How to Create Flattering Portraits of Family & Friends by Alice B. Miller

November 20, 2009

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Photo Tips & Techniques

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How to Create Flattering Portraits of Family & Friends by Alice B. Miller

Alice B. Miller recently sat down with photographer Allison Earnest who provided tips on how to create a flattering and natural looking photo

Article rating: 8.55

Are you frustrated with your attempts to create flattering portraits at family gatherings? Would you like to know how to capture more natural-looking pictures of friends? Take heart. I’ve asked Colorado-based portrait, commercial, and fine art photographer Allison Earnest (www.allisonearnestphotography.com) to share capture tips from her popular new book, Sculpting with Light: Techniques for the Portrait Photographers (Amherst Media, 2008). Whether you’re a professional, student photographer, or your family’s chief memory officer, the following tips will pave the way the next time you take pictures at a holiday get-together, special occasion, or anywhere at all.

“How you position your subject relative to your main light source—the sun, flash, or studio light—is key to creating flattering photographs,” says Allison. Here are 5 tips to get you started:

1. Start Seeing the Light. When you look at your subject, try to “see” where the main light is relative to him, her, or them. “With practice, you’ll learn to determine if the light is to the left, overhead, directly behind, or in front of him, her, or them,” says Allison. “Avoid the hours of 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. because when the sun is straight over your subject, he or she will wind up with raccoon eyes.”

“In this portrait of Alena Watters, the sun was straight overhead, giving her ‘raccoon eyes,’”

says Allison.

2. Shooting in Daylight. When setting up an outdoor shot, be sure to keep the sun behind the subject, or at a 90-degree angle left or right. “Once you position your subject or subjects with the sun behind them, use a simple flash to fill in the shadows and ‘bags’ under the eyes, as in photo 2,” says Allison. “If you use an on-camera flash, use the camera’s ‘bounce’ capabilities so that the flash does not over-light the subject. Create a simple, more pleasing result by bouncing your flash onto a white cardboard or reflector placed approximately 45 degrees left or right of the subject, as in photo 3.”

The sun is behind Michael & Miranda them, creating shadows and “bags” under the eyes.

“To create a natural, comfortable portrait, such as this one of Michael & Miranda, bounce your on-camera flash onto a white cardboard positioned about 45 degrees left or right of your subject,” says Allison.

3. In Their Best Light. The most flattering, slenderizing portraits of female subjects are typically created by having them turn their bodies—not their faces—away from the light. Explains Allison, “Notice the difference in the two photos of Irena Murphy, a slender, young woman. With her body facing the light, photo 4 makes her look broader than she actually is. Simply turning her away from the light, in photo 5, creates shadows and curves, and a thinned, more pleasing portrait. This technique is easily created using window light as your main light source.”

“When Irena, a slender young woman, turns her body toward the light, she appears broader than she really is,” Allison explains.

© Allison Earnest
Simply turning Irena away from the light creates shadows and curves, for a thinner, more pleasing portrait.

4. Zoom in and Crop. Just by zooming in and cropping the image in-camera you can change a photo from unimpressive to very attractive. Says Allison, “Photo 6, of Daniel & Meryl, is a snapshot of a beautiful couple, but a distracting background and too much space make it an unflattering pose. Without moving the couple, just zooming in on them and cropping the image, you wind up with a successful, flattering portrait, photo 7.”

A distracting background and too much space, make this portrait of Daniel & Meryl, an attractive couple, an unattractive pose.

Zooming in on Daniel & Meryl and cropping the image area in-camera creates a much more flattering portrait.

5. Find Your Subject’s Inner Light. Most people don’t feel comfortable in front of a camera. It is up to you to put the subject at ease so you can capture their inner beauty or personality. “With every subject, find a positive feature to flatter and emphasize,” says Allison. “With compassion and honesty say, ‘You have the most beautiful eyes, cheekbones, or hair.’ Everyone enjoys a compliment and once given, they will warm up to you, letting their inner beauty and personality shine through, as Irena does, in photo 8.”

When you compliment clients, they warm up and let their inner beauty shine through, as Irena does in this portrait.

For more helpful portrait tips, order Allison Earnest’s book, Sculpting with Light: Techniques for Portrait Photographers, at http://www.amazon.com.

Alice B. Miller is the owner of Plum Communications Inc. (www.plumcomm.com), a Long Island, NY, editorial services and marketing-communications company that supports the photo industry. Previously the editor of Studio Photography magazine, Alice has a growing clientele that includes photographers, manufacturers, publications, and associations. She is director of public relations for the International Photographic Council and an advisory board member for NyghtFalcon photography studios.

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