From the course: Creative Inspirations: Natalie Fobes, Photographer

Getting the shot: Portrait shoot

(Music playing.) Natalie Fobes: So Roger is an old friend of mine from way back in the Geographic days. I photographed him early in the `90s for a Corbis CD project that he was working on. So today, I'm just going to be doing some pretty simple portraits of him, and we're going to have some fun, and just kind of see what the creative minds can come up with. Okay. One thing I am seeing is that we do have some reflection off of the cars, so maybe now would be a good time to move them, before I blind people. So Roger, you've got some props here. Roger: Yeah, a stack of books, Natalie Fobes: Yeah. Roger: in case you want me to be an intellectual. Natalie: Okay, we can do that. Roger: I have got a camera. Natalie: Yeah. Roger: I have got a baseball glove and mitt and hat, in case you want me to be a dad. Natalie: Hey Roger, stand up real quick for a minute here. I'm just seeing something happening that's kind of cool on the old light. I'm just going after your eyes here. Let me back up just a little, nice. Natalie: Sweet. That's nice. Roger: Yeah, you got to. Roger: We have got the sun and -- Natalie: Maybe we shouldn't. Natalie: Let's not move that truck yet. This often happens when I'm shooting. My intention was not to photograph him against this wall; otherwise, I would have repainted it. But -- Roger: You can do that in Photoshop. Natalie: I can do that in Photoshop, and so instead of fighting the light, I'm going to work with the light. Okay, let's have your hands crossed, at your elbow - at your - there we go. Got it. Okay, turn just a little bit that way and lower your chin just a little. What I'm looking at is there is kind of a cool thing happening with that shadow behind him on the wall. I'm getting his profile. Nice. Okay. Let's do a real serious one. Nice. Wohoo! Let me show you. I normally don't show photographs to people, but Roger is a photographer. We're old friends; we know what we're doing. Roger: Beautiful background, Natalie: Yeah. Roger: even though you didn't paint it. Natalie: Yeah. Natalie: Anytime you can do a portrait that is personal, that is about the person, then you're much better off than just doing a staged portrait with a background, a back cloth, a dark cloth or something. It's really about creating photographs of that person that tell what that person is about.

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