Want to thank you all for making Assignment 9: Portraiture very successful.  I know it was a fast turn around from the last one.  I felt it would be something most people could get done quickly and creatively.  This time I was correct!  I would also like to thank all the models who gave of themselves even if they were not totally thrilled with the idea.

Our Danish blogger, Carsten, had no trouble finding a model.  His problem was which photo to use as he celebrated the birth of his granddaughter on his blog.  He submitted several (see assignment link for all of them) but this portrait where he setup a background and lights was his official one.

A new submitter, Brian Jones, showed us two photos of his lively daughter in front of a mural and bridges in Joliet, Illinois.  While both are nice, I really liked this one found elsewhere in his gallery.

Nye Noona selected a good time of day, excellent background and a receptive model (once the deal was made).  She also showed the fun and color of a prop in A Portrait of Lee.

Mike Criss, my favorite Alaskan photographer, did a Senior shoot for his daughter and showed us how he uses off camera flash to create stunning portraits. Not as hard as you might think.

One of the traits of a good portrait is capturing your model’s emotions.  The best way to do that is through the eyes and Doreen did just that with this fabulous portrait of her son who just turned over into the double digits.

Though not really a formal portrait where the model knew about it, Preston Surface shared with us a portrait of a man as he walked by on a hot Kansas day.  What is hard to do or find with a street photo is getting a good background and lighting.  Preston found both for us.

KD used a lovely day apple picking to set up a natural light portrait.  The title gives away the prop which helped the model get into the photo, An Apple for the Teacher.  My only question.  When do I get the apple?

Karma was also out picking apples with her family when she captured her daughters under the trees.  Though the portraits didn’t come out of the camera to her liking, she used the digital darkroom to adjust them into lovely autumn portraits.

Dawn shares with us a portrait of an amazing women and might have broken the ice for Dawn to take more portraits in the future.

Robin joins in for the first time.  She found a willing model by asking though it did take a bit of courage for her to do so.  I, by far, favor the portrait with the model engaged with the photographer over the other ones.  Good work, Robin!

First, I would like to thank Kathy for helping to spread the word about this assignment in a truly unique way.  Second, in following her own advice, Kathy photographed two close friends with beautiful smiles and hearts.

So, you have a teenager and a 7 year old and you want to take their photo for a silly blog assignment, what do you do?  Well, if you are Michaela, you do the best you can with a couple of not so willing models.  Good light, composition, and young eyes created some compelling portraits. Years from now, I am willing to bet these photos will be family favorites.

I knew who my subject for my portrait would be.  The question for me was where would I take the portrait.  I tried a few places but using a technique called rear-sync flash, my favorite was of my daughter with Mount Rushmore as the backdrop.

Birgitte is one of my favorite bloggers and photographers. Her take on this assignment introduces us to another side of her, the front side in her self-portrait post.

Jennifer A took a break from her food blogging, got (begged?  coerced?) her husband to pose for her.  Her selection of background, time of day, composition and clothing(?) focuses our attention to his handsome and personable face.  Well done!  Glad you made it this time.

I always look forward to the submissions by Deanna as she is a very creative person who loves photography.  That is a great combination and her portrait selections are colorful, well exposed and fun.

I throughly enjoyed all of your posts and portraits.  Each time you all amaze me as you stretch your photographic wings.

The next assignment will be in mid-November featuring your photos of the Autumn of 2010.  Remember, whether you live in a place of changing foliage or not, autumn is a time of change and community with lots of color and festivals.  Enjoy!