I look all over my Aperture library, my portfolio, even the few printed photos I have, and the one thing I really lacking?
Portrait shots, and the one way I really enjoy shooting, contre-jour.I see plenty of portraits in my library, but none that I’m satisfied with, and the few I like are of one person who will never allow me to use them in my portfolio. I like what I have now in my portfolio, but I feel like I need something more. I can shoot parties, landscapes, objects, skylines, sky, goofs, all day everyday. But, portraits actually scare me a bit.
Should they? Well, no. But I would want to capture the whole person though. Not just their face, and some “magnum” style look, it just seems like anyone can do that.
Well, I’m not just anyone, and I don’t like (and never have liked) going with the crowd. My ideas are always grandiose and drive me crazy in the process.
I always imagine taking photos of someone in their own element, where they feel most conformable at. It just feels to me, if you’re gonna capture someone, it should be more than your idea on how to capture them. However the photo shouldn’t just yell at you, “HEY THIS IS SO-AND-SO!”
Any Tom, Dick, and Harry can wildly take pictures of someone’s fizzog in any fashion. But that’s just not me, the photo has to speak, not yell, to you.
I think this is where I get a little intimidated with the idea of me shooting portraits. Not only will I shoot around 50 to 80 shots (where almost half will be eliminated on the spot), but I don’t know if I could ever feel if I truly captured the person. There was one time, where I felt the I captured a group of people (remember the bike repair set?), but that really wasn’t a portrait set. But can you sort of get my drift?
You’re capturing someone, at a particular moment, whether it be happy, sad, angry, what ever. It should be more than someone standing in front of a cheesy background (like those from Glamour Shots, ugh), a close up, heavy make up and a cheesy smile. Okay, if you have no idea what I mean, the picture below should help.
From Digital Picture Zone, photographer unknown http://www.digitalpicturezone.com/performance-metrics/pros-and-cons-of-artificial-vs-natural-lighting-in-portrait-photography/
I mean, it’s more than a portrait, but in all terms you can use it as a portrait if you have too. But, look at it. Lovely bokeh, cool, crisp, flush, natural lighting and it just feels like she belongs there. If I could find a larger version of this photo, I would more than likely use it as a desktop image. And to be honest, if I could shoot portraits like this of people, I’d be happy.
My self doubt, is annoying, but I feel it’ll get me to where I wanna go. Sometimes my passion for photography really irks me though. 
