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Portraits - Simple Tips by Charles Edwards
Here's How to Take Great Portraits. Article rating: 7.67 |
When shooting portraits, there are a few things to keep in mind: 1) Framing - when framing your photo, zoom in or get close enough that you're filling your frame with your subject(s) and not the background. This can be especially important when there is a distracting background, such as a crowd (this tip suggested by subscriber Leslie W. Knight).
2) Aperture - shooting in aperture priority mode (if your camera has it) is another way to reduce the distraction of the background. By using a large aperture, you reduce your depth of field (range that is in focus). By doing this, you can make sure that your subject is in focus, while your background is out of focus and appears softer.
3) Lighting - don't underestimate the importance of a pleasant light source. For outdoor shots, try using your flash to fill in the shadows that may be falling on your subject's face. Indoors, experiment to develop some flash/lighting configurations that work well with your available equipment. Flash photography is a science in itself, so you may want to visit your library or bookstore to do some research if you want to take your flash photography to its fullest.
4) Be Ready - learn to anticipate key moments in your subject's movements and expressions so you can capture them. Prefocussing before shooting can help in this situation so that there is no "lag" between depressing the shutter release and your picture being taken.
5) Experiment and Review - when you take portraits, have a close look at them and review what you like about them and what you could improve. Also, look closely at the professional portraits you see in magazines and try to incorporate some professional techniques into your shooting. By treating your portrait photography as an ongoing learning experience, you'll be rewarded by capturing better and better portraits as time goes on.
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