From candid snaps to raw skin, the past few years have transformed portrait photography. There’s no limit to the creativity and innovation today’s photographers are bringing into the industry; every day we hear of someone breaking the stereotypes that are deeply embedded in us. With just a bit of effort, you can play around with infinite filters, colors, shadows, etc. And the best part: you can do all this by keeping in mind the work of great ancient photographers and artists and taking inspiration from their work.
From stark black and white images to dreamy images with a blurred background, portraiture photography depends on the photographer’s camera skills, a flair for subjects, and the creative ability to bring these elements together in unique ways.
The genre of “portrait photography” has been interpreted in many ways in recent decades. While many define a portrait as any photograph of a person, we also like Richard Avedon’s brief statement: “A photographic portrait is an image of someone who knows they are being photographed.” how the person reacts to the camera. Perhaps more than any other category, portrait photography is about collaborating between two people, the subject and the photographer.
Here are our top tips for getting the most out of a shoot and creating portraits that grab our attention.
Setting up the background
Backgrounds are some of the most important, if overlooked, elements in portraiture. To create a truly wonderful portrait, you should include the smaller, unnoticeable details of your chosen subject. This can help you form a compelling narrative about the person you’re photographing.
An ideal background does not distract from the subject but emphasises it; Sometimes, that means incorporating accessories that highlight your personality, or maybe it means using color contrasts to highlight your facial features. When you’re shooting in-studio, you can play around with various fabrics, materials, and props to set up your background.
Connect with your subject
The recipe for a good portrait involves more than just photography and lighting equipment. It begins with the photographer’s effort to connect with the subject so that they are comfortable with the image-making process. Their interests, from getting to know their passions to start a conversation, to certain environmental factors, like their favorite music in the studio, to help them feel more relaxed during the session.
When you’re busy with your research, make sure that you closely observe similar portraits of your subject and learn from the strengths and weaknesses of the other photographer to improve your own skills. If you have time to chat ahead of time, a few pointed questions about details like the person’s favourite color or favourite piece of clothing; whether there’s a face angle, a pose, or even a previous portrait they like better; Even if the picture you are going to take has a specific purpose or production specifications that need to be met, it can go a long way in making you happy with the results.
Watch the dynamics of your camera and lens
When shooting a portrait, you are effectively translating a three-dimensional face into a flat plane of space, so choosing your lens or focal length and positioning the camera in a way that complements the features of your subject will have a significant impact on the success of the subject shot result. Facial features, such as eyes, nose, and cheeks can be best accentuated by adjusting your camera lens.
Whether you want a portrait that focuses more on the physical appearance or one that gives more background into the subject’s life will determine which kind of approach you adopt while photographing. Closer to the camera appears larger in an image, and wide-angle lenses amplify this effect. For close-ups, facial features like a pronounced nose can be particularly challenging and require special attention.
Shake up your angles
Angles are extremely important because the slightest change can drastically affect the final product. While the common practice is to take portraits at eye-level, you’ll notice that by lowering the camera and bending your knees, you’ll have amazing results at hand. A key example of this can be observed in portraits of authoritative figures that are meant to look intimidating. These shots are taken by crouching down and positioning the camera in a way that displays the domineering side of the subject.
If you’re looking to jazz things up a bit, you can break all the rules by taking your pictures from angles that might seem a tad awkward. These include photographs taken from the subject’s eye level. You can try an endless amount of techniques in this tip, such as changing their poses every few shots, taking candid pictures, and trying out angels that might even be frowned upon by some of your peers as ‘immature photography’. If your subject has a particular kind of image in mind, you can ask them to share the portrait with you and replicate those angels as well. The sky’s the limit!
Focus on the eyes
You’ve probably heard of eyes being called the “windows of the soul.” Portrait photos look better when the eyes are sharp. This increases eye contact between the subject and the viewer, creating an impressive and captivating image. “Nothing could be closer to the truth for portrait photography,” says Brian Smith. “When photographing people, you almost always want to emphasise the eyes.” Experts, hence, agree that without a proper emphasis on the eyes, the shot you’ve taken can immediately fall below high-quality photography standards.
Most likely, your camera has multiple autofocus/AF points visible in the viewfinder. To hone in on the eyes, all you have to do is choose the center AF point and focus this point on the subject’s eyes. At this point, you can adjust the frame so that you have a perfect balance between the focus on the eyes and the rest of the elements within the photo. Remember that the distance between you and your model should remain the same; otherwise, you’d have to go through this process once again.
We hope these tips will help you excel at portrait photography so you can bring a smile to many faces. Good luck!