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Poster Post
4/07/2012 10:48:10 a.m.

kathleen

Posts 221 		Hi photographers of the ‘Portraits at Work’ Competition images.
“Wow” I must say you all have been out there giving it a go, well done!
I have received photos named A to Z and a Za, 27 images in all. Great effort from the ones that enjoy a bit of competition, getting more each time.
So my alphabet a to z of photographers, I know you will all be waiting, so this is just a quick note to say I am impressed with compositions, content, variety, angles, etc., and again you have not made it easy.

An environmental portrait is much more than just a portrait shot outside the studio. By photographing the subject in their own environment, we give ourselves a look into their world and to find out something more about them. In some respects an environmental portrait is a photograph of the person's personality. Not always easy to achieve.

Below are a couple questions on the subject of environmental portraiture with-out getting too much in-depth that you can ask yourself while you are waiting for me to critique your images and choose our winner. This is always a good little exercise for the photographer to even come to their own conclusions in how they or others may have done and some of the details to what will be looked at in their entries.

Q. For ‘Portraits at Work’ (environmental portraiture), have I chosen a good place/environment that tells my prospective customers something about the model/person in my image?
TIP: (The key to good environmental portraiture is a good environment. Choose a place that tells you something about the model. The background is an important part of the image and should be well thought through. Every visible element should tell us more about the person in the picture. That does of course not mean that we should fill the frame to bursting point with clutter, what it means is that we may have to tidy up, move things, or rearrange, to do everything possible to make the environment tell us something about its owner) OR (A single object environment. A man in a white shirt, approx in his forties, tidy haircut, friendly smile. This man could be anyone. He could be an office worker or a banker. Now put a stethoscope around his neck. Suddenly you are looking at a doctor. Often it is not about the quantity of visual clues you include in the picture, but rather about their symbolic strength).

Q. Did I use the light and/or flash to my best advantage?

TIP: (Work with the available light to get your desired effect for your image. Sometimes you might have to wait for another time of the day or maybe enhancing it with a little bit of fill flash where needed, or using a reflector to soften a shadow. Or even refraining from overpowering the picture with flash as sometimes the light with which the subject surrounds himself tells us a great deal about him, for instance, a student working late into the night in a darkened room with only a desk lamp illuminating his books gives the impression of a person of diligence and focus).

Q. Did I get the balance right to make my image interesting and have impact?

TIP: (It is not always easy to get the balance between the subject and their environment right, but when that balance is achieved the images can have real impact and interest.
Filling the frame with your subject’s portrait can help those viewing the image to know where to look without distraction and in many cases will leave you with a portrait that is intimate and which has impact.
But sometimes this ‘fill the frame’ rule, like other photographic rules, does not always apply in every situation, and there are times when filling the frame could actually lessen the impact of your shot)

Hope there may be something helpful there in those tips for anyone just starting out.
Kathleen
6/07/2012 10:40:03 a.m.

mychillybin team

Posts 637 		Kathleen has sent in her short list of 10 images with comments, and declared a winner - so we will process all the images through into a chillybin for all to see, and try to get this report out to all later today in a photographers newsletter. (The image below is the icon image from the library for the month's competition, not the competition winner).

warm regards
the chillys
edited by mychillybin team on 6/07/2012
work portrait mychillybin100789_206_Large.jpg
6/07/2012 6:14:34 p.m.

mychillybin team

Posts 637 		Newsletter going out now with commentary from Kathleen on most of the images, and announcing the winner. herewith.

Will add more here later once the newsletter is out.

the chillys
6/07/2012 8:25:30 p.m.

Thadeus

Posts 12 		Thanks to Kathleen for her insightful comments. Obviously she has put a lot of effort in has gone to great pains to be fair and constructive.
7/07/2012 10:18:20 a.m.

Scene Stealer New Zealand

Posts 51 		Oh shucks you guys! I would like to thank Kathleen particularly, for the huge amount of time and effort she obviously put into this project. Fantastic feedback and I feel honoured to have won. I'd also like to thank my model Keri Mei for allowing me to spend a morning in her 'space' and making a nuicance of myself.

I'd like to thank for grandfather for letting me play with his old Leica camera, and for my Mum and Dad for giving me a Box Brownie for my 10th birthday ( I am showing my age here!!)

I'd like to thank my devoted husband for painstakingly teaching me how to use my first digital camera - a bird of small brain am I when it comes to technology.

I'd like to thank my daughters for allowing me to submit images of them to My Chillybin and for the patience they have shown throughout their lives, while waiting for me to mess around with my camera to get 'that shot' , mostly when we were in a hurry to get up the mountain!

Last of all I'd like to thank the Acadamy, aka My Chillybin for their support and encouragement over the years! I couldn't have done it without them.

There, is that 3 minutes......?
7/07/2012 10:41:24 a.m.

mychillybin team

Posts 637 		Well done, and well said, Pippa.

You are one of the 'foundations' of mychillybin; a member since 'leap year day' in 2008.

It is your sort of capability and commitment that underpins the market growth that we continue to see in mychillybin month by month.

cheers for now
the chillys
edited by mychillybin team on 7/07/2012
WorkPortraitXWinnerWeb.jpg
7/07/2012 8:15:13 p.m.

Kiwiangel

Posts 101 		Congratulations, Pippa, and a lovely, deserving image it is, too.

Well done and thanks, Kathleen. The feedback/critique on images must have taken you some time to think through and write up and it is so valuable to growing those skills and improving success rate of acceptance and sales. You did a great job and I hope you also enjoyed doing it.

Thanks MCB for another month of inspiration and, finally, best wishes to all who are working on July's theme of Shopping. Big Grin
8/07/2012 4:53:44 p.m.

fatsprat

Posts 135 		A hugely successful competition, lots of luverly images for the library. Congrats Pippa, and others for some very diverse and Kiwi work portraits.

I am shamed to not have entered anything into this one. But definately got some images coming for the July comp.

Karen
11/07/2012 5:28:56 p.m.

Canon_S.I.

Posts 283 		Yep,well done Pippa great shot,and well done Kathleen also for your brilliant comments and time and experience put into the competition,if you'd like i could have a quiet word with David and get you on the M.C.B. staff as a permanent judge Seriously..it could be good for all..But i'll let it simmer for now..i believe they have enough on their plate @ the mo...cheers.
11/07/2012 9:03:39 p.m.

Canon_S.I.

Posts 283 		Was the prize actually mentioned? sorry if i missed it somewhere but i assume it was the same as last month,as you state!The prize is specified with each individual competition on the site.I don't recall seeing a prize for this months comp..july...or june...again i could be wrong
11/07/2012 9:38:22 p.m.

kathleen

Posts 221
Canon_S.I. wrote:

Yep,well done Pippa great shot,and well done Kathleen also for your brilliant comments and time and experience put into the competition,if you'd like i could have a quiet word with David and get you on the M.C.B. staff as a permanent judge Seriously..it could be good for all..But i'll let it simmer for now..i believe they have enough on their plate @ the mo...cheers.


Thanks for the canon SI, but I'm good just doing what I'm doing and helping out when I can if extra needed. It was great to be able to give feedback if anyone was interested on their entries. Thanks again for the thumbs up. Kathleen
11/07/2012 9:41:50 p.m.

kathleen

Posts 221
Kiwiangel wrote:

Congratulations, Pippa, and a lovely, deserving image it is, too.

Well done and thanks, Kathleen. The feedback/critique on images must have taken you some time to think through and write up and it is so valuable to growing those skills and improving success rate of acceptance and sales. You did a great job and I hope you also enjoyed doing it.

Thanks MCB for another month of inspiration and, finally, best wishes to all who are working on July's theme of Shopping. Big Grin


Thanks kiwiangel
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