criteria for good portrait is selecting wide aperture for your lens.
2. The aperture of lens refers to the round mechanical openings located at the center of lens. It control the amount of lights passes through and into the digital SLR sensors.
3. Aperture is expressed as F-stop, e.g. F2.8 or f/2.8. The smaller the number, the larger the lens opening.
4. Most of the general purpose kit lens comes with aperture of f4-5.6 or f3.5-5.6.
5. Be selective. Always shoot at the widest aperture setting. Recommended to own a lens with adjustable aperture. At least f/2.8 or lower.
6. This basic feature enable the photographer to create a shallow depth of field. Capable of blurring the background, thus, emphasizing a sharp focus on the portraiture.
7. Simplest settings on for the camera’s body is to use Aperture Priority auto-exposure mode, also know as AP mode. Otherwise, select fully manual mode and experiment it with low F-Stop.

After all, just be reminded that selecting the right lens with wide aperture is very important for good portrait photography. Below portrait photograph has clearly demonstrated the use of  widest aperture setting.

Baby Portrait with Wide Aperture Setting. Specification: 50mm, f1.8

Flickr Photo credit to R.Gringo’s photostream.

Below listed a packing list for dSLR camera, shooting outdoor portrait. There are generic and necessary to make any novice photographer well-equipped.

1. Two camera bodies (at least one for backup)
2. One of each for wide-angle lens, telephoto lens, and one favorite prime lens.
3. Two on-camera flashes (at least one for backup)
4. Memory flash cards
5. Lens and body cleaning kit.
6. Five camera’s batteries; 1 set for the body, 2 sets in camera’s battery grip, and last 2 sets as back up. Additional batteries for flash lights.
7. Tripod
8. Lens filters
9. Dust blower
10. Rain coat for camera
11. Ground sheet, in case you need to kneel down for low angle portrait. Otherwise,
12. Right angle view finder would also be a good substitute for item #12.

The most accepted placement uses ‘Rule of thirds’ for composing portrait photograph. It is the basic and a proven method used by professional and amateur photographers for many years.

The design is very simple, yet requires some imaginations while taking photographs of people. A simplified ‘Rule of thirds’ divides the rectangle frame into 9 smaller ones by placing two lines across the rectangle horizontally and two lines across it vertically, creating a grid. Each set of lines divides the rectangle’s horizontal and vertical sides into three equal parts. Some camera’s feature includes imaginary grid lines when you look through the viewfinder or the display panel. It allows you to focus on the subjects and composition, instead of figuring out where to create the lines by yourself.

By understanding and applying the fundamental rule of thirds, you will not bind onto problems of where your subject should be placed in the photograph frame. This is typically useful when portrait become tighter within designated area, and probably includes one-third or less of the background for a complete composition. Examples are half-length portrait.

To photograph great portrait, always take note of the level of subject’s eyes contribute to the essence of the composition. It is also most central feature out of the facial landmarks that beautify people. The closer the portrait is, the more important the level of subject’s eyes is.

After placing your subject within the frame, adjust your view slightly so that the level of subject’s eyes is placed just above or intercepting the higher of the two horizontal lines. Next, make use of the 2 vertical lines as boundaries to help centralize your subject, ensuring that the portrait is not one-sided. Lastly, engage your subject and take your snap shoot with confidence. On top of these steps, just in mind that you are photographing people and not a pattern design. So be creative and alive, and not make your photography too symmetrical. Challenge yourself to take candid shots, it provide you with natural pose.

Rule of thirds is worth knowing and practicing, thus, regards as the cornerstone of many great portraits for beginners. Technique is also very suitable for any amateur, well pleasing to an average viewer. The resulting effort can be considered simple and ‘clean’ portrait. It’s not very unique and certainly not daringly creative. If were to evaluate and compare to the standards of ‘good picture’, in the aspect of photography art, you probably have to learn the advance methods

Full length portrait in photography, allows you to show your subject in an entirely different way from the more classical, tighter, close-up compositions. The key difference from other type of portrait is to capture the wholeness of subject, while keeping the subject focused from the surrounding. Detail of facial expression will be less emphasized, however, it allows you to incorporate with the environment as background, be it indoor or outdoor. Additionally, it provides the freedom to explore stance, posing and body language.

The list of possible poses and variations on those poses is almost endless. The challenge to compose a full length portrait is how to creatively fill the frame. Below, I have highlighted 3 key points.

Firstly, subject does not necessarily restricted to standing position. Other poses that you may want the model can be sitting, lying down, or kneeling. Perhaps, the arrangement of your model’s limbs and the angle of shoulders and their position in the frame.

Legs can be straight or crossed, hands can go into pockets or behind the back and arms can be stretched out of folded. Other poses, like making use of wall or posts, and asking your model to lean against it. All this makes up good composition for full length portrait, conveying body languages in an outwardly expression. Whatever you decide to do with your subject contributes to the same factors for close up composition can have, that is detail of facial expression.

Secondly, challenge on creatively fill the frame depends on the relationship between your model and the background. When the composition is tight it is relatively easy to make the background incidental, but when you have the whole person featured it becomes more difficult. Beside engaging the use of depth-of-field for SLR camera, basic photographic composition still applies. Such as inclusive of the foreground, mid and background will impact the composition of full length portrait as an entirety.

The last one that you have to take into account of is the costume the model has to put on, in order to feature an appropriateness with the selected background and theme. For examples, portrait depicting an Elizabeth era; your subject should not dress up in an 21^st century fashion that totally not fit into the theme. Basically, this may be subjective because it also depends on what you intended to convey the message to your viewer.

In all types portraiture it takes time to establish your own style. With fewer conventions about this kind of portrait you are likely to feel a lot less certain, when you start to experiment, but most photographers quickly learn to enjoy the freedom presented by full-length portraits.

Full Length Portrait (Standing, with High Contrast Background)

Full Length Portrait (Sitting, with a Simple Background)

Image Credit: Flickr

How to have portrait photography without lighting studio, commonly know as studio portrait. As an amateur photographer, I have used SLR camera, as well as, the point-and-shoot compact camera. Both has given me some experiences that portrait photography can possibly be done, even without a proper light studio for the professional.

I enjoy taking photographs of friends or family. These days, any user can easily learn to take pictures without worrying of its setting or adjustment. Modern cameras are build in with with lots of automated features, such as auto focus, exposure, zooming, face-detection, etc. The results can be excellent most of the time. At times, the outcome can be so badly that one continue to snap more picture till the good one appears. So what actually contribute to a good portrait photography without proper studio? Below are 2 factors that can help anyone to have notice a major difference and better results.

1) Using of on-camera flash

On-camera flash is never flattering; not only does it show every flaw and blemish, but the harsh directional light creates ugly shadows and the dreaded red-eye.

Studio portrait photographers use large flash units on stands with special softbox attachments to diffuse the light. For the home studio, all you need is an overcast day. Simply named it as ‘natural light’ in photographic terms. Place your subject by a large windows, seated so they are facing slightly towards the light. For outdoors, recommended place will be under a shade in the day.

This is all you need to do, though if the other side of their face looks too dark, you might want to employ a sheet card a a reflector to bounce some of the daylight back. A oversized white sheet taped to the wall behind them is perfect.

Most of the cameras if set to full auto, will have their on-camera flash triggered upon detect insufficient lighting. You can st it to “Without Flash”.

2) Zoom Setting

The key thing here is not to use the wide end of the zoom. If you have a 3x zoom on your camera, step backwards and use the longest zoom setting. If the zoom is longer, aim for at least the mid-way point. This will produce more flattering perspective – and avoid the ‘back of the spoon’ effect of shooting with a wide lens. The negative effect of ‘back of the spoon’ tend to be more prominent with wide angle lens, especially for SLR cameras. If the framing of the portrait is only to the face closeup, it will look kind of ‘stretched’ or slightly rounded.