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Portrait Photography Tips

Here are the top ten portrait photography tips for capturing professional-looking portraits.

Top Ten Photography Portrait Tips

It seems that practically everyone who owns a digital camera thinks that they can shoot the perfect portrait - the results of point-and-shoot however, are often disappointing.

Portrait photography is challenging and draws on a variety of skills. If you follow these photography portrait tips, you'll be surprised how the quality of your photos improve.

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Portrait Photography Tips # 1: Prepare in advance

Plan ahead so that you can make the best use of your time. Make sure that all your equipment is clean and ready, and prepare a list of the shots you want to take. The more relaxed you are, the more the model will trust your expertise and follow your direction.

Portrait Photography Tips # 2: Build rapport with your model

Successful portrait photography is about more than just capturing a likeness of the model's face. Powerful portraits show an element of their personality too. If you don't know the model well, meet up with them before the shoot with a view to find out how they would like to be portrayed, for example romantic and dreamlike, or modern and hard-headed?

Once your model arrives, help them to relax by creating a friendly atmosphere. If it's indoors, music might help. If it's going to be a long session, consider offering tea and biscuits, or maybe a glass of wine. Provide a clean hairbrush and give them the opportunity to make a few last-minute checks in the mirror.

Start off by taking a number of practice shots so that your model can get used to the idea of the shoot.

Portrait Photography Tips # 3: Choose an appropriate setting

The setting you choose for your portrait photography is vitally important to successful photos. Ideally settings should be chosen to reflect your model's personality.

Although formal portraits can be done in a studio, many of the best portraits are shot outdoors, or in the subject's own home or workplace. Even so, take the photos where you will have the best light, such as next to a window or in the garden.

Although interesting backgrounds and foregrounds can enhance your portraits, you don't want them to be too much of an distraction. The same goes for props. Use props sparingly, for example, pose an artist with a paintbrush or an author in their study with their books. Remember, it's about capturing who the subjects are, so engage them in relevant activities.

Portrait Photography Tips # 4: Use natural light

The best light for portraits is natural light - either outdoors or through a window.

When shooting outdoors, it's best to avoid direct bright sunlight, which will create harsh shadows and show up wrinkles and blemishes on your model's skin. It also makes them squint unattractively.

When shooting indoors, it's important to avoid using the camera's built-in flash as it produces unflattering light, harsh shadows and the red-eye effect.

© Jose Antonio Sánchez Reyes | Dreamstime.com

Make sure to browse my portrait lighting pages for more information on outdoor lighting, indoor lighting, studio lighting and lighting faces.

Portrait Photography Tips # 5: Pose your subject well

When posing your subject, it's important to give clear direction. Unless your subject has a lot of modelling experience, they will likely be nervous and unsure how to present themselves.

When posing a group for a portrait, such as a family, try to establish a connection between the subjects. You can do this by having them physically in contact or overlapping within the frame.

You can find more information on portrait poses here.

Portrait Photography Tips # 6: Frame effectively

There are two basic sorts of portraits: full length or head and shoulders.

Full length portraits are usually used when the subject's costume is important, for example in wedding photography. It's challenging to light a full-length figure appropriately, so your best bet is to take these shots outdoors. You can get a great effect using a wide aperture to put the background out of focus.

Head and shoulder portraits are usually easier to shoot if your model is seated. If they're relaxed and comfortable, it would translate in your end-product as well.

Portrait Photography Tips # 7: Use the right camera settings

It’s a good idea to use an optical zoom for your portraiture. Stand well back and zoom in for facial and head-and-shoulder shots. The benefits of using a longer focal lens are that facial features have a more natural perspective, and it also helps to throw the background out of focus.

My personal favourite lens for portraiture is the EF 100mm f2.8 Macro USM from Canon. It’s a wonderful lens for taking really close-up, sharp, beautiful shots.

Always use the widest possible aperture. This will give you a fast shutter speed which reduces the risk of blurry photos due to either camera shake or the model moving. Wide apertures also reduces the depth of field so that only your subject is in focus, blurring distractions in the back- and foreground. For manual settings try an aperture between 8 and 11, with a speed of 125. Some professional photographers also set their ISO to 200 for a smoother image.

Portrait Photography Tips # 8: Look for expression

In order to capture great expressions, you have to work fast. It really is a case of ‘blink and you’ll miss it!’ If you can find a way to make your subject move, laugh and interact with you, it will lead to natural and engaging facial expressions. Try to capture a sense of fun and liveliness. Alternatively, look for the emotion in the picture, whatever that emotion is.

Keep in mind that the more movement you inject in your images, the more dynamic they will seem. Experiment with different shutter speeds to freeze motion or blur it.

Portrait Photography Tips # 9: Vary your viewpoint

Be creative when it comes to viewpoint. Your natural inclination may be to shoot at normal eye-level, but you can get very flattering results by composing your portrait from a much higher or lower level.

You can also add some dynamism to your portraits by shooting on a slant. This shifts the balance of the photo and gives a nice creative twist.

Portrait Photography Tips # 10: Break the rules

Don’t approach portraiture with preconceived notions of how it should be done. The greatest photographs are sometimes the ones you discover rather than the ones you construct. Rules are meant to be broken and you can sometimes be more successful when you try something different. For example, one of the rules of portrait photography is to employ eye contact. However, a lack of eye contact can sometimes lend a sense of intrigue.

You can even experiment with a wide angle lens to distort reality: make noses bigger and limbs look longer. The possibilities are endless.

* Portrait Lighting

* Shooting Portraits Indoors

* Portrait Backdrops

* Portrait Backgrounds

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Read, reflect and be inspired. If you find something of value on our photography portrait tips page, enjoy its gifts and please pass it on to your friends.

SBI!