Portrait Photography is photography of a Person or Group of People that captures the Personality of a subject by using effective lighting, backdrops, and poses. A Portrait Picture might be artistic, or it might be clinical, as part of study.
- In Great Portraits you need to focus at the Composition, the Setting, the Poses, the Background, the Light, the Clothing, the Colour & Framing. Must Create a Mystery
- Set up & Plan the Shoot location before introducing your subject to it
- Use Wide-angle lens for Portrait Photography or use medium telephoto lens such as 70-200 mm f2.8 is one of the best for creating stunning Portraits. You can also use 50 mm f/1.8 prime lens as well
- For Portraits it is best to set a wide aperture around f/1.4 – f/5.6 to capture a shallow depth of field,, so that background behind your subject is nicely blurred, making the subject stand out
- Make sure that your shutter speed is higher than your effective focal length i.e. if you are using 200 mm than use 1/250th shutter speed or faster. For 18 mm focal length you may use 1/20th shutter speed
- Use good ISO say around ISO 100 – 400 for normal light & go up to 3200 for lower light
- Be Creative, Zoom in & fill the frame for better composition, allow “space to look into.“
- Think out of the Box.” Use framing, it is a technique where you draw your attention to one element of the picture with/to another element of picture. It gives depth & draws the eyes to a point of interest
- Build a good rapport with your subject – invest time & make the other person/model comfortable
- Use a reflector to brighten up Portrait, use window or bounce back light to fill shadows. A reflector comes in different colour i.e. white, silver, gold & black. Use of it effectively. The White Reflector can work as diffuser & soften the lights. Keep the model under shade
- Focus your camera on Head/Eyes/Nose. You can use Manual mode, single pinpoint focusing for best results. Play at Eye Contact. It is all about the Eyes. Don’ t forget the Hands/Shoulders/Hairs. Keep Hairs light & dry
- It is not necessary to shoot Portraits at eye level… you can Get up High, Get Close to the Ground as you Shoot Up to create interest
- Plan your candid pictures, hold camera with a angle
- Allow subject to pose. There are 54 creative ideas, which can be used to pose i.e. the Subject Stands, Look with dramatic effects
- Capture expressions/emotions. Allow subject to look at Center, Up, Down, to one Side & Play around
- Shoot in RAW Mode & you can crop/edit your portraits to the size you want
- To avoid harsh shadows across faces, unbalance exposure and burnt out highlights during sunny day, you can use Fill Flash to balance exposure
- Prefer to use external light in Portrait Photography. Fire your Flash Gun/Lights remotely
- Experiment with lighting to create a wow factor. Use light meter as your friend. Use Sparkles to create an effect. You can also experiment with Black & White mode for special look
- Introduce a prop to create point of interest. It helps to spice up things around
- Take a series /multiple of images /shots
- In a Group Portraits always focus on the closest person to the camera. Spacing is the key in Group Photography
- Get involved in Portrait Photography, Think like you are shooting film. Be a Magician. Get a helping hand, if required
- Communicate with model/Subject & KISS… Keep it Simple & Stupid
- In Portraits Photography, you must Know your depth of field
- You must take a stock of your wardrobe & styling to give commercial look
- Always keep an emergency kit with you including cosmetics, mirror, hair comb, Plastic Bags, tapes & wipes handy
- Ensure Contracts & Permission – in advance
- Use Tripod & Image Stabilization mode for outside photography
- To practice Portraits Photography, you must Join Photo Walks & local Photography
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