How to Take Portraits

Do you want to improve your portrait photography?

Today and tomorrow I want to talk about taking Portraits that are a little out of the box. You see it’s all very well and good to have a portrait that follows all the rules – but it hit me as I was surfing on Flickr today that often the most striking portraits are those that break all the rules.

Simply put, a portrait is a representation of a person.They usually focus on a person’s face, mood and expression.

Traditionally portraits were sculptures or paintings however, in modern times, a photograph is the most recognized way of taking a portrait.

In most cases, the subject looks straight at the camerain order to engage the viewer.

In this article, we’ll be giving you simple techniques to help you take portraits and also self portraits, to make the very best of your photos.

At the end of the article, you’ll find a showcase of great portraits and self portraits that you can use for inspiration.

1. Alter Your Perspective

Most portraits are taken with the camera at (or around) the eye level of the subject. While this is good common sense – completely changing the angle that you shoot from can give your portrait a real WOW factor.

Get up high and shoot down on your subject or get as close to the ground as you can and shoot up. Either way you’ll be seeing your subject from an angle that is bound to create interest.

2. Location

If you don't have or can't create a photo studio, concentrate on environmental portraiture. Show the subject and also his surroundings. These tend to work best if you can enlarge the final image to at least 11x14 inches. In any smaller photo, the subject's face is simply too small. Taking photos that will enlarge well is a whole art by itself. Your allies in this endeavor will be a low ISO setting, prime (rather than zoom) lenses, a tripod, and at least a mid-range digital SLR.

There are two elements to a photo studio for portrait photography. One is a controlled background. You want to focus attention on your subject and avoid distracting elements in the frame. Probably the best portraits aren't taken against a gray seamless paper roll. On the other hand, you are unlikely to screw up and leave something distracting in the frame if you confine yourself to using seamless paper or other monochromatic backgrounds. You don't have to build a special room to have a controlled background. There are all kinds of clever portable backdrops and backdrop supports that you can buy or build. If you absolutely cannot control the background, the standard way to cheat is to use a long fast lens, e.g., 300/2.8. Fast telephoto lenses have very little depth of field. Your subject's eyes and nose will be sharp. Everything else that might have been distracting will be blurred into blobs of color.

2. Focus on the Eyes

As the saying goes, “the eyes are the window to the soul”.

Different feelings can be conveyed, depending on the direction in which the subject’s eyes are pointing. Play with this by having your subject look in various directions, until you are happy with the feeling that is portrayed.

Adding extras such as a smile, frown, or grin is a bonus that amplifies the main focal point of the photo.