The portrait is one of the most exciting subjects in the world of photography and therefore of those who have more followers, and not only for the "ease" in terms of having available models, but for everything that a portrait can reach transmit and count. A landscape, an animal, can interest us, or even move us, but people not only move us, they move us.
Of course there is no perfect recipe, a good portrait consists of many ingredients, including the person who shoots that can alter the rest of the ingredients But there are some recommendations that can help you achieve a great portrait and some rules that you should normally follow. It is true that in art the rules are "relative", and in between because I have said several times that the rules are to skip them and that we should not put limits on our creativity, you are also likely to know (if you read the blog regularly) ) that to skip them you have to know them well and know how to apply them. If you ignore them (in the literal sense of the word), the language will be noticed as a failure. If you skip them with a clear intention, for an artistic or creative reason, we talk about another story, you are doing it with a reason, with a reason that can be read in the image, and you do it knowing the rule and knowing that, in this particular case,
And as it is so important to know the rules, today we are going to talk about one of the main ones, the law of sight. It is very easy to understand and to carry out and the difference between applying it or not is huge. It simply consists of leaving space in front of the look of your model. There is talk of letting the person "breathe," letting him "air" so that he does not feel a sense of suffocation or of being overwhelmed. Free space should always be ahead of your subject, if you do so, the image will gain appeal and be more interesting. This rule helps to direct the gaze and arouse curiosity about what he or the protagonist will be observing. As you can best see it with examples, so here are some.
DaskaJonathan Kos-ReadRiccardo Romano
When I think about this rule, it comes to mind when we were punished as children looking at the wall. If you think about it it is something similar, but in this case the wall would be the edge of the image. Putting your protagonist "facing the edge" of the photo is like punishing him, preventing him from participating on the stage, cutting his wings to fly, limiting his vision and his ability to move. Because when we talk about gaze, we also talk about directionality, it may be looking down, but if your whole body is directed to the left, you cannot set the limit on that side. It would not be worth just leaving the space on the right and under the gaze. If you do it is because you want to convey something concrete with that action, in that case, go ahead! Look at this image, I am almost certain that what the author intended by ignoring the law of sight was precisely to "deprive" the woman portrayed of that freedom of movement, expression and even dreams. The vast space, the interesting landscape, has left him behind her, out of reach, thus accentuating his sad and melancholic gesture.
You can transmit a lot if you skip this rule but with a clear intention
Compare it with this one, the sensations are tremendously different, right?
Steve Evans
In the following case there also seems to be a clear intention to confuse the public, to create a sense of claustrophobia ... If you look at the gesture of the portrayed, it will give you the feeling of being scared, cornered ... cutting off "the air" just in front of you further increases that feeling don't you think?
Boudewijn Berends
As I said before, the space does not necessarily have to be on the left or on the right, everything will depend on the "directionality" of the subject. Look at this example so you can see it clearly, very clearly
Janine
You can also respect this rule when several people appear in the picture. Normally a portrait is of a person, but images like the following can also be given. On this occasion the author has framed respecting the law of the gaze in both cases, leaving as a result a wonderful photograph:
Diego Dalmaso Martins
If you are still not clear at all, I give you some more examples in which the law of the gaze is fulfilled and that can serve as an inspiration.
Zuhair A. Al-TraifiRonai RochaGrazia MeleExpensive mussoEmilio Chulia
Have not you had a terrible desire to look for your camera and jump into the search for portraits in which you can play with the law of the eye and transmit all these sensations? I bet something that yes, you're looking forward to checking the effect you can get with this simple rule. If you want to delve deeper into the theme of the portrait, do not miss this guide to master portrait photography .
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