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Styles: Portrait Photography
Photo by Colin. Model: Gillian Robinson (Impact Modelling Agency)
By portrait, we mean a picture in which the person being photographed is the sole subject of the picture. Although there may well be other things in the image, the person should be the primary focus of the picture. If you want a picture which shows someone in the distance gazing across a sun drenched Caribbean Beach, then you are probably best to follow the guidelines for landscape photography as we would not class this as a portrait.
The guidelines below can also be applied to photography of animals. For portraits with 2 or more subjects, see the next section.
Get to know your subject 
Experienced models know how to look good in front of the camera but most people tense up when a camera is pointed at them. Take you time to put them at ease so that they can be themselves once you start clicking the shutter. You will get much better shots, and both you and the 'model' will enjoy the experience much more.
The best portrait photographers can build a rapport with their subject easily, which will relax them and help the photographer get the best results.
Get in close
If your subject is the persons face - don't waste pixels leaving lots of space around the face – zoom in, or get closer to your subject.
Positioning in the frame
If your subject is looking to the side, position them on the opposite side of the frame looking into the space you've left. For example if they are looking to the right, they should be left of centre.
Focus on the eyes
It doesn't matter if the nose or mouth is very slightly out of focus as long as the eyes are sharp. In extreme circumstances where the depth of field is so shallow that it is only possible to get one eye in focus, ensure the eye nearest the camera is in focus.
Shallow depth-of-field
The subject of any portrait picture is the person in it and nothing else in the image should detract from that. Using a large aperture (small f-number) will throw the background out of focus. This effect is more pronounced if you are using a DSLR, your subject is fairly close to the camera and there’s a significant distance between the subject and the background.
Make the most of natural light
Whether taking portraits indoors or out, natural light is arguably the finest form of illumination for your picture. The downside is that you have far less control over it than you do with a flash. However learn to work with it and you will get some wonderful shots with plenty of depth.
Where is the subject looking?
If the person is not looking directly at the camera, it often works better if you position the subject in the frame in such a way that they are looking into the space left in the picture rather than looking out of the picture (i.e. if the are looking to the right, position them to the left of the frame).
Avoid on-camera flash
The built in direct flash on a camera is the most unflattering form of light you can use. The light is so direct that you lose any shadows that help give an image depth. It also often causes parts of the face to become burnt out (completely white).
The exception to this is where the flash is being used as a fill-in. i.e. generally outdoors where it is not the primary source of light, but it is being used to combat shadows on the face. This is possibly the only useful function of a built in flash.
Shoot in Raw
This does not mean removal of all your clothing, although this would guarantee you some interesting expressions on the face of your subject.
Getting the correct colour balance on a portrait is vitally important. If you shoot in JPG, the camera sets the white balance before the file is stored and if it gets it wrong, you'll have your work cut out for you to correct it later. If your camera can shoot in RAW mode, use it - you can then make sure that skin tones are correct for the lighting used.
For outdoor portraits early to mid morning offers excellent light 
See an earlier section for information on shooting at different times of day. If you find yourself wanting to take pictures at midday when the light is not usually that good, try taking your subject in the shade of a tree perhaps with a little fill-in flash.
Another outdoor portrait tip – try backlighting your subject
The old advice was always to position yourself with the sun over your shoulder in order to light the subject’s face. Ignore this advice is serves only to guarantee that the subject will be squinting at the camera desperately waiting for you to get the shot over with. Try the opposite approach, put the sun behind your subject to get some nice highlights in their hair - then use fill-in flash to lighten their face.
Try and show something of the subject’s character and personality
Portraits should show something about the person you are photographing. Try using props, for example if your subject plays a musical instrument try taking a portrait of them while they are playing or holding the instrument.
Another option is to show the person within surroundings that would be associated with their character. For example a successful business man at his desk.
Don't use a wide-angle lens for close up shots 
Wide-angles lenses seriously distorts the features of the face. You should stand further away and use a focal length (35mm equivalent) of at least 70mm - ideally around 100mm to create an image and the eye sees it. For compact cameras with a 3x zoom or DSLRs with the standard 18-55/70 kit lens, this means using as near to possible the maximum zoom. Of course they can be used for effect.
Don't chop someone off at the joint
Avoid cropping a picture at a persons joint (shoulder, elbow, knee etc.) - it just looks wrong.
Sample Pictures
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Photo courtesy of Bryan Costin.
Notice the very close crop. Hardly any of the frame is wasted. Also note how despite the shallow depth-of-field, the eyes are still in focus. |
Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Molineux.
Portraits don't require the subject to be looking at the camera. |
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Photo by Colin
Using a long lens has enabled me to get this picture from a distance of nearly 10 metres away. The long focal length also makes it very easy to get a completely out-of-focus background. |
Photo courtesy of Reza Ali.
A nicely posed image which uses natural side lighting to give the picture a sense of depth. |
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Photo by Colin
Model: Maggie Matic (Impact Models)
This is an example of what is called a high key portrait - where the surrounding background is very bright.
This shot was taking using a Lastolite HiLite background - a large white background that is lit from behind and therefore provides a shadow free backdrop. |
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Photographs
This is a site about photography so I'm sure you are expecting to see plenty of pictures.
For now, why not take a peek at the flickr galleries belonging to the two authors of this site.
Colin's Flickr Page
Phil's Flickr Page
"Most people stiffen with self-consciousness when they pose for a photograph. Lighting and fine camera equipment are useless if the photographer cannot make them drop the mask, at least for a moment, so he can capture their real, undistorted personality and character."
- Philippe Halsman
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