My Portraiture; Strangers in front of Strangers

I went to the local museum 'The Collection' to find some portraiture painting and asked strangers to choose their favourite painting and then I took their portrait in front of it. I didn't ask anyone to do anything in particular whilst I was taking their photo, I just wanted to see their reaction to the camera and the portraits. Here are my final 4 people and their portraits:

1. 

I found this woman interesting as she was very aware of the camera she asked if I wanted to take multiple shots of her from all angles and from different perspectives. I found this interesting as I liked the way she was attentive and got involved with the project. I also found it interesting how she chose her portrait as it took her a long time to choose which one was her favourite and then position herself ready for her photo. I chose the middle image as my final photo as I like the way she is looking partly at the photo and then at the same time into the camera as it shows she has an interest in both. I also like the facial expression she chose as it looks almost displeasing which is contrary to the way she acted when I asked her if she wanted her photo taken, which makes me wonder why she wanted to portray herself like that.
From a technical point of view I dislike the portrait as the lighting was very difficult to work with as the gallery was poorly lit so therefore the picture did not come out as sharp as I wanted it to making the picture less atheistic to look at. I do however like the distance from her to the painting as I feel you can easily see her and the painting .

2. 

             

My second picture was also interesting as this person wanted to have a picture with different portraits as he liked them both. I liked this as I got to try out different lighting, however it is still very dark. I like the first picture here as it goes with the rest of the collection as all the painting portraits have a wooded frame like this one, but I do not like the cropping of the photo as it cuts off the bottom of the frame. I should have turned the camera round and taken a portrait shot rather than landscape. Furthermore, the camera is pointing upwards towards the guy which isn't the best angle, I feel I should have taken it straight on to get a better over-all image. I do like this photo however as I feel this picture is more sharper than the others and more defined. I also feel as if the focus is on his face rather than the painting which is what I wanted. I also like the gap between the guy's head and the top of the photo as I feel this is enough head-room for the picture.

3.

I like both of these pictures as they are both different. I like the first picture as it is taken as a portrait and you get to see more of the guy in this one and I also like how he is standing in this picture as it makes it more formal and professional looking, however the frame of the painting is only straight when you look at it from certain angles. Furthermore the picture is very dark again, due to the lighting. The focus is on the painting rather than the person which is not what I wanted, which isn't a major matter but I would still prefer to have it on the subject. The second portrait is very different to the first as it features two paintings rather than one which gives the viewer more to look at, however I don't like the positioning of all the paintings and where he is standing as I feel it overcrowds the overall image and therefore draws the attention away from the subject. I do however like the lighting in this image as it's brighter than the others and makes the guy stand out but it still isn't enough to make him stand out completely. This is why I chose the first image. 

4. 

This ,an was acted different;y compared to other people that I approached as when he agreed to have his picture taken he demanded that he didn't want to look at the camera, so therefore I had to take a side shot of him. I liked this fact as it made me wonder what he was thinking when he's looking at the portrait behind him and I feel this is a good thing for the viewer to ponder.  However as the man wanted to take a different slant on things I had to change the camera settings but i didn't want him to be waiting for too long so therefore I think that the image isn't the best quality. I feel as if he isn't quite in focus but the background is making the image look blurry but I do like the composition of the image as it looks like he is looking into the eyes of the painting which makes the picture interesting. I feel this image is more thought-provoking rather than aesthetically pleasing and this is why I chose to use this picture. 

Overall I found it hard working with people as I panicked when it came to taking the pictures that I wouldn't have enough time to change the settings as I didn't want to keep people waiting. I also chose a location where the lighting was difficult to adjust and use to my advantage and this is why some of the pictures aren't to the best quality. I did however try to come up with an interesting concept and I would at some point like to re-do some of the portraits.