Tips for portrait shooting

Поради для портретної зйомки

Portrait photography is very different from all other types of photography. If you follow certain rules, it allows you to subtly and accurately convey a person’s character, emphasize the merits of his appearance, and hide the shortcomings. If you want to understand how to make portrait shooting perfect, then you should get acquainted with the subtleties and features of creating such compositions.

Technics
Any camera is suitable for portrait shooting. The advantage of the mirror camera – is a change of optics that allows you to vary the modes of photography, the ability to shoot in a manual modus, which means that you have many opportunities to solve your artistic problems, and the ability to shoot in difficult conditions (for example, in dark rooms).

When shooting a portrait, preference should be given to portrait lenses with gentle drawing optics. Gentle drawing of the optics allows hiding the irregularities of the skin and focuses on the main elements of the portrait (eyes, mouth, forehead), giving a feeling of volume due to the smooth drops of sharpness from the main to the less important.

Light
In order to get not a flat but voluminous face in the photo, it is best to use light falling a little at the front and side (front-diagonal lighting). In principle, good results can be obtained with side lighting, but on the side, lighting is best to use a reflector (which can serve, for example, a white wall of the house) or an external flash. On the street, it is best to shoot in the morning or early evening. If you shoot at noon, when the sun is at its zenith, the upper light will give deep shadows and a very sharp contrast.

With counter lighting, you can get a silhouette if you shoot, for example, in the evening. If you want to highlight the face, you also need a reflector or an external flash. Front lighting will make your face flat and should be avoided.

Work with a model
We often see tense faces and stretched, smiling people in the pictures. Most people see the camera and begin to «pose». This rarely yields good results, as those portrayed during a pose tend to strain. The photographer should be able to open the inner world of humans, and this is possible only when the model is relaxed and naturally – at ease. We already wrote once that every photographer has his favourite genre in photography. The portrait photographer should love to communicate with people and be able to win over a person.

Shooting is best to start with a casual conversation. When a person relaxes, you can start shooting.