الخلفية في تصوير البورتريه The Background .. كتاب فن التصوير الفوتوغرافي

The background in portrait photography

The background plays an important role in photographing a portrait. Its position, color, and degree of illumination greatly affect the appearance of the image.
The background should never be dominant lest it attract attention to itself and should be lit enough for the image to appear at its best. In general, it should be a neutral gray, or pastel in color, and far enough from the subject to take it out of focus, which hides its defects such as scratches or stains that may be on it, and to avoid the appearance of shadows on it from the person.

The background should be a little lighter or a little deeper than the person's lighting so that the two things do not mix. But the difference should not be large, lest this difference, and the sudden transition between the two degrees, attract attention from the person.

Camera height in relation to the person:

The height of the camera in relation to the person has an important effect on portrait photography.
If you use a medium or small focal length lens, and place the camera close to the person required for the image, the level of obtaining the lens size is very sensitive, so it is recommended to use a lens with a long focal length for portraiture work. As a general rule, the best position for the camera level is for the lens to be at the level of the person's chin.

- High position of the camera

The image taken from a high position of the camera for the person tends to show the neck is shorter than it actually is, and this position emphasizes the top of the face and shows a larger section of the hair and lengthens the nose.

- Low mode for the camera

When the camera is low for a person, the neck appears longer than it is, as well as the bone of the mouth and chin, while the forehead becomes smaller and less hair appears.
In general, the height of the camera must be chosen to suit the person to be photographed, either to show some of his features or to hide others.

- lenses

The changes that we mentioned, which occur in the appearance, shape and size of the elements (neck, chin, nose ... etc.) are caused by the perspective shortness. These changes become more evident when we use a short-focus lens, especially since in order to obtain a required size of the image, the lens must be brought very close to the person, which increases these distortions.
As a general rule, the camera should not be brought closer to the person than 2 to 2.5 m.
If the image is small from this distance, do not bring the camera closer, but enlarge the small image when it is printed.

Picture 6 shows the distortions that occur in the person's features as a result of the camera getting too close to him. Notice the exaggeration in the size of the chin and nose, and the narrowness of the face. As for picture 7, it is of the same person, taken from a suitable distance, and we notice its natural appearance.

Focusing

The eyes must always be clearly focused in portrait photography, and this focus is important for two things: the first, because there is a well-lit point on the eyes that can be used as a target for focus work, and the second is because the eyes are the two most important points on the face, and they must be clarified as much as possible, because the image of a face is very clear. Unclear is a failed and disturbing image.