Digital Portrait Photography - Shooting the Person is Key

There are a few general elements of digital portrait photography that are absolutely key - the first one being to focus on the person you are photographing. There are different kinds of portraits, such as a close-up shot, or a shot involving the upper body.

However, photographs can also be taken with the surrounding background included. When it comes to digital portrait photography that involves upper body shots, the most commonly used lens is a 90mm, fixed telephoto lens. These are often the kinds of photographs that are often taken at children's schools and involve the subject being in the foreground and the background slightly muted.

To capture a really good portrait you need to have your subject looking as natural as possible. Many photographers often achieve this by taking an initial shot, followed by a couple of successive shots - one of which is bound to have caught the subject in a more natural pose. When a close up portrait is intended, it is usual to line the subject up so they are not looking directly at the camera, but slightly to one side.

An important aspect of all photographs, whether they are digital portrait photographs or not, is the element of light. For a photograph that focuses on the head and shoulders, the angle of the light can vastly alter the finished portrait. If the light is coming in from the side or from above, small facial details will be illuminated and accented: more flattering photographs are best obtained with plenty of diffused light, or when light is far more muted.

Reducing areas of the face that the subject prefers not to be highlighted is a skill the portrait photographer soon develops: they achieve this through the use of a lens that is at least 90mm. Using a wide aperture you can ensure that the person you are photographing appears to be brighter in the foreground of the picture, with the background fading slightly into the background through being slightly out of focus.

Finally, when you are involved in close-up digital portrait photography, respect your subject's personal space. People hate to feel intimidated and, even though you may be taking a close-up portrait, you still need your subject to feel comfortable in your presence. 

Most professional photographers would still advise getting as close as possible rather than using a zoom lens.  It might work for a lot of photographers, especially if their subjects are professional models but, in the vast majority of cases, the subject will be much more at ease if you just step back a little and give your subject some space.

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Portrait Photography Tips - Shooting Wow Pictures

All budding photographers, as well as those who've been shooting for awhile, are all looking for the same thing. They want to shooting stunning photographs that capture the "wow" factor. It is not an easy thing to do, since beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, it is not impossible and rather than following rules, sometimes it is necessary to break them. Be random and boldly follow your instincts to find that special picture that makes everyone stop and take notice.

1. Change the Perspective - Nearly all portraits are taken with the camera at eye level. Change the perspective by changing the angle from which you're shooting. Get up high over your subject for one effect. From that vantage you may see an even more interesting aspect. Experiment with your composition.

2. Play with the Eyes - Eye contact or the direction in which the eyes are gazing heavily affects the effect of the portrait. Looking directly into the camera isn't always the most interesting way to shoot someone. It may be more intriguing to have the subject look off to the side, drawing those who look at the shot to wonder what's there, off camera, unseen. But be careful how you do this, because drawing the viewer's eyes to the side also takes their eyes off your subject.

3. Staying Focused within the Frame - In other words, have your subject holding an object, like a woman holding a baby, or a child holding a toy keeps the viewers eyes focused inside the frame and on the subjects. It creates a second point of interest and helps to create a story within the frame with the subject.

4. Composition Rules - Composition rules as listed in portrait photography tips, are made to be followed and broken. The rules are great to know and to use, but stretching them, or pushing to the outer limits makes for more interesting portrait art. Learn the rules, get comfortable using them, then learn to break them in order to achieve a more eye catching result.

5. Experiment with Lighting - The possibilities are endless with lighting. You are hindered only by your imagination and ability to be creative. There is no good and bad. So go ahead and play with the lighting. You might surprise yourself. Sidelight, back-light, silhouette, the possibilities are infinite.

6. Make Subject Move - Interesting portraits happen when you take the subject out of his or her comfort zone. Make them move. Put them in clothing or in a setting where you wouldn't ordinarily find them. Surround them with stuff that says who they are, but make them react differently to it. For instance, put them in business attire in an office, but have them jump up and down or read a book upside down. Again, be creative.

7. Don't Stage the Photo - Shooting candid shots are better than posing the subject. People, and kids in particular tend to tense up and hide rather than reveal their personality when the picture is staged and they are required to pose. Photograph your subjects while they work or kids while they play. Try to catch them reacting naturally to their environment.

8. Using Props - Enhance your shot by creating another point of interest with a prop. For example, if you're shooting a doctor, let them be wearing a stethoscope or holding a skull. Be careful not to let the prop dominate the picture, let it be part of the picture telling part of the story.

9. A Part of the Whole - Try focusing on a part of the whole, for instance, instead of shooting the head and shoulders of your subject, take a picture or two of their hands, or their back, or maybe even a shoulder with a special tattoo, keeping the face in shadow. Be dramatic and bold. Sometimes what is left out of the shot is as important as what is left in.

10. Variation on a Theme - Obscuring your subject in order to focus on one particular aspect works well too. In other words, shrouding a woman in a shawl leaving only her eyes visible and looking at the camera. Possibly making the shawl match the eyes of the subject making for a dramatic color statement.

The possibilities for taking creative and dramatic shots are limited only by your ability to think outside the box. Know the rules, know how to work them, then learn how to break them for a more creative effect. Finally, take a series of shots... not just one... shoot often and quick... sometimes, in order to get what you want.

I hope you have found these portrait photography tips useful.

Jonnie Blaylock is a hobbyist photographer that helps new photographers learn the fundamentals with his Portrait Photography Tips and more.

Portrait Photography Tips - Shooting in Low Level Light

It is comparatively easy to capture portraits when you have complete control of the lighting. But what about when you have no control and the available light is limited? The following portrait photography tips are intended to offer some lighting and photography concepts to make a low lighting situation a bit easier.

Common situations dealing with low level lighting are conferences or weddings at the moments where something important is happening and a flash would be a rude distraction. In order to shoot portrait photography reasonably well in this situation you must know quite a bit about the characteristics of your camera.

The Camera

To take portraits in low lighting it is imperative that a single lens reflex (SLR) camera be used. SLRs allow complete control over the major characteristics of the camera: size of aperture opening, shutter speed, and the ISO setting of the image sensor (using a digital SLR).

The Aperture

The aperture is the iris like opening in the lens body that controls the amount of light that is let into the camera; the smaller the setting, the bigger the opening. Without a flash, the necessary setting of the aperture will depend on the amount of light in the room. There are lenses available that have very small aperture settings (large opening) but they can be very expensive.

The point here is that if you have a limited light source, start with the lowest aperture setting and adjust higher as needed.

Shutter Speed

Allowing the shutter to stay open longer will allow more light in but it also allows for any motion to be captured; motion to a camera translates to blur or streaking. Because of this, a tripod or some other stabilizing device will be necessary. The longer the shutter is open, the more necessary the tripod (this is one of the key elements in all of my portrait photography tips). If you are expected to move about a crowd, a unipod may be a better choice.

Try to keep your shutter speed slow enough to let enough light in but not so slow as to capture movement. This can take quite a bit of practice but can make the difference of having to buy an expensive large aperture lens or not.

ISO Setting

The ISO or film setting of your camera determines the sensitivity of your image sensor. The larger the ISO setting the quicker it reacts to light. Using a high setting in limited light will allow your sensor to react quicker to the light that is available. The balance here is that ISO settings above 400 tend to result in grainy pictures with some cameras; this is becoming less of a problem with the progressive development of image sensors but it still happens.

Balancing out your aperture, shutter, and ISO settings in different lighting environments can take a bit of practice but it is better to do this than to use a disruptive flash during the I Dos of a wedding or when the boss may be making a presentation at a conference.

I hope these portrait photography tips have shown some of the concepts to keep in mind when shooting portraits in limited lighting without a flash.

Check out our Photography Tips site for more Portrait Photography Tips.