Our beloved gardener and the story his face tells: So, I was needing to shoot a character portrait, wondering where to go and who to shoot, and my gardener of 30 years showed up. I...

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

So, I was needing to shoot a character portrait, wondering where to go and who to shoot, and my gardener of 30 years showed up. I asked him if he would be a model for a few short minutes (like 15 or so) and surprisingly, he agreed. Some back story, he was an officer in the South Vietnamese army during that awful war, was captured when the Americans left and was a prisoner of war for 6 years. He told me he was beaten almost every day of his captivity and was allowed to receive no information about either his family or what was happening in the outside world. When I brought him into my home studio (fancy word for my garage) I asked him to sit on a stool, turn to the side a little and look at me, which is photo #1. He told me that was not the way a portrait should be taken, the individual should be facing the camera square on, and he or she should be smiling, as in photo #2. Please tell me which one best shows his character, and which is the best reflection of his life as shown on his face. Thanks for looking.

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rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

double post
--Bob

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

1- portrait
2- ID photo for driver's license, etc. Only much better quality.
--Bob

allanj Loc: New York City

Both are good. Prefer #1 -- I think it reveals more character.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

I must disagree with the gentleman--the first one is the better portrait. You did a good job on both, by the way.

Side note: If I shot a portrait of my gardener, it would have to be a selfie.

OriginalCyn Loc: Connecticut

To be fair, if you processed number two similar to number one, and cropped it in a bit, you can see a whole lot more character in his eyes. He’s a beautiful man with expressive eyes. Both show that...number one expresses the harder parts of his life while number two shows a man who has come through and is capable of softness. Number two does look like an ID photo because you haven’t totally “jonsommer-ed” it. Beautifully done.

Rab-Eye Loc: Indiana

I love #1!

dat2ra Loc: Sacramento

What is the processing that was used on #1? I always find this site more interesting when methods are included and discussed rather than solely results. Thanks.

DeanS Loc: Capital City area of North Carolina

Rab-Eye wrote:

I love #1!

By a wide margin. First one is idish.

Robeng Loc: California

jonsommer wrote:

So, I was needing to shoot a character portrait, w... (show quote)

Jonsommer,

I'm not going to be much help, I like them both but each image is different. The 1st edited to me, tells a story of a man that has seen more hardship than anyone should. I see this through his eyes. The 2nd image is a man posing as he thinks a portrait should be with a minor smile. But his eyes tell the same story to me.

Sorry Jonsommer, I wasn't much help. What do I know I just photograph girls & landscapes.

Rob

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

dat2ra wrote:

What is the processing that was used on #1? I always find this site more interesting when methods are included and discussed rather than solely results. Thanks.

I’m one of those photographers, who, if asked to repeat something on a different photo could probably not do it, I just keep slugging away until I have something I like, as it was with the top photo. But here’s what I recall, load into camera raw, mess around and make adjustments, then load into Photoshop, mess around and make adjustments, convert to jpeg, then load into Topaz Studio, select ‘dramatic HDR preset’, mess around with the sliders, then save as. Then reload into Photoshop, make minor adjustments, save as jpeg with different name, then reload into Topaz Studio again, check different preload effects, make final adjustments, save to desktop, post on the ‘hog’ and ask for opinions and/or help. Consider opinions/help offered, make corrections if so desired. Probably not very useful, was it.

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

Robeng wrote:

Jonsommer,

I'm not going to be much help, I like them both but each image is different. The 1st edited to me, tells a story of a man that has seen more hardship than anyone should. I see this through his eyes. The 2nd image is a man posing as he thinks a portrait should be with a minor smile. But his eyes tell the same story to me.

Sorry Jonsommer, I wasn't much help. What do I know I just photograph girls & landscapes.

Rob

Hi Rob,
Glad to see you’re feeling better and back to posting comments. But you’re correct, what could a guy who usually posts perfect photos of perfect women possibly know about shooting portraits of gritty old guys? Possibly quite a bit, I’m afraid. But I’d be glad to come to your new studio, at your next perfect woman shoot and give you some pointers. Could become a whole new niche for you, shoot beautiful young perfect women and making them look like a gritty old guy. Has tons of potential.

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

OriginalCyn wrote:

To be fair, if you processed number two similar to number one, and cropped it in a bit, you can see a whole lot more character in his eyes. He’s a beautiful man with expressive eyes. Both show that...number one expresses the harder parts of his life while number two shows a man who has come through and is capable of softness. Number two does look like an ID photo because you haven’t totally “jonsommer-ed” it. Beautifully done.

Hi Cynthia, um, gosh, thanks for the compliment, and with your suggestion, I’ll go back and work some more on #2 to have a fully “jonsommer-ed” version. I might post an update if I feel it’s worth it. Thank you very much for stopping, looking and taking the time to comment.

jdubu Loc: San Jose, CA

When I was shooting my parent's friends for the Chinese Association, they all wanted to pose squared and full front also. I don't know if this is a cultural thing, but it seems ingrained because all ancestral photos I have seen are similarly posed.

The only times I can get posed photos is from a family friend who is a very well known Cantonese opera star living in the bay area. When he is in full makeup and costume he seeks me out to do some posed shooting.

lmTrying Loc: WV Northern Panhandle

I think it would be interesting to get your gardener in your studio, maybe on a hot day, offer him snacks and drinks, and get him talking about anything passionate to him (family, work, war, prison camp, hobbies, whatever makes his face and eyes dance). Walk around and fiddle with things as you are talking. Sometimes just lean on the camera. Just keep taking pictures. I'll bet you will get some really interesting images that will in themselves tell amazing stories. Be sure to present him some finished photos when they are done, along with a thank you, and how much you enjoyed your conversation.