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DPChallenge Forums >> Current Challenge >> a head shot is not a portrait
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06/22/2004 03:03:52 PM · #1
discuss...
06/22/2004 03:06:52 PM · #2
I know it isn't. It's a punch.
06/22/2004 03:07:07 PM · #3
Sure it is.
06/22/2004 03:07:59 PM · #4
Maybe you could get the ball rolling by elaborating a bit...

Message edited by author 2004-06-22 15:08:08.
06/22/2004 03:08:48 PM · #5
in Counter Strike lang headshot is a totally diffrent thing ....
06/22/2004 03:08:57 PM · #6
Well, I am already lost. LOL I will wait for the wisdom to start pouring forth!!!!
06/22/2004 03:10:43 PM · #7
I seem to recall a previous portrait challenge where the nit-pickers marked down for landscape orientation.

Message edited by author 2004-06-22 15:11:28.
06/22/2004 03:10:59 PM · #8
I think you can plausibly argue that a headshot has no "formal" nature to it. Its got no background, no "pose" its just a shot to show what a person looks like without any extraneous factors. (not that this is the *only* perspective on the matter, but its one).
06/22/2004 03:15:01 PM · #9
what's a head shot?

06/22/2004 03:35:38 PM · #10
head shots are of course portraits. it is all about lighting, expression, mood. look at the eyes in the portrait above, and notice I call it a portrait.

Message edited by author 2004-06-22 15:35:53.
06/22/2004 03:38:58 PM · #11
Originally posted by KarenB:

head shots are of course portraits. it is all about lighting, expression, mood. look at the eyes in the portrait above, and notice I call it a portrait.


and I wouldn't call that a head shot, I'd call it a portrait too. A head shot is a fairly specific style of actor type casting image or those found in a passport.

Portraits at least to me are much much broader and more revealing than just a picture of someone's head.

Message edited by author 2004-06-22 15:42:18.
06/22/2004 03:39:47 PM · #12
If it's a head shot like that for a passport, then I would agree, it's not a portrait. Seems to me, that if a headshot is revealing character or insight about the person, then we can call it a portrait.
06/22/2004 03:41:33 PM · #13
Originally posted by Olyuzi:

If it's a head shot like that for a passport, then I would agree, it's not a portrait. Seems to me, that if a headshot is revealing character or insight about the person, then we can call it a portrait.


Yup. I'd tend to agree.


06/22/2004 03:42:54 PM · #14
Originally posted by Gordon:

Originally posted by Olyuzi:

If it's a head shot like that for a passport, then I would agree, it's not a portrait. Seems to me, that if a headshot is revealing character or insight about the person, then we can call it a portrait.


Yup. I'd tend to agree.


I'm cool with that definition :)
06/22/2004 03:43:56 PM · #15
_

Message edited by author 2004-06-22 15:58:30.
06/22/2004 03:45:20 PM · #16
Originally posted by Olyuzi:

If it's a head shot like that for a passport, then I would agree, it's not a portrait. Seems to me, that if a headshot is revealing character or insight about the person, then we can call it a portrait.

So passport photos are supposed to conceal some insight about the person's character? How counter-productive ...

Whether a "headshot" "qualifies" as a "portrait" is a completely subjective judgement, for which there can never be an objective scale on which we all agree.
06/22/2004 03:45:25 PM · #17
So what is the exact ratio of head to body that we should shoot in order to meet the challenge? I wanna make sure I get it right so that the pixel-counting 'has to meet the exact wording of the challenge' voters have nothing to complain about.

:P
06/22/2004 03:48:15 PM · #18
Originally posted by GeneralE:

Originally posted by Olyuzi:

If it's a head shot like that for a passport, then I would agree, it's not a portrait. Seems to me, that if a headshot is revealing character or insight about the person, then we can call it a portrait.

So passport photos are supposed to conceal some insight about the person's character? How counter-productive ...

Whether a "headshot" "qualifies" as a "portrait" is a completely subjective judgement, for which there can never be an objective scale on which we all agree.


and.. shortly after my agreement post, the voice of reason speaks. Thanks GeneralE, you have a way of showing me the "other side of things" when I am making snap decisions. :)
06/22/2004 03:49:06 PM · #19
there is no exact ratio... it could include only part of the face or all of the body with a background. and anything in between/.

Originally posted by bod:

So what is the exact ratio of head to body that we should shoot in order to meet the challenge? I wanna make sure I get it right so that the pixel-counting 'has to meet the exact wording of the challenge' voters have nothing to complain about.



Message edited by author 2004-06-22 15:50:26.
06/22/2004 03:50:41 PM · #20


Just another example ... and another chance to look at one of my favourite photos on this site : )
06/22/2004 03:50:53 PM · #21
Originally posted by bod:

So what is the exact ratio of head to body that we should shoot in order to meet the challenge? I wanna make sure I get it right so that the pixel-counting 'has to meet the exact wording of the challenge' voters have nothing to complain about.


This website found through a quick search on Yahoo! has examples of various portrait shots. Not all are formal in the aspect that they aren't in a studio enviornment.
06/22/2004 03:51:23 PM · #22
Originally posted by bod:

So what is the exact ratio of head to body that we should shoot in order to meet the challenge? I wanna make sure I get it right so that the pixel-counting 'has to meet the exact wording of the challenge' voters have nothing to complain about.

:P


//uscis.gov/graphics/lawsregs/handbook/m-378.pdf

I have to do some of these this week for some forms.
Might as well just enter them - they are bound to be wonderful portraits and really fit the challenge then. Must be an automatic 10 I assume.

Point is - just because it 'meets the challenge' doesn't mean that it is really to the essence of what a good portrait actually is about - which is showing the character of a person, perhaps capturing and sharing a bit of their personality.

Some of the best portraits I've seen would certainly never be allowed on a passport.


06/22/2004 03:54:07 PM · #23
Originally posted by GeneralE:


So passport photos are supposed to conceal some insight about the person's character? How counter-productive ...



A passport photo is absolutely not meant to show anything about a person's character. In fact, they have fairly strict guidelines to minimise any attempt at showing your character. Same with an actor's head shot. They are both supposed to be a very literal represenation of what a person looks like. Which is why I would still say that a head shot is not a (good) portrait. Sure it would technically meet the challenge. But technically meeting the challenge is the lowest common denomintor for entering, not what makes a picture good.
06/22/2004 03:54:36 PM · #24
Originally posted by bod:



Just another example ... and another chance to look at one of my favourite photos on this site : )


Great portrait. Not a head shot.
06/22/2004 03:55:12 PM · #25
Dang. We need some [rhetorical] tags in these forums ; )
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