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JRN 420 Photography Studio Techniques

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Portable Studio Portrait

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Due: November 3, 2025

A studio portrait must be more than just a photograph of your subject. It must have mood, personality, and tell a story about the subject. With expressions, posing, and lighting, a portrait photographer can portray any mood from happiness to gloom. Bring out the personality of your subject. Including props and pertinent clothing in the scene to help reveal your subject beyond a record of what he/she looks like.

THE PEOPLE YOU CHOOSE IS PARAMOUNT TO THE SUCCESS OF YOUR PORTRAIT. CHOOSE AN INTERESTING CHARACTER.

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Directions:

  1. Use a soft-box or umbrella  as your main light. You may use other strobes and reflectors.
  2. Avoid flat light.
  3. Use a clean studio-like background.
  4. You must have good separation between the background and your subject. In other words, get your subject as far away from the background as possible. Try to blur the background.
  5. Iron the background or steam it if it has distracting wrinkles or blur it by using a wide aperture and a long lens, and get fairly close.
  6. Vary your angle. Shoot close-ups, medium shots and head to toe.
  7. Move the lights. Shoot. Shoot. Shoot. Move the lights again. Experiment. Figure out: ISO. Shutter speed. Aperture. Power of each strobe. Distance of each strobe.
  8. Zoom in on your photos on the back of your camera, see the light, then make adjustments.
  9. Write a complete caption. Best to include a quote.
  10. All posted images should be toned properly.
  11. Your photos from in class work must be posted.
  12. Photograph two completely different portraits with two completely different subjects. Each buddy should find one subject and coordinate to photograph each other’s subject during the same session if possible for efficiency.

Remember:

  • Spend lots of time brainstorming your ideas.
  • Go with a plan but leave room for spontaneity
  • Keep it simple
  • Use props
  • Use clothing, uniforms or costumes effectively
  • Talk with your subjects and keep them at ease
  • Let them contribute but remember you are in total control
  • Leave some time for yourself in case you need to re-shoot

A headshot shows what the subject looks like. A portrait reveals what is inside the person and much more. The viewer must feel it. Choose a special character. Plan thoughtfully and wisely. Use props. Light well. Be confident. Take charge. Go nuts. Have fun.

You will be graded on the following:

  • Light
  • Composition
  • Personality
  • Toning
  • In class assignments posted to blog

 

Good Examples:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



“There were guys that didn’t shave in the plants, some guys just had their wives bring them stuff. I didn’t have to worry about it, I was only 22 or so at the time,” – Ralph Lockhart, 91. The photo on his face is of a sign left in the plant by strikers when the strike ended, “We shave when victory is ours.” Lockhart worked the night shift in Fisher 1 in 1936 at the time of the strike. He and other workers came went back to their places after a break, but didn’t go back to work. He stayed in Fisher 1 from that night through the first week of the strike.

 

ISSUE ILLUSTRATION 2nd Place – Ellen Jaskol, Rocky Mountain News, “Double Weight” Photo Illustration for a fitness story about using your own weight to work out. rbcse “Double Weight”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Members of the CMU Women’s Lacrosse Team, Northville Sophomore, Erin Keranan and Lansing Junior, Katie Jo Knechtel stand next to each other. The pair has been playing lacrosse for three and six years respectively.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Renaissance actor Paul Gruenke, kneels beside his broad sword.

 

Houghton Lake senior Luke Swab has been doing BMX since he was 10. He goes riding every weekend and as much as he can during the week between classes.

 

 

 

Isabella County Sheriff’s Deputy Kevin E. Dush is a member of the Traffic Team, a coalition of area law enforcement agencies to keep speeding down on local highway M-20. “Since the start of the Traffic Team accidents on M-20 have gone down around 50%, even though traffic on the road has increased severely.”

 

 

Farmington Hills freshman Casey Shortt has been studying Russian ballet since she was five; she usually spends over three hours a day stretching and dancing to stay sharp and keep in shape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Central Michigan University Junior, Mike Gulewicz releases a wisp of smoke at his Lexington Ridge Apartment last Saturday. Gulewicz has always had a knack for French inhaling, blowing smoke rings and performing various other tricks with smoke. First, I set up 3 lights: one in front of my subject pointing up at his face, one next to my subject and one behind. I then had him paint his face green with face paint and wear red sunglasses that I bought for $5 at K-mart. I then had a friend hold up a large piece of white poster board as to create a significant red color in the lenses. Finally, I told my subject to slowly release smoke from his mouth as to cover his face while I shot rapidly with a telephoto lens.

 

 

 

Saxophonist, Jack Kinsey, a Clarkston Junior, said that he decided to pursue the saxophone because he “didn’t like how other people played it,” so he wanted to do it better. “To me, the pursuit of music is like taking indescribable elements of character and life into a medium that allows others to understand,” Kinsey said.

 

 

 

Lake Leelanau Junior Elizabeth Korson “puts her hair down” as she rocks out to a song by the David Crowder Band. Korson has been playing the guitar for two years and hopes to someday write her own music.

 

 

 

Rodney Junior Karl Gregory caresses his bike which was reclaimed from his grandfather’s barn at the beginning of the school year.

 

 

Portrait of Quentin. Softbox on model’s right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nic Paradise,18 of Rochester, Michigan practices different tagging styles. Paradise has been making graffiti since the 4th grade. “I like the exposure. I like my name to be known for my style (of Graffiti), I like different styles form different areas. You meet all kinds of different people (through graffiti) just like skateboarding. Its like addicting, its like an adrenaline rush. Its like not a lot of people know the feeling or experience. It’s something I live for. There’s that risk and that fear factor to it and Its something I need to do,” Paradise said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bad Examples:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  1. Studio Lighting Assignments – Welcome to JRN 521!

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