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Exploring a portrait from above
Discover how ground, clothing, and gesture enter a portrait viewed from above.
Looking down a little can invite the ground into a portrait. Fabric, hands, and the surface around a seated person can join the face in making the picture. Explore a comfortable angle together, then notice how much of that surrounding world you want to include.
Let the ground become part of the picture.
Seated portrait viewed from above · Photograph: Yenra
Here, straw-covered ground surrounds a seated figure. Face, folded hands, blue-purple skirt, and wings gather within that textured background. Follow the pale lines in the ground, then the larger shapes of the clothing. The view from above brings those surfaces into the same picture.
Look at the spaces between the person and the frame edges. The ground helps describe the setting and gives the fabric another texture to sit beside. In your own portrait, a familiar floor, path, or patch of grass may offer something equally interesting to notice.
Compare a closer and a broader view.
Woman in Fairy Costume · Photograph: Yenra
The broader landscape view includes more of the skirt and surrounding ground. Hands rest on the fabric, and the clothing spreads across the frame. Take a moment to follow its folds before returning to the face.
Woman in Blue Dress with Fairy Wings · Photograph: Yenra
The closer landscape view gives the face, wings, and upper part of the clothing a different balance. Expression and hand position vary across this sequence along with framing and viewpoint. Enjoy the possibilities each photograph offers; several choices are changing together.
These three records were made at 16:12:18, 16:12:37, and 16:13:03 on September 18, 2011. Looking between them can suggest an experiment of your own: try including more surrounding space, then less, and compare what each view brings into the portrait.
Choose an angle together.
Begin with a willing portrait partner and a seated position they enjoy. A chair works well. Make a photograph from a familiar height, then explore a modestly higher view with both feet on the ground. Ask what feels comfortable and which parts of the setting you both want to include.
Look at the photographs together. One person may notice an expression; the other may enjoy the shape of the clothing or the ground around it. Those responses can guide your next picture. A favorite can reflect what you both enjoyed making.
Look back with curiosity.
- What does the ground contribute to the background?
- How do clothing or hands help shape the picture?
- Which view do you both enjoy, and what might you try next?
Continue with Changing your viewpoint, Exploring seated portraits, Seeing clothing as shape, or Exploring portrait framing.
Browse all 56 photographs in the September 18, 2011 gallery · Take the portrait from above experiment with you →