Portrait Assignment

Portrait Assignment:
Our portrait assignment is important because we will be using these negatives to perform the next two assignments that deal with creative printing techniques. 

When shooting for this assignment, I want you to think about a classic black and white portrait; where the subject's head and shoulders  pretty much fill the frame and the background is very secondary to the subject.  You should strive to capture an attitude about your subject that depicts a feeling or emotion.  To further the emotive aspect of your portrait we are going to "push" your film when you shoot. 

To "push" your film, you will use our regular 400 ASA film, but fool your camera into thinking that it has much faster film then it really is using ... so change your film speed setting to 1600 if possible, or 800 if you can't set it as high as the 1600 mark.  When you do this, your camera thinks it has faster film than it really does, so your negatives are underexposed.  To compensate for this under exposure, you will over process your film.  The formula that you follow simply increases the original time to the original time + half for each step increase.  So if your original time is 8 minutes, you add 8 + 4 and process your film for 12 minutes instead of 8.  You do this for each step increase (doubling of your number) of your ASA setting. 

Why do this?  This changes your film so that the grain is increased, the contrast is heightened and the edges of your image softens.  Your image is altered creatively more and more the further you push your film.  It becomes a technique that gives you control over how the final image is shaped ... you're not limited to the technical expectations and the make-up of your films' chemistry. 

Keep only one person in your picture.  It does not have to be the same person, but it can be.  Stay aware of what your F-stop is set to.  You want to have a somewhat shallow depth of field, but you don't want such a limited focus that only one feature on their face is in focus.  You should generallly focus on the eyes of your subject, but since you are shooting a full roll of film, play with that rule a bit; focus on a whisp of hair, the curve of the neck, an earring, etc. on a few frames.

and have fun!