Portrait of someone in a wheelchair
Goobergrape
I have to shoot a portrait of a quadraplegic woman this weekend. I was
wondering if anyone has any experience on photographing people in
wheelchairs and could give me some ideas on setting up the shot and
camera angles etc.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Charles
Paul Skelcher
> I have to shoot a portrait of a quadraplegic woman this weekend. I was
> wondering if anyone has any experience on photographing people in
> wheelchairs and could give me some ideas on setting up the shot and
> camera angles etc.
Charles, get down to chest level or lower with a 35 or 50 to convey a sense
of strength and control.
Larry Miracle
I wouldn't ask them to be moved from the chair.
It is where people usually see them and asking them to move might
imply the was something wrong with the chair or make them feel
uncomfortable.
Defiantly shoot at eye level.
Putting a nice blanket over the lower part of the chair would be very
natural and prevent hot spots of the chrome and cover other
distracting parts of the chair.
Another blanket or towel could be placed behind and over the back of
the chair for a more simple background.
Make sure everything is color coordinated.
Get family or other care takers involved with the shot.
Ask them what they think about any ideas you have about the shot.
They are used to dealing with this individual and are trusted by them.
They will help.
If the individual can't keep their head up or shakes, ask if a pillow
can be placed behind their head so they look more natural.
Take the shot from several different positions.
Larr
On 11 Apr 2002 05:42:01 -0700, textc...@bigpond.com (Goobergrape)
wrote:
Bruce MacNeil
100 and cross process. Looks great and brings out the steel in the chair.
Nuce look great in the chair as well.
"Goobergrape" <textc...@bigpond.com> wrote in message
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zeitgeist
> I have to shoot a portrait of a quadraplegic woman this weekend. I was
> wondering if anyone has any experience on photographing people in
> wheelchairs and could give me some ideas on setting up the shot and
> camera angles etc.
>
Keep in mind that a face is still a face. Faces generally look best when
the plane of the face is parallel to the film plane. That's easy to do as
to say with people who have some control over where they point their nose.
A lot would depend on whether she has any control or not, typically the head
is tilted back.
There are some tricks you might want to prepare for, in fact you might want
to visit and discuss with her, it could bolster her confidence as well as
yours in the session.
One trick is to shoot with the camera tilted to her so her face is diagonal
in the frame. You have to be up on a ladder shooting down if her head is
lolled back, (at least there's no double chin)
A rim light close up profile can isolate the face without any hint of
medical stuff.
for group shots, don't try to hide it, just pose as you would if you had a
group with a seated adult.
Goobergrape
Thanks very much for all the great advice - I really appreciate it.
I've got the shoot tomorrow, so I'll let you know how it goes.
Cheers
Charles
On 11 Apr 2002 05:42:01 -0700, textc...@bigpond.com (Goobergrape)
wrote:
>Hi
StuHandricott
to a wheechair like this - you might give them a bit more purposeful
appearance if you're careful to keep the plane of the torso/shoulders
separate from the plane of both the face and eyes. Be sure that all
three are given their own direction.
On Fri, 12 Apr 2002 11:49:21 GMT, fm...@hotmail.com (Goobergrape)
wrote:
Jak
seated and posed her in a wing-back chair...
:)
Jak
"Goobergrape" <textc...@bigpond.com> wrote in message
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Graphic
a single person in a wheelchair....
,,,however noone has addressed the trickier problem of one person in a
wheelchair with a second person standing at their side...especially a tall
person.
Has anyone actually done this and felt comfortable with the results? I've
done it and rarely liked the results from either candids or grip-and-grin
awards shots that I've done withe the exception noted below.
I had a regular client (he died about 2 years ago) who was confined to a
wheelchair and I photographed him and his organizations conventions for
about 5 years....so I assume he wasn't disatisfied with the results.
These photos included him with Margaret Thatcher (see sidebar below), Colin
Powell, and other well known political celebrities. When I was able to get
the celeb seated in a comfortable chair across from him while engaged in
conversation, I was pleased with the results. I never liked the standing
shots, but you're often stuck with what the celebs are willing to give
you...and often that's not an extra 30 seconds to sit down and fake a
conversation.
MARGARET THATCHER/TOTALLY UNIQUE: Her "handler" meets with you before the
photo shoot (not uncommon with celebs and VIP's) to explain how the session
will be set-up and to give you specific instructions. In the midddle of the
shoot with about 75 VIP's, I learned that I am math dyslexic.....M.T.
insists that photographers count backwards, NASA-style (3,2,1) and snap the
picture on the count of 1. Try it after thousands of "1,2,3" countdowns and
the brain starts to freeze-up! I have *never* had anyone else
request/insist on this type of countdown
Ah...those darn Brits!
"Goobergrape" <textc...@bigpond.com> wrote in message
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Jak
news:3cb8353c....@news.uswest.net...
>
> I wouldn't ask them to be moved from the chair.
>Thanks
> >
> >Charles
>
Just wanted to mention that when I shot the person in the wingback instead
of the wheelchair, it was they who suggested it. I happened to have a
wingback chair sitting there in the studio....
--
:)
Jak
"A person who is nice to you, but
rude to the waiter, is not a nice person."
~unknown
**********