Portrait Photography Tips

Here are some portrait photography tips to help you take interesting pictures of people. Whether you want to take studio portraits, outdoor portraits or portaits in your subjects natural environment, these tips will help you get the shot you want.

Lighting

Here are some portrait photography tips for lighting. Every photographer knows that lighting has a tremendous effect on how a picture turns out. Part of taking better pictures is learning how to manipulate the light in the picture and use the existing light to your advantage.

When taking portrait photography the way you light the subject effects the mood and look of the portrait. In my article about making your own home photography studio I discussed light and the best methods to light a subject.

Having a backlight is very important. When your subject is backlit, the light produces a glow around the hair and body that give the image warmth. If you're photographing your subject outside you can do this by placing the sun behind the subject and using your flash and/or reflector boards to fill in the shadows. When shooting a portrait using this lighting technique make sure your camera isn't shooting the sunlight directly. Take your picture from a shaded location and make sure your subject is completely blocking the sun from your view.

Sunlight can light quite harsh in pictures at times. Try using a white sheet as a filter to soften the light. You can drape the sheet over some tree branches so that the sunlight shines through the sheet before hitting your subject. This will soften the light giving the portrait a warmer look.

These portrait photography tips for lighting can help give you a starting point. Experiment with light. You might want to try only lighting half of your subjects face or photographing your subject in the shadows or a dimly lit environment. Different lighting techniques dramatically change the mood and style of the portrait.

Composition

Often times when taking a picture in a studio you use a plain background. This is good for getting an image that focuses on the subject's face, but you can also get good effects using textured, colored digital photography backdrops.

Interest can be added to photos by giving the subject a prop. Giving the subject something to hold or something to do will make them feel more relaxed and improve the feel of the portrait.

I perfer taking portraits in natural surroundings as opposed to studios. When taking a portrait in natural surroundings, I perfer having the background out of focus and the subject in focus.

Using a tripod and a slow ISO you can add motion to a portrait shot. You can capture the motion of background images while the subject stays in focus in the foreground.

Architecture in the surrounding area can also be used to frame your subject. Providing a frame within the picture also adds to visual interest.

Experiment with the level of your lens. Many portraits are taken at eye level, but taking portraits with the camera above or below eye level can make for interesting pictures.

Your Subject

Now that we've gotten some of these technical portrait photography tips down let's look at how to deal with our subjects.

Get ideas before your subject arrives. Make sure you have a good idea of positioning and you've determined what settings you want to use on your camera. Spending your time with the subject messing around with these things could get boring and make the shoot take too long for the subject. You don't want it to drag on and on. If your subject is in a bad mood, they won't photograph well.

Have your subject bring several changes of clothes. This way you'll have options. Darker colored plain clothing usually works best, but sometimes certain more flamboyant outfits help bring out the person's personality.

Posing your subject can prove to be a challenge. Most people feel really uncomfortable when they know they're being photographed. Your first priority is to put your subject at ease. Like I mentioned earlier, giving them a prop or something to do while being photographed often helps.

Discuss your ideas about how you want the pictures to look and get their feedback. Talk to your subject about their life, job, hobbies and whatever else you can think of. When engaged in a natural conversation people tend to relax. Give them verbal directions as to where to look and how to sit, but also let things happen naturally and notice the way they move or shift position as they talk to you.

Now that you've read about them try using these portrait photography tips and see how your pictures turn out.

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