How to capture a stunning portrait

There is power in the stillness of a photograph. Especially when it’s a portrait photograph, claims Arie Eric De Jong. In today’s article he will feature one of the most enduring genres in photography - a portraiture or a portrait photograph, however you might want to call it - and how we are able to capture one best.

Concentrate on the subject

It is obvious that portrait photography should center on the subject, admits Arie Eric De Jong. But how you translate that idea in the camera is something else. The truth is, no camera tricks are involved to make the subject more comfortable in a photo session except the good old interpersonal skills of a photographer. A subject should feel at ease to be able to release that energy that would make for a powerful pose.

Experiment with eye contact

We’ve all heard about the old adage: the eyes are the windows to the soul, says Arie Eric De Jong. The same is true with portrait photography when the subject is able to intensify the photograph just by doing any of the following eye techniques: first is the looking off-camera view where the subject seems to look outside the field of view, while the second is the looking within the frame where the subject is looking intently at something they are holding onto, for example.

Experiment with lighting

Arie Eric De Jong says that lighting plays an important role in most photographs that he admires. A photographer with a sense of creativity can manipulate the mood of a photo just by experimenting with light. Options like sidelighting, backlighting, or silhouetting a subject can create a somber, yet powerful effect on a portraiture, while techniques such as slow sync flash and long exposures, with touches of light painting, produce impressive images.