Starting Portrait Shots

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Permalink Reply by John Saunders on October 26, 2009 at 4:23pm

Hi Stuart

Portrait photography is a complex business! It's not just about lenses, lighting and composition; it's also about capturing character and features of the person you are photographing, and that involves being able to get your subject to relax and feel totally comfortable in front of your camera. Don't get them to say 'cheese'! Ask them where they went on their last holiday or what their favourite food is - as soon as you finish asking the question hit the shutter (don't wait for the answer because you want to capture their expression as they think of it. Set up the camera in a couple of shots and then when you are happy with the settings go to town on taking the shots (without checking each shot). Take a break after a couple of minutes and review what you have taken then while the subject relaxes. Then adjust if necessary and go again.
I like to use a lens that enables you to not be too close to the subject; 24-105 is ideal to start with but you can also use a 70-200 to be honest (although it might intimidate the subject!).
Lighting is best kept simple to start with; use a single light source off camera if possible set at 45 degrees and use a diffuser for nice soft light. You can bounce some of the light back with a reflector on the opposite side to fill in shadows. The bigger the light source the better (sun is the biggest, so you can use this above and behind the subject - expose for the background and use a reduced flash to fill in their face).
Composition is a big subject to cover but essentially you want to stick to the rule of thirds with the nearest eye of the subject at the 'thirds' point. If you frame with this in mind it makes cropping easier if you have to. Avoid 'cutting off' limbs at joints when framing. Practice with a subject engaged ( looking at the camera) and observed (looking away).
Backgrounds should not detract from the subject so keep them simple; complimentary colours are worth bearing in mind (red with green, etc) as they work well.
Look at some of the portraits submitted by people on this site and read the critiques. Don't be afraid to ask them about their lighting set up.
Most of all, click away and enjoy!
John

Permalink Reply by Stuart Strutt on October 27, 2009 at 1:54am

John your a star

Wow thats probabley one of the best bits of info ive read! I really appreciate it buddy and im gunna try and put some of what you said to practice..

Thanks again mate.

Stu