M2//S2 P2.1 Portrait Photography Intro
What is portrait photography?
Portrait photography showcases one person, and it goes deeper than just their looks. In a great portrait, personality, identity, and a person’s inner story should shine through.
Lighting, backgrounds, props, and editing can all help achieve this. But perhaps the most important aspect of portraiture is putting your subject at ease so they can show their true self. You’re more than halfway to great photo portraiture if you can make a genuine connection with your subject.
How to build trust with your subject.
1. Take your time.
It’s easy to feel rushed when you’re taking someone’s picture, but one of the keys to taking a good portrait is to allow the time to connect and consider.
2. Go with the flow.
Every session will be different, so you’ll need to stay alert to your subject — some will be more available than others.
3. Get attuned with your setting.
When you have a sense of the person you’re working with, then turn your attention to the room. Take careful note of whats in the background, and pay close attention to the lighting (see more on the next page.
Indoor vs. outdoor lighting for portrait photos.
So many elements of portrait photography rely on intuition over technical control, so it’s useful to be able to identify or arrange great lighting for your portrait session from the start. If you’re shooting indoors, you’ll get to make a lot of these decisions in advance, while shooting outdoors may require more adjustments as you adapt to the lighting conditions.
Direct midday sun is too harsh for most portraits.
If you’re shooting outdoor portrait photography, using mostly natural light, you’ll need a slightly different toolkit. The middle of the day is the worst time to shoot. If the sun is right overhead, and you’ll have shadows under their eyes.
When possible, try shooting portraits during golden hour Links to an external site. — the hour or so right before sunset or right after sunrise. The soft, warm light gives subjects a magical glow.
Diffused light is more forgiving on the skin.
With portrait photography you want to soften up the light a bit, unless you really want to accentuate the texture in someone’s skin. Indirect light, studio lighting, open shadows (under a tree or in the shadow of a building), a cloudy day all create diffused and flattering light.
Used correctly, flash photography Links to an external site. can create great portraits — but only when that harsh light is balanced correctly with the background.
Choose the right lens and focus it on the eyes.
One of the most important tips for portrait photography is getting a sharp focus on your subject’s eyes. You will want to monitor where your Auto focus is focusing or use manual focus.
The best lenses for portraits.
Often the best lenses for portraiture Links to an external site. have a wide aperture. A really wide aperture Links to an external site. lets in a lot of light and lets the background be blurry. Longer lens length can be flattery in portrait photography. If you have a long focal lengths Links to an external site. and you’re close to your subject, you’ll have very shallow depth of field. Often a telephoto lens Links to an external site. is flattering in portrature. It makes noses look a little bit smaller and can be complimentary.
Try for a sharp subject and a soft background.
Choose your focal point. With a DSLR you can carefully choose what is in focus and what is not, resulting in a professional looking photograph.
Once you’ve learned the rules, try breaking them.
Many photographers will start out using automated program modes to shoot. Those can be very helpful as you begin, allowing you time to connect with your subject and concentrate on lighting, but try to create something unique and deliberate
Take off the training wheels.
“A program can give you the basics, but I don’t think you can get very creative,” Pidgeon says. “The program is there to keep you within the range of ‘this will be fine.’ But if you’re getting into photography, you want more than fine. You have to use manual mode Links to an external site. to get that nuance. And that’s scary — a lot of people think, ‘Hey, this particular program mode works great. I got awesome photos in this situation. I don’t want to let go of that.’ And then suddenly you’re in a different situation, and it doesn’t work. The program was doing the work for you, doing all the math for you, and making a lot of decisions. So then you have to go back and figure out how exposure works.”
Learning manual camera settings for portraits Links to an external site. and getting access to more nuanced decisions means you can get much more creative, artistic portrait photography.
Get creative with composition.
And there’s no need to stop with refining your use of exposure. Try filling the frame with your subject, try something besides perfectly centered in the frame and on really clean backgrounds.
Lead with emotion.
Last but not least: Portraiture is more interesting when capture some kind of emotion in the photo. Don't just take a "pretty" picture - take a picture that says something about the person - a story, an emotion, an expression, and a personality.