5 Portrait Photography Tips

 

“When you Photograph a Face, You Photography the Soul behind it…” – Jean-Luc Godard”  Portrait in photography is a photograph of a person or group of people that captures the personality of the subject by using effective lighting, backdrops, and poses.” says Wikipedia. I have clubbed 5 Portrait Photography Tips every Photographer should know. There are small things that matter in a big way. Here are a few tips to take your Portrait Photography game to the next level.

1. CLICK LIVELY

Everyone has our own Favorite Portrait photographer. And the one thing we always wonder is why is their Portrait so sharp & Lively and why not mine? Now, There’s a small tip to this. Take your favorite Portrait Photos and zoom it to the eyes. What You see in the eyes is the reflection of the Photographer. This happens because the Photographer has focused on the eye of the Person. Exactly! It is said that the Life of a Person or How Lively He is, is determined with his Eyes. When Eyes are lively, The Person is lively and When Your focus is on the eye, the Picture turns lively. So take the Tip and Start your magic.

2. GO CANDID

When you take a Portrait shoot of someone, Be it a Couple or Fashion or Kids, One mistake many Photographers do is that they direct the Client a little too much! Which in turn makes the client more nervous and kills the natural expressions. So do not direct them or direct them less. This way, They will be themselves more resulting in relaxed Candid shots. We Photographers take inspiration from everywhere and we try to incorporate the 100% of it in our shoots. It is good in a way. But, make sure that this does not disturb your client. Give them their space.

3. PICK THE RIGHT LENS

Another very important thing to talk about in our 5 Portrait Photography Tips is choosing the right lens. Be it Canon or Nikon, Choosing the Right Lens is very important to take your Portrait Photography to the next level. Usually, Lenses with least Aperture/ F-Stop value perform well for Portraits as it gives blur in the Background making the Subject appear Sharper. There are different lenses with different focal lengths serving the same purpose. For a Closeup Portrait, The 85mm lens is a perfect one. For a mid shot, It is the 50mm and a 35mm lens is for wider portraits wherein you can add more elements to your frame. So if you are a Portrait/Fashion Photographer, It is always a great decision to invest in a Portrait Prime Lens.

4. CHOOSE YOUR LIGHTING

Lighting is a very important part in any kind of Photography, Especially for Portraits. The ideal time to shoot would be Early Mornings or Evenings where the light is Soft and not Hard. Soft and Golden Light from the Sun is always good when you want to work more with natural lights or when you do not have space to use External Lights. However, Irrespective of which part of the day you are shooting, External Lights can be Effectively used to bring in more Sharpness and Details to your Portraits.

5. BRING EMOTIONS

If I were to Tagline Myself, it would be “I do not capture People. I capture Emotions!” with which we come to the last point of 5 Portrait Photography Tips. Bringing Expressions & Emotions are very important for Portraits. Whether You do the Perfect Framing or not, Whether You use the Perfect Lighting or not, Capturing Momental Expressions will make the Picture more beautiful. For instance, When you do Wedding Photography, The Bride has a mixture of Emotions- Happy & Sad. Empathize it and bring it to your frame. This is also a great way to get lively shots.

Happy Clicking To You!

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