7
Reveal a subject’s hobby

Portraits should try to reveal something of the sitter’s personality, or give clues to their hobbies and interests. Giving a viewer visual clues is the easiest way to do this, and you can be as understated or as blatant as you wish. One effective method for representing this is to include clothing or items that are associated with the subject’s interests in the frame. Depending on the style of the image, make these elements as bold and graphic as you like, or instead place subtle clues to force the viewer to discover a hidden secret.

STELLA

This is a very traditional portrait in terms of pose and lighting, with a well-structured pose and a relatively simple lighting set-up (one softbox and one reflector). The sitter is a very keen pianist, which is revealed by placing the piano in the background, but throwing it out of focus so as not to be distracting but still be identifiable. The clothing was kept suitably formal and the colours matched to keep all the tones even throughout the frame.

Canon EOS-1DS, 28-70mm at 50mm, 1/200 sec at f/4, ISO 400