Five Types of Portrait Photography

Pictures are not only means to capture memories; they are also an efficient way to express creativity. Portrait photography or portraiture is one way to express a person's mood and personality. With a camera and good lighting, you can create drama and art out of you or other persons' body.

Portrait photography usually gives emphasis on a person's face. Modern photographers however, incorporate other parts of the body and different types of background. Portraiture comes in five different types, namely candid, creative, gritty, nude, and fashion photography. Read on if you want to know more about these types.

Candid - The subject is photographed without his or her knowledge. This way, what shows in the picture is the natural side of the person. Clicking the camera while people are moving results in interesting facial reactions and amusing poses you can never get from models projecting before the lenses. This however, involves a certain responsibility as an artist. You simply can't release or publish your candid photos unless your subject signs a "model release form" as permission.

Creative - Creative photography aims to take pictures that are more uniquely artistic. This type of portrait photography can be done with the application of different focus techniques, angles, lighting, lens types, and other elements. Photographers experiment with their cameras, other elements, and sometimes their subjects to come up with artistic shots. Creative portraits often make the subjects more interesting.

Gritty - Most gritty portraits come in black and white. Models show different emotions to add drama to the entire photo. Most pictures appear fairly grainy, thus the term gritty portraits. Light is one crucial element in creating such photos. It helps emphasize the features of the face and other elements in the picture.

Nude - Many people often see nude photography as a form of pornography. Most photographers practicing in this area believe the human body is one the most interesting subjects. Nude photography is all about art and not a means to express any sensual meaning. Pose and lighting go hand in hand to make great nude pictures. When you want to have a nude portrait of yourself or with your partner, ensure the photographer is professional enough to make it look classy and not against your preference.

Fashion - As the name implies, this type of photography focuses more on the clothes worn by the subject. Most fashion portraits come in full body shots to show the overall appeal of the dress or any piece of clothing. Some fashion portraits come in close up shots to show more details of the garments. Backgrounds and locations are also important in this type of photography. These elements must match the clothes to express glamour or display a brand of clothing.

Digital Nude Photography - Top Tips on How it is Done

Nudity is a form art that dates back to the ancient Greeks. Paintings and sculptures were erected to depict the various gods and goddesses of the time to serve as a reminder for all time. Talented sculptors and artists were responsible for these works of art. So how do we create a modern day equivalent on representing nudity in art?

Photography is visual art and photographing nudity has been around since the camera was invented. Nude photography can involve either half or the full body. An appropriate location can set the mood together with a variety of poses. Nowadays, we can take advantage of the benefits that digital photography brings us. But it is not all about the camera. There are 3 contributory attributes that will make a perfect nude photograph and these are the camera, the model and the location.

The Camera
There is an extensive list of benefits as why digital photography is so superior to film cameras and why all photographers now use them. This is no different in nude photography. Many seasoned professionals and keen amateurs choose the single lens reflex digital camera (or SLR). Pictures are previewed before the shutter is pressed via the built in LCD screen. Pictures are also reviewed after the shutter is pressed via the built in LCD screen so the photographer can choose to keep or discard the photo. Memory sticks are used instead of film - the main difference being is memory sticks are reusable which means once the photos are upload into a computer, the memory stick can be wiped clean and is ready to use again. Images can be transformed by the camera or by software to a vast array of photo effects including black and white or sepia.

The Model
This is the person either chosen or volunteered to pose in the shot as nude and must be someone who is completely confidant and comfortable with baring all in front of the camera. This person does not have to be a magazine glamour girl or guy but appropriate to how the photographer wishes to portray his art. Often photographers take portraits of their models before they are nude.

Why is Nude Photography Viewed As Pornographic?

Nude photography is typically viewed in one of two ways-as either pornographic or as fine art. The key to successful nude photography is learning to do it in such a way that there is no doubt when looking at the photographs that they are clearly intended to be artistic.

Rules for Nude Photography
First of all, there are a few clear rules that photographers who wish to shoot artistic nudes should adhere to.

Rule 1. Never do a nude photograph of anyone under the age of 18 years old and never without the person's full awareness and consent. In addition to being 18 years or older, the person being photographed must be of sound mind, legally responsible for his or herself, and exercising sound judgment-i.e., not impaired by alcohol, drugs, or anything else.

The only exception to this rule is shooting "naked baby" photos, and most photographers adopt the rule of "only up to one year old" for these, with parental consent, and with a parent present.

There are some occasions where parents will catch a snapshot of a child older than one year of age naked in the bathtub, running around the house after they have learned to undress themselves, and the like, but this is also the exception-and this is with your own children or grandchildren.

Rule 2. Always have a clear understanding-preferably in writing-with the model as to how and when the nude photographs will be used, printed, or published and by whom. I could write an entire article on that alone, but that pretty much sums it up.

For the purposes of this article, "nude photography" will refer to posed nude photographs of legal adults. All of that being said, let's focus on how to create tasteful, artistic nude portraits.