Portrait Photography: Tips and Methods
Portrait is defined as, "A likeness of a person, especially one showing the face, that is created by a painter or photographer, for example." In the area of portrait photography there are some guidelines that you should consider when you go to take photos of people. The different types of portraits are: close-ups, facial shots, upper body shots or environmental portraits. Environmental portraits are where you focus on the subject and on their surroundings that provide more character to the subject. When people have a camera in their face it usually makes them nervous and they will try to put on a face that does not portray who they really are. The real skill to portrait photography is trying to capture photos when the subjects are comfortable and not worried about a camera. Many professional photographers try to capture their subject's true essence by using tricks. One example of this is counting to three so the subject prepares and then while they are relaxing after taking a planned photo the photographer will snap a few more unplanned photos. In most cases the subject won't even know that more than one photo was taken but it's usually the photos that the subject wasn't expecting that capture their true essence. Another more common strategy professionals use is to tell funny jokes that make their subjects genuinely laugh or smile. I'm sure that you have probably experienced something like this yourself. CLOSE-UP PORTRAITS These usually have the subject's shoulders and head or less. They are framed around the face. These are the most common and best at capturing expressions and glamour shots. For these it is very important to have the light coming from a good angle. To accent wrinkles or small details you should have the light coming from the side or from the top. To create flattering pictures you should choose a cloudy day or try to create diffused light so there are hardly any shadows. Also make sure the subject is brighter than the background to reduce distraction. For close-up portraits you should use a wide aperture (low f/stop) to make the background out of focus and therefore less of a distraction. Professionals commonly use a fixed telephoto lens that's 90 mm or higher for portraits in order to de-emphasize the subject's nose or any other unflattering feature. It works because at that distance the nose or any other feature does not seem closer to the camera than the rest of the face. UPPER BODY OR MIDRANGE PORTRAITS These are easier to capture because the subject is probably more relaxed because it's less personal. These include a little more of the background than close-ups. These are commonly used for both single subjects and multiple subjects. This is the kind of portrait used to mark occasions such as graduation, yearbook, birthdays and other parties. The ideal lens would be about a 90 mm fixed telephoto or more wide angle depending on how many subjects there are. ENVIRONMENTAL PORTRAITS These are the portraits that let you into the life of a subject. They might include the whole subject in a scenario or the subject participating in some hobby that they enjoy. These are best for telling a story to the viewer about the subject. They are almost always used by photojournalists to look into the lives of interesting people. They also make great Black and White pictures. Use this information to develop what kind of portrait style you would like to take, and then practice it before dealing with any serious clients. Richard Schneider is a digital photography enthusiast and founder of http://www.picturecorrect.com/ which offers tips and news about digital photography, digital camera reviews, photoshop tutorials and computer wallpaper.
MORE RESOURCES: And the Prize for Photography Goes to ... Hamas? Tablet Magazine The Pano Awards Showcases the Finest Landscape Photography The Phoblographer Michiana Chronicles: On intimacy in translation and photography WVPE Public Media Thin Line Fest arrives with music, film and photography exhibition North Texas Daily History through photography: The Flagstaff Tintype Experiment chronicles ARTx festival-goers Arizona Daily Sun Shanghai duo Birdhead flips photography The Japan Times 'There were lots of parties here': exhibition of Rauschenberg's photographs opens at his former New York residence Art Newspaper The Last Stock Photographers Await Their Fate Under Generative AI The Wall Street Journal Is This Photography Trend Overrated? Fstoppers New Photography Book Honors the Black Family Haircare Tradition of ‘Wash Day’ Because of Them We Can St. Petersburg Month of Photography returns with new events and exhibitions - Creative Loafing Tampa St. Petersburg Month of Photography returns with new events and exhibitions Creative Loafing Tampa photography.jpg | | themountaineer.com The Mountaineer UChicago Medicine photographer trains her eye on the of role hands in new solo show Hyde Park Herald Photography: Spanish Love Songs, Oso Oso, Sydney Sprague, Worry Club getalternative.com Light artist Kei Ito uses cameraless photography to capture the impact of atomic warfare at UGA exhibition – WABE WABE 90.1 FM Photography Exhibition - Galerie XII : Susanne Wellm - De l'autre côté The Eye of Photography The APA Awards | Announcing the 2023 New + Emerging Talent Winners Architectural Photography Almanac Talking photography with Massimo Listri The Florentine Photography professor Pipo Nguyen-duy ’83 to deliver Carleton convocation titled, ‘A Dust of Life’ Carleton College ZCG-Backed VENU+ Acquires Leading Experiential Photography Solutions Business NXT Capture Business Wire The Story Behind Five of Willy Vanderperre's Favourite Photographs AnOther Magazine “I adore portraiture but felt my work could grow, so I've recently gone back to university to study photography” Digital Camera World A new exhibition at the Kengo Kuma & Associates–designed V&A Museum in Dundee, Scotland, explores how ... The Architect's Newspaper Why Paul Harrison is One of London's Best Street Photographers The Phoblographer KILL PHOTOGRAPHER BOOK Buffalo News Cincinnati Photographers Enjoy the Resurgence of Film Photography Cincinnati CityBeat Pictures of what happened this week: Tornadoes ripped through the Great Plains, Confrontations between pro-Palestinian protesters and police continue The Washington Post Intro to photography class at NICC | Oelwein Daily Register | communitynewspapergroup.com Cedar Valley Daily Times Exploring family, memory and legacy through photography Huck Magazine ‘I was lying on the ground beside a wall of cops’: student photographers’ best images of the campus protests The Guardian US “AIn’t”: UHS Student Photography Show featured at Art Center Ukiah, Corner Gallery Ukiah Daily Journal Riverwalk Photography Gallery grand opening set for Friday Manistee News Advocate Cell phone photography workshop slated Friday in Alva Enid News & Eagle New curator of photography at San Diego museum hopes to 'inspire a sense of discovery' The San Diego Union-Tribune Photography by Willmar's John Salgado Maldonado to be on display at Minnesota State Capitol West Central Tribune What our photographers saw on Wednesday, May 1 The Philadelphia Inquirer Phenomenal photography and more at CAS River Reporter 13 Captivating Entries From The 2023 Water Challenge By Close-Up Photographer Of The Year Bored Panda The Civil War Photographers Before Kirsten Dunst The New Yorker Essay by UW–Madison's Jones shares origins of 'These Grand Places' photography project University of Wisconsin–Madison Photographer Kan Azuma makes Canada look unfamiliar to the local eye The Globe and Mail Sports Photography Provides Outlet for Student Athlete – The Oberlin Review The Oberlin Review Photography In The National Parks: What's In My Camera Bag Redux National Parks Traveler ‘These people matter’: why Diana Matar photographs the sites where US police have killed civilians The Guardian |
RELATED ARTICLES
|