Tips for creating perfect portraits

Tips for creating perfect portraits.

Portrait Photography Exposure tips:

1. Don’t ever use your strobe in automatic mode because it will give you the wrong results. Learn to use and read light correctly.

2. To calculate the correct exposure for your portraits you should know how to use an exposure meter. There are two ways to use a light meter: the first is to point the meter at the subject - this is called a reflected-light reading. I prefer to take an incident-light reading - instead of pointing the meter at your subject, you stand beside the subject and point the meter at the camera. The light that falls on your subject will also fall on your meter.

3. Most new cameras today have a reflected-light meter build into them, but they are not always accurate. Using your cameras meter along with a grey card can be another way of calculating accurate exposures. You place the grey card beside the subject and take the reading from the grey card.

Portrait Photography Composition tips: should at all times be kept simple.

4. Like all types of photography, portrait images when kept simple are most effective. There are several ways to create good composition for portraits - first off is to have a natural colour background so that the subject will stand out.

5. Focus on the eyes. The eyes are the most import part of any portrait. They should be the focal point of any head shot and be 100 percent sharp.

6. Placement of the subject is very important. Get your subject to sit at an angle to the camera so that their shoulders are at 45 degrees to the lens. Then ask them to rotate their head until they are looking directly at the lens.

7. The hands of your subject can be a distraction - to avoid this in full length body shots ask the subject to fold them. You can always ask the subject to hold an object but be careful that the object will not take attention away from the subject.

8. You can change the appearance of your subject by changing their position or the position of the camera. If your subject has a double chin get the subject to lean forward and raise the camera height. If the subject has a bald head lower the height of the camera.


Light: will transform your images - learn to use it correctly.

9. Soft light works best for portrait photography. This can be achieved by bouncing the light off an umbrella or reflector. It will also reduce harsh shadows.

10. Never place your studio lights directly in front of the subject. They should always be placed at a 45 degree angle. This will help to prevent red eye occurring.

11. When shooting portraits outdoors you should choose an overcast day. This will lessen the harsh shadows in an image and will also prevent the subject from squinting. If the sun is very bright find a spot in the shade.


Photography equipment:

12. Tripod and a cable release: A tripod is important for one main reason, keeping your images sharp. Every time you put your hand on the shutter you risk movement - a cable release will allow you to take sharp images without touching the camera.

13. Your camera should have the ability to change lenses. You do not need to have a portrait camera - some of the best portrait photographers in the world use a digital SLR. Your lens should have a focal length of between 85 mm and 135mm - within this range you should be able to fill the frame from a reasonable distance and will also help reduce perspective distortion.

14. Light Meter: All modern day cameras have light meters built into them, but if you are serious about portrait photography it’s advisable to have a hand-held light meter. These are small and light-weight, and when used correctly are extremely accurate.

Portrait photography done correctly can be extremely profitable - remember to keep it simple.

Credit: http://www.goldprints.com/portraits.html