Field notes · Look · Try · Compare
Exploring a profile portrait
Try a side view and discover another way to describe a face.
A side view offers another way to describe a face. The forehead, nose, lips, and chin become an outline against the surroundings, while hair and headwear contribute their own shapes. Exploring a profile can be a relaxed collaboration between a photographer and a portrait partner.
Compare the front and the side.
Woman Wearing Floral Headband · Photograph: Yenra
Woman in Flower Crown · Photograph: Yenra
The front-facing photograph brings both eyes, floral headwear, and a hand near the shoulder into view. In the side-facing photograph, the facial contour becomes more distinct. Pale pink hair and flowers remain part of the arrangement, and open space lies to picture left.
Follow the line from forehead to chin in the side view. Then compare the features visible in the front view. Each photograph offers a different description. A profile concerns the side of the face and head; the direction someone looks with their eyes is another choice you can explore.
Look where the outline meets its surroundings.
Front-facing portrait with a pale shoulder wrap · Photograph: Yenra
Profile portrait with a pale shoulder wrap · Photograph: Yenra
The pale shoulder wrap connects these two portraits. The front view shows both eyes and pink clothing. The side view brings the facial outline, hair, and white hair accessory into a different relationship with the warm surroundings.
Let your eye travel around each head and shoulder. Notice where the outline is easy to follow and where similar tones meet. These photographs give you visible relationships to investigate in your own setting. A small change in camera position can reveal a new edge or a different patch of background.
Choose a view together.
Start with a comfortable position and invite your portrait partner to help choose what to try. You can move the camera, invite a small turn, or remain seated together. Compare the pictures and talk about what each of you enjoys. A self-portrait or the side view of a familiar object can offer another starting point.
Look back with curiosity.
- What becomes visible from the side?
- How does the outline meet the background?
- Which view would you like to explore further?
Continue with Exploring gaze in a portrait, Exploring a turn in a portrait, or Exploring portrait framing.
Browse all 123 photographs from Faire, October 1, 2016 or all 219 photographs from Renfest Closing Day 2013.