How to Take Portraits

Portrait photography can be a daunting task. On the one hand it seems to be pretty straight forward: after all, it’s a lot easier to get a shot at a fellow human than at a fox running across your backyard. On the other hand, it’s hard to make a photo that is a standout. Everyday (or hour, depending on how addictive you are) when you log on to Facebook, there are dozens of new pictures on your newsfeed. The majority of them are portrait. You see them everyday and it can be hard figuring how to do it differently when it comes to serious portrait photography.

Here are some tips for the beginning portrait photographer:

1. Start with a lens with a large aperture. One of the best options is the 50mm F/1.8, which can be had for a fairly modest price. If you are using a camera body with a cropped ratio it’s even better: at 75mm or 80mm equivalent it’s a very usable range for traditional portrait. Shooting at a large aperture allows your photos to have a creamy bokeh, putting the focus squarely onto your subject. If you want the background to be even blurrier you can look for a 85mm F/1.8, which is also inexpensive. The problem with this technique is that it has been done to death for almost anyone who has access to a DSLR.





2. Examine your angle of approach. It may not be totally obvious, but a person looks slightly different when viewing from the left hand side or the right hand side. Professional models usually know which side of their faces look best, and usually won’t mind telling you if you ask. Keep that in mind when you are shooting, but also be ready to break this preference. If you are not shooting a professional model, be experimental and review the result. You may be surprised by what you find.





3. Pay attention to how light is falling onto your model’s face. As you have probably read elsewhere, avoid light sources that are directly above the head of your subject. Some apparent examples include the midday sun or floodlights from above. For a beginner, one of the easier way to do portrait would be asking the model to turn his or her face towards the primary light source. This will literally lighten your subject and will make for a pleasant portrait. The downside is that this may flatten the model and may not be a good choice for all faces. As discussed in the previous point, this has to do with the shape of a particular face.






4. Choose a background that is in contrast with the clothing of your subject, so that your subject will stand out. Here background does not necessarily mean a solid plane like a wall or a studio background. It can also refer to buildings in the distance, the blackness at night or the overexposed sky that shows up as total white. Again, this is not an absolute rule. Depending on your vision, it may work better if you actually match the color of the clothing of your subject to the background. But the real point is that you should pay attention to how the colors relate to each other.





5. If you are working with a non-professional model, poses can be a problem. He or she may look rigid and unnatural. In cases like this it will be useful to have a prop ready. By prop I mean anything that can shift the focus of the model onto something else, thus relieving him or her from focusing on the camera and being too self-conscious. Anything will do, but you can usually get the best result from something that the model is familiar with and within the appropriate photographic context. For example, giving the model a book is appropriate when shooting under a tree but not very appropriate if it is at night and very dark.




6. Retouching. Portrait photography benefits hugely from retouching. Commercially you would find it almost impossible to find any portrait works that has not been retouched in some way. If you ever wonder how you can get the shots you see on various fashion magazines, retouching is usually the answer. While it is certainly possible to get good shots without using Photoshop at all, you should know this is also something you can look into. Fortunately, there are a lot of resources available on the web that can help if you do.



Do remember that all these are just general guidelines for beginners. Once you are confident, feel free to experiment and break the rules. Everything goes. Only your imagination sets the limit.