Alpha Photography Blog

Photographing people can be a tricky business. Portrait photographs are generally required for special occasions, and everyone wants to look their best.

Here are a few basic tips to make portrait photography more successful.

Focus on the Eyes

This is perhaps the most important tip for photographing people. The eyes are like an anchor, not to mention being incredibly expressive. Here are two photos - the first is a little out of focus, while the second has the eyes as the main point of focus. It’s a subtle, yet powerful difference.

Where you have multiple people in one photo, you may need to reduce the aperture (that is a larger f stop number e.g. f16) to make sure those in the centre of the photo are in focus and the people towards the outside of the frame are also in focus.

Where the photo has the subject looking away from the lens, still focus at their head, as you want to make sure they are in subject of the photo.

Portraiture is where you really get to experiment with depth of field. The people in the image must always be in focus, but you can choose to either completely blur out the background (using an aperture of about f2.8 or f4.5). Or, you can keep the background completely in focus (using an aperture of around f26 or f22).

Depth of field is a technique that does require some practice to really understand how it works, so experiment a little and see which result you prefer.

Lighting

The mood you want to create in the portrait will influence the lighting you will use. Do you want soft, warm lighting, or perhaps harsh, bright light?

A studio is the easiest location to control the lighting effects. You can choose the desired background, and place studio lights to create the environment for the outcome you’re after.

Lights coming down from above creates shadows under the eyes, nose, chin etc. This isn’t the most flattering of lighting conditions. However, you could angle the light a little, and place a reflector (discussed below) under the person, to reflect some light back up to fill in the shadows.

Side lighting creates a very moody effect. Many celebrity photographers use this technique. The room is dark, and the only light is coming from the side, illuminating half the face. This works well for head shots that you want to look a little edgier.

Reflectors

A reflector is a very useful tool in photography. Light has a tendency to fall from just one direction, and it casts shadows on the areas where no light is falling.

Reflectors come in a variety of sizes and colours. Traditionally, they are circular pieces of fabric in either white, silver or gold. The colour of the reflector determines the warmth/tone of the reflected light. For instance, a gold reflector creates a very warm glow, whereas a silver reflector produces a cooler light.

You can even makeshift a reflector yourself using cardboard. If you don’t want to invest in a proper photographic reflector at first, you can try making your own to test out how they work.  Experiment with different colors and compare the results.

A reflector is just as its name indicates - it reflects light. So, say light is hitting your left cheek, which means that the right side of your face is predominantly in shadow. In order to illuminate the right side (without using lights), you would place a reflector (off camera) along the right-hand side of your body. The light coming from the left now bounces off the reflector, softly illuminating the shadows on the right side of your face.

It’s a less harsh (and less expensive) way of removing shadows.

Expressions

This will depend entirely on the purpose of the portrait. Is it for fun, a formal family portrait, or for business?

Smiles are a good touch, but if the person doesn’t feel comfortable smiling on camera, you may want to let them choose an expression that they are more comfortable with. After all, the photo should be as natural as possible.

The same goes for the position. There’s no point seating someone in a way that they look stiff. Sure, guide them with ideas, but if they come up with the ultimate position themselves, then that will make the photo look much more comfortable.

When photographing large groups, manoeuvre everyone so they are as close together as possible. Then, you as the photographer, take a position up high and shoot down to the group - you’ll get more people in the frame, and it’s a more flattering angle.

Props

Again, depending on the purpose of the portrait, and who will be in the photo, as to whether to use props. When photographing children it is common to use some kind of prop - it can be a particular them, or just something to keep the child sitting upright.

Examples of props you can use for children include chairs, beanbags, bails of hay, benches, or even a swing.

Ultimately, how you structure the portrait, the lighting you use, and the poses, will depend on the purpose of the photo. Keep this in mind, and try and make the shoot as relaxing as possible. Be as prepared as you can be, as that will immediately set people more at ease, and remind them to try and have fun!

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