The outdoor portrait, which is the subject of the latest Readers Photo Challenge, should be in the repertoire of every photographer no matter what their skill level. It’s not only essential to portraitists but other photographic disciplines as well. It’s a staple of vacation and travel photographers and I can’t tell you how many times I’m asked to shoot an outdoor portrait for the newspaper. Even sports photographers are called upon to the occasional portrait outdoors. Eight readers sent in 45 photos. Here are the top picks.
Carrie Walker of Stockton photographed her two nieces Billie Walker, 10, and Aleah Bush, 7, in her yard in Stockton. With an Apple iPhone 8 Plus she shoots them from above as they lay on blankets on the lawn. Walker gets in close and fills the frame with both of them with Billie coming in from the bottom and Aleah from the top. She used some open shade to provide even lighting to create a nice portrait of cousins together.