Portrait Photo tips-what are yours?

[HayleyEPaterek]

What are your top tips for portrait photography? Share with us below your techniques and advice on lighting, posing and framing etc.
If you also have some fantastic portrait shots you would like to share with us, we would love to see them particularly if they illustrate your top tips and advice!

So get posting below!

[nicolas orillard]

be creative !
follow some rules, forget some others....

get some shots quickly if someone is posing for you, as it becomes harder and harder to get a "natural face" after two hours shooting...

portrait as many side. studio, street, travel , selfportrait...

I'd like to share my last self portrait, made last week for a challenge I took on a french photo forum with the subject Rockstar.
shot with two canon flashes+ natural window light, a 5dII , a tripod and a bottle of beer

it is suppose to be after a rough rockstar night....

a bit of dodge and burn, removing some dust points and skin irregularity, some light vigneting and a high pass filter to give this surreal effect

oh and don't think I'm like that, was just for the shot

(and before someone asks, foreground powder is SUGAR )


Reveil difficile Rockstar par crazy pablo, sur Flickr

[peterlyall]

If its a portrait session rather than candid work then spend a bit of time with the subject, even before you get the camera out, or go near it if it is set up in a studio.
People look so much better when they have had a chance to relax and feel comfortable in the 'studio'.

[RedEyes©]

for location work, take a torch. It would've saved me £200 on my last shoot if i had used one

[egwardo]

spend a bit of time with the subject, even before you get the camera out

I agree with Peter if i am doing portraits i always try and treat it more like going round a friends for tea, get some biscuits in boil the kettle when they arrive, let them take there coats of and have a sit down and chat through what they can expect and what the general plan is. If kids are envolved i let them run round and explore and also have a box of toys they can play with.

I believe creating an environment that feels safe and friendly to clients can totally change the session but also makes the experience more enjoyable, people dont have protraits taken every day so you want them to enjoy the experience as well as the outcome. This in tern is likely to lead to that customer coming back for more portraits another time.

[Scotty]

Use something in the shot to tell a bit about your model ( clothes, surroundings, jewelry). Also, don't get stuck using just your own ideas. Be open to trying out ideas that your model might have.

[dombower]

I think the first tips that have to be laid down are the total basics of the different types of lighting that are possible, and the classic lighting positions such as rembrandt, split, butterfly, broad and short, soft and hard. high key and low key and split lighting

My examples: light paterns
http://dombowerphoto.blogspot.com/2011/ ... shots.html

and high key low key looks:
http://dombowerphoto.blogspot.com/2010/ ... shoot.html

Cross flash techniques
http://dombowerphoto.blogspot.com/2010/ ... raphy.html


then getting onto the more creative stuff and use of different lenses and flashes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de3Ei1qQ_h0

[Pitmatic]

A couple i did using the available ambient lighting in the location available. often you just dont need lots of gear but can make do with whats available.

Here a cinema screen was setup in the theatre and all the stage lights were pointing at it which would have been a harsh light and would have made the subjects squint which for portraits looks bad so i get them to sit on a box around the other side of the screeen and it then became a huge softbox behind me

But it was stll very dark as the light was coming throuh the screen so I used my D700 with an Iso of 1000 and a nikon 50mm 1.4afd at f2 to give a nice shallow depth of field and keep a nice high shutter speed to make sure there were no blurred shots

As i was positioning the box i was aware of the paint splats on the wall behind and kept them in frame to give an interesting but not distracting background.

A vignette in lightroom and a modest levels tweak and thats it.


The Hiring Fair by Pitmatic, on Flickr


The Hiring Fair by Pitmatic, on Flickr

[nicolas orillard]

Go Black and White !!!!!
use a shallow aperture ( here between 1,2 and 2,8) to get creative effects!

Use the caracter of the person you're shooting , make the light your friend in every situation.
Don't forget to bring back life in the eye as you might not always have the perfect light...



Souvenir par crazy pablo, sur Flickr


joy par crazy pablo, sur Flickr


Lulu par crazy pablo, sur Flickr


autopablo 2 par crazy pablo, sur Flickr


Pierrot par crazy pablo, sur Flickr

[Pitmatic]

That is a good point always try to get a catchlight in the eyes it makes them sparle and adds life

[ALwin]

Any tips on capturing the eyes when doing portraits? That's one of the things I have most difficulty with.

One of my favorite photos that I find inspiring, looking at the eyes I wonder how it was done or is it heavily edited?

[4colourprogress]

Wow that portrait is insane, such an intense stare, feels like she's looking right through me

[ALwin]

It's the famous 'Afghan Girl' photo. The eyes look nice but I have to wonder how much alteration/editing it went through.

[nicolas orillard]

mccurry did this with film , so only dvlpmt treatment.

no photoshoip at the time

you can find the same girl, decades later by the same photographer, found in afghanistan, where she was decades earlier.

one of the most knowm pictures, steve mc curry is really good for this kind of shot...with lots of warm colors...

by the way the journalist photo of the year was inspired from this shot.

[HannahJohn]

Rules for a portrait photos are just simple
Be Innovative,
Follow some strict guidelines,
Try to shoot thing those attract every person.