Portrait Photography Tips
1. Hold camera very still or use a tripod
2. Know how to use the manual focus on camera / auto focus
3. Focus on person and not background (if doing portrait)
4. If you focus on someones eyes, it has a tendency to soften skin
5. KISS (keep it simple stupid)
6. Simplify the background when doing a portrait
7. If everything is in focus then make sure that background isn't cluttered
8. Get up close ( focus on what you are trying to take a picture of )
9. Alture perspective / angles
10. Experiment with lighting
-using side lighting :
The golden hour
1 hour after dawn
1 hour before dusk
Do not shoot into the sun (subject shouldn't be in front of the sun / sun behind photographer)
On a bright sunny day take photos in shady area
Add colored lights / filters (play around with them)
Rules of composition
- rule of thirds
Break the rules of composition
- Place the subject in the dead center
- put the person way off to the side
- add emotion or blur to it
- take a series of shots and put the together
- tell model to look off camera...look off to the side, look over shoulder, up, down (play with eye contact)
- introduce a prop
- shoot candidly / follow your subject around
1. Hold camera very still or use a tripod
2. Know how to use the manual focus on camera / auto focus
3. Focus on person and not background (if doing portrait)
4. If you focus on someones eyes, it has a tendency to soften skin
5. KISS (keep it simple stupid)
6. Simplify the background when doing a portrait
7. If everything is in focus then make sure that background isn't cluttered
8. Get up close ( focus on what you are trying to take a picture of )
9. Alture perspective / angles
10. Experiment with lighting
-using side lighting :
The golden hour
1 hour after dawn
1 hour before dusk
Do not shoot into the sun (subject shouldn't be in front of the sun / sun behind photographer)
On a bright sunny day take photos in shady area
Add colored lights / filters (play around with them)
Rules of composition
- rule of thirds
Break the rules of composition
- Place the subject in the dead center
- put the person way off to the side
- add emotion or blur to it
- take a series of shots and put the together
- tell model to look off camera...look off to the side, look over shoulder, up, down (play with eye contact)
- introduce a prop
- shoot candidly / follow your subject around