How to: Potrait Photography

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in: How-To,News | January 16, 2013 - 4:28 pm | by: Jessica Rediker | No Comment

How To: Portrait Photography

1. Experiment with Angle and Perspective
While shooting horizontally with your camera parallel to the ground can yield perfectly fine results, changing your perspective or angle will always add something to your portraits. Whether you’re shooting your subject from very high above to have them appear small and surrounded, or shooting from low and far away to have them appear large and powerful, changing the angle always changes the vibe.

2. Relax Your Subject
If your portrait subject is stiff and uncomfortable, that is how your photos will look. Many corporate headshot photos end up this way because they want something basic that portrays professionalism. I say you can still have this without the stick-straight back and tight shoulders. Most photographers use casual atmosphere, funny conversation or even physical movements to get their subjects to loosen up.

3. Play Around With Lighting
Of course, shooting in a well-lit area will make capturing all of those wonderful little facial details easier, but experimenting with lighting can help set a tone or mood for your portraits unlike anything else. For more drama, try manipulating shadows to your benefit and keep only specific areas of your subject in the light.

4. Avoid Cheesy Grins
This is a personal rule of mine. No one’s natural state is to stare straight at the camera and smile – that’s why everyone practices smiling in the mirror before picture day at school. If you want your subject to appear happy without looking like a human smiley-face, make them laugh or have them think of something that makes them happy. A natural smile is much more interesting than a fake one.

5. Let Their Eyes Wander
Aportrait where a person appears to be staring straight at you with intensity is a powerful portrait, no doubt, but it’s not the only portrait. Let your subjects eyes wander to what’s around them because you never know what might spark some
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kind of emotional response that you can capture, and emotion can be best displayed through eyes.

6. Give Them a Prop
If you’ve got some usable albeit basic shots, try introducing your subject to a prop. Anything will help create a visually interesting portrait as they explore the item. Astick of gum, a book, an animal, a flower, anything. This will not only give them an opportunity to give you something fresh to capture, but will also spark your imagination with new posing possibilities as you shoot.

7. Go for Emotion
If people were always smiling and happy, some of the best portraits would not have been captured. Try not to only take a photo of what a person is, but rather who they are. People look much more interesting when they are deep in thought, sad, goofy or angry, and these emotions will breath new life into something that would otherwise just be average.

8. Play in the Shallow End
An easy go-to step for a simple but appealing portrait is to shoot at a low aperture, and create a shallow depth of field. Everyone loves those portraits with completely blown-out backgrounds where just that one person is in focus. Remember to keep your subject several feet away from their background in order to get that perfectly blurred look.

9. Shoot Candid
Sometimes it can be tiring to plan out a portrait session and try to bring it to life when it comes time to take the photos. Portraits that showcase personality can often be taken, no planning required. Meet your subject at their home or workplace and watch as they move about within their comfort zone, capturing moments of everyday life for that person to tell a story beyond just their appearance.

10. Watch for Distracting Elements
While busy backgrounds can sometimes lend to draw focus inward to a subject, if there are distracting elements it can completely detract from an otherwise flawless set-up. This can happen outdoors in particular where there can be unexpected changes in what is going on behind your subject. Watch for vehicles, people, animals, or distracting lines that might draw attention elsewhere.

Tags: photography, portrait, portraits

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Mark Tacatani so nice article of yours.. Reply · Like · Monday at 7:58am
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