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The Depth-of-Field Device
Using a shallow depth-of-field can add impact to your portrait session.

by Rick Ferro

There are many techniques you can use to jazz up your portraits. Incorporating a shallow depth-of-field to selectively focus on your subject while blurring out the background for aesthetic effect is one such method. Combine this technique with complementary makeup and lighting, appropriate posing, and creative post-processing in Photoshop, and you’ll be able to transform a commonplace image collection into a stunning portrait series.
I’ll use a recent glamour session of mine to illustrate this technique. The young lady who commissioned the glamour session scheduled a consultation with me prior to the actual photo shoot. She wanted a series of environmental portraits and needed to confirm we were on the same page.
At our preshoot session, we discussed the time of day for the shoot, as well as her clothing, hair, and makeup. She wasn’t keen on wearing heavy makeup, but I explained how properly applied makeup would lend structure to her face. I assured her that I would be using soft lighting, but that without cosmetic enhancements to her eyes and lips, and without properly contouring the lines on her face, she might not be happy with the end results. (After hearing my explanation, she assured me that she would hire an independent makeup artist on the day of the shoot).

For the big day, I used a Tamron 28-300mm VC lens on my Fuji S5. My first order of business was to ensure my client was illuminated properly. The lighting was actually simple: I positioned the sun behind her to serve as the hair light (to separate her from the background and add dimension) and used a reflector to bring in additional light as needed.

I placed my Sekonic 358 meter under her chin and pointed it toward the camera. This guaranteed proper exposure every time. Once I knew the exposure, I was able to custom-white-balance for perfect skin tone.

This image is right out of the camera: Notice the shallow depth-of-field, beautiful hair lighting, and light that’s bouncing back in her face from the reflector. The expression of my model told the main story, but I crafted the shot so that her hands would also be softly incorporated into the image.

© Rick Ferro

Look closely at my client’s eyes in this photo. I used the Dodge tool in Photoshop (as well as some Nik filters) on her eyes to give them a lighter look. I quickly showed her this photo to make her feel more confident as she modeled.

© Rick Ferro

For this session, I didn’t just want sweet smiles—I also wanted a fresh, sexy look that modeling agencies would find appealing. I wanted my subject’s eyes to talk to the camera. The subtle head tilt and raised shoulder created just the sort of image I was looking to achieve.

© Rick Ferro

No matter which way I turned my subject, I tried to make sure that the lighting stayed beautiful—it was just a matter of switching up poses. This image shows a two-thirds view to the camera. I turned the model’s head to the right until I could see only a ¼ inch of skin on the side of the eye to the viewer’s right. You don’t see any ear at all in the image. In fact, you’ll notice that in magazines or on television, models are always directed to turn their heads until their ears aren’t visible.

© Rick Ferro

In this image, even though I turned the model’s head toward the tree, I was still able to maintain nice details in the shadow area thanks to proper metering. My shadows are still soft and not too deep.

© Rick Ferro

I wanted my subject’s hands to bring the viewer’s eye back to her face. Notice the way I have her shoulders positioned: I think it’s important to open the shoulders up for poses like this but to also position them on a slant. You never want to have your model’s shoulders square to the camera.

By combining all of these posing techniques, keeping the light squarely on my subject, and utilizing the Tamron 28-300 VC lens to achieve the shallow depth-of-field I needed, I was able to produce beautiful, soft images that my client loved.

For more information about my work and equipment, go to www.tamron-usa.com and www.ferrophotographyschool.com.