Do you just snap pictures of friends without a thought to how it may turn out? Portrait photography takes you a step up from people photography. It gives you elements to notice such as the angle you take the photograph, the lighting you will use, and the expression of emotion on a persons face. While you may be an amateur photographer deciding to take Christmas photos without the expense, you will need to have some basic knowledge of techniques used by the professionals. It is important to study the subjects face in order to determine the angle from which you should shoot. It’s important to capture their better side since a lot of people do have one. The subject could have a facial feature that is asymmetrical, or it could be something obvious like a scar or blemish. In the case of an asymmetrical feature, the angle of the camera can either hide the feature or make it look worse than it really is, depending on which way the subject’s face is angled. Even though the angle can hide certain imperfections, the photograph still clearly captures the subject. Portrait photography is about capturing the personality of the subject or their essence. You will want to make sure your subjects are relaxed. If you want to become a professional portrait photographer, you may want to meet with your client before the session so you can learn about them beforehand as well as while you are taking pictures. Be sure to notice the little nuances of their face since those add character to the portrait. If they are friends are family then this is an easy task since you probably already know about their personality, making it easier to capture it on film. Lighting is the next important step to portrait photography. A lot of photographers prefer natural light to artificial. Your subject will in part decide this for you. Remember you will use the light you have. Natural light will often require setting the aperture to compensate for the cameras lack of definition. In other words you need to create the contrast with the light and shadows for the effect you want. Often artificial light is harsh and not directed properly unless in a studio. Again you will need to use the manual settings on your camera to create the perfect portrait. The background is also important when discussing light. In a studio a photographer will pick a background that will not wash your features out or your clothing. They want to have a distinction or contrast between you and the background. This is also important of home portrait photography. You will want a background that gives color to your subject rather than taking it away. Finding a nice spot with a tree to sit on and mountains in the background can be a great portrait, but you will want to make sure the background is not too busy to distract from the subject. Make the subject seem apart of the picture rather than outside of it. The quality of your photographs is also determined by the type of camera and film you use. Once you understand your subject and use the techniques that the professionals use such as lighting and angles, you will be able to create a portrait that is near to professional if not professional for your family and friends for any occasion. Anyone can snap a picture, but wouldn’t it be great to create a portrait?
Portrait photography
...now browsing by category
Portrait Photography Vs People Photography
Saturday, March 12th, 2011How to Master the Art of Portrait Photography
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011Portrait photography, if you have the knack for it, is a very satisfying type of photography. I say you have to have a knack for portrait photography simply because it’s true. If you can’t put your subject at ease and get them comfortable sitting in front of a camera then as a portrait photographer you have a problem on your hands.
Your subject will turn out stiff and unwilling and it will come through in the photograph as well, and it won’t matter how good a photographer you are, or how much wizardry you can do with editing software.
If the original photograph you take is flawed then there’s not much you can do about it except go back to the drawing board. And by the drawing board here I don’t mean your portrait photography skills but the need for you to brush up on your people skills. And don’t worry if the first ever portrait photograph you take is of the person looking stiff and unnatural, you just need to keep trying until you get it right. Besides, most first attempts at anything invariably come out looking wrong so don’t get discouraged.
It’s only when things are still looking decidedly dicey after about two years of almost dedicated portrait photography that you might want to think about brushing off those people skills you knew you had but which you haven’t been able to find.
For my very first portrait photography session, I hijacked my sister into being my willing victim – oops, I meant to say guinea pig – and I can tell you that the end results were disastrous to say the least.
After that I just forgot all about it and left my desire for portrait photography behind me. Again at this point it was the whole film and processing thing, I didn’t feel like wasting my time and money on something that I clearly wasn’t good at. I also knew that no matter how much I tried to brush up my people skills that that was really as good as it got. So there I was, and there was portrait photography, a seemingly unobtainable goal in my photographic life, until that is of course, I bought my digital camera.
And I have to say that after that, whole new worlds opened up to me and I even went so far as to dream about doing some portrait photography as well. Luckily for me as the years had passed my people skills had also loosened up a little bit and I wasn’t so stiff-necked when I went it to this time. My photographs were still stiff necked, in the beginning at least, but they did improve with time and I can now take a decent portrait photograph without too much of a problem.
The moral of the story then? The digital camera is good for experimenting with photography. And portrait photography is good if you can easily interact with your fellow human being. But overall, don’t give up on portrait photography just because your very first shots were far from perfect. Give it a few more tries and don’t lose hope that you’ll eventually get something more than halfway decent.
Before I forget, I’d also like to point out that portrait photography need not only be about the traditional portraiture. You have many options open to you and which one you take depends to a large amount on your subject, basically which type of portrait would display them best, and your own inclinations. This was just to give you an idea of what type of portrait photography you can look forward to.
The Art of Portrait Photography
Monday, February 21st, 2011Portrait photography is usually used at functions such as birthdays, graduations and weddings and is used to hang decoratively on the wall in a way to look good and to intrigue people. These prints are normally blown up for a better effect and put in lovely looking frames to make the best of the photos.
As a general rule, portrait photography focuses mostly on the face of the model, but can involve the shoulders and even more of the body if requested from the photography professional. Portrait photography is a great way to capture the mood and emotion of a particular moment and provide great memories that can be remembered and looked at over and over again.
Unlike some of the other types of photography like landscape and wildlife, portrait photography became very popular when the camera was first discovered as people enjoyed taking lots of photos of their family and loved ones. It was a way of remembering and capturing the pure love and emotion of one single moment forever. They could also be hung on the wall in frames or put into photo albums so that other people that were visiting could admire the prints as well. Back in this time, however, the portrait photography was just black and white and not in colour, which is what we have got used to in modern times. However, for a better and more effective style of portrait photography, the photography professional is very often asked to take photos that are in black and white, and these look great when hung on a wall or placed in a photo frame. It is a very effective look, but unfortunately, not as forgiving for errors as colour photos tend to be.
As portrait photography grew more and more popular, the art of taking photos became more individual, leading to photography professionals creating their own personal styles. Different types of photography grew in popularity as well, leading to prints of landscapes and wildlife and other such things to make more modern and stylish wall hangings. People started to desire more dramatic backdrops for their portrait photography, and also different poses as well.
Any photography professional that is any good will know that people have different tastes and different styles and should accommodate for this when taking the photos. They are there to serve the people ordering the prints and should do exactly what is requested from them. Portrait photography has grown massively, and now there is a demand for photos for weddings, new babies, family portraits, graduations and suchlike.
These prints do not have to be massively expensive, but you will have to pay for the services that you get, so the more prints you want and the better you want them, as well as the size that you request will make the rate for your payment, and it is worth thinking of this when you decide on exactly what it is that you want.
Portrait photography makes for wonderful gifts for family and loved ones and should be thought about in the coming up of special occasions like birthdays, Christmas, wedding anniversaries and such like.