July 2023, Studying Portrait Painting

Keeping you informed about happenings at Deliberate Light: photos to browse or buy, photography instruction (see also Digital Photo Academy), and artifact services. To get these newsletters by email a month before they are posted here, go to the DeliberateLight.com website and click on Newsletter Signup.

NEWS

Upcoming Workshops. I am scheduled to teach the following workshops this month.

July 20, location: 30th Street Station, Philadelphia
A historic 1933 building with a magnificent classic exterior and art deco interior, great views of the river and skyline, and, as an active rail and commuter hub, plenty of people for street photos

· Mastering Your Camera Controls (1.5 hours) –DSLR/Mirrorless/Compact cameras (smartphone tutorial available separately)

· Composition in the Field (3 hours) – walking tour around the venue with instruction and hands-on practice composing photos (bring any camera)

Coming classes on August 19 in Manayunk, Philadelphia
A pretty old town with a picturesque main street and old canal, as well as photo ops from the walking bridge over the Schuylkill River and from the churches and parks scattered in the residential area on the hillsides along the river.

New Photo. Just back from a lovely trip to Niagara Falls, I am happy to share the thrill of that magnificent natural phenomenon. Seen here in an intimate photo of the Horseshoe Falls, I think the sheer overwhelming force of the thing is conveyed in that wall of water on one side and the mammoth mists that the torrent kicks up, blending easily with the clouds above to frame a pretty little peek at the green waters toppling over the ledge. The scree of rubble in the corner comes from millenia of the falls backing up slowly as it erodes the ledge of stone. Fun fact: the falls erode one ton of limestone and sandstone minerals every second which turns the water green as it roars over the edge and down the rapids, resulting in the falls moving back 1 foot a year or almost 30 feet since we last visited there. For a more detailed, enlarged view, see it on my website.

VIEWS

The first portion of our New York trip was spent in Manhattan and our visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art was the highlight that it has always been. On this occasion, we were anxious to see the exhibition on Juan de Pareja, who was an accomplished painter in the 17th century with paintings now hanging in the Prado and the Hermitage, among other places. Never heard of him, right? He was of African descent, which likely explains his lack of opportunity and general dismissal in the European art community at the time and since. Compounding that, he was a slave, the property of Diego Velázquez, the rightly famous painter. If Pareja is known at all today, it is most likely as the subject of Velázquez’s exquisite portrait of him, which I photographed at the Met where it is included in the Pareja exhibition.

In my opinion, this is a great portrait and, as a photographer who occasionally shoots portraits, I think it worth studying what the artist did to make it so. I apologize for risking further injustice to a historically slighted artist by focusing here on his portrait by another painter, but, damn, it is a great portrait.

What follows are what I think make the portrait great. But first, I cannot emphasize enough that this does not mean I think these details should be mimicked in every portrait. This is one way to create, but it is not at all the only one. Depending on the mood and the physical features of the individual and setting, there can be many different ways to create a portrait, and as you read my thoughts below, think about what other choices might have been made.

The elements of lighting, background, head, body and expression always play an important role in portraiture.

Light. The light here is not even, it falls off from relatively bright on the right to dark on the left. He is in a position where all his features (eyes, eyebrows, nose, mouth, beard) are lit, giving him an open look with shading that adds depth compared to even lighting of the entire head. I am fairly certain that Velázquez seated Pareja near a window with diffuse daylight coming in. If he had been turned more to his left, there would have been little defining shadow on his right side. If he had been turned more to his right so that half of his face (or more) had been in shadow, it would have looked more mysterious or sinister, that effect even more exaggerated if his whole body had been turned to his right so that much of his face and body front were in shadow.

Background. The background is neutral, contrasting in tonality and somewhat in color to emphasize the person. It is not busy or distracting.

Head. Pareja’s shoulders are turned a bit to his left and his head turned partially back toward the painter, with eyes looking directly at you, creating a strong sense of engagement. His face is turned enough to show his solid jawline and his nose in partial profile. If it had been turned more to his left, it would have risked showing too much whites of his eyes or that his left eye would be partially covered by his nose. Eyes are important to most human viewers: too much white can be creepy and partial view of an eye detracts.

Body. His body, what we can see of it, is leaning back slightly with shoulders back and relaxed, not hunched up or forward (what does that convey?). He is turned slightly, which still feels open but not aggressively so. On the whole, this position sends a message of attractive relaxation with assurance.

Expression. Last, but not least, the expression on his face is captivating. It is not a happy smiley face, it looks thoughtful to me, maybe a little guarded though not in any tense or antagonistic way. It feels very authentic. What did the painter do to elicit that expression? I am certain Velázquez, did not say “Say cheese!” Hint: I find it works to get that tight, fake “posing for a picture” expression off a person’s face by engaging in conversation on topics that interest them, anything to animate them to take their mind off posing and to act naturally.

Carl Finkbeiner

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