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Killer Portrait Tips Made For Family Gatherings

December 18, 2008

It’s pretty basic to take portraits. Just point the camera at a face and press the shutter, right? Well, yes and no. Certainly you can do that, but if you show your friends the printed results, are they mesmerized by each picture or do they flip through the pile of photos so quickly that their hair blows back?

Here are some posing secrets for taking the type of portraits you’ll be proud of…

The Power of “Eye”

Usually, the most important aspect of a portrait are the eyes. First, make sure they are open. (Then again, feel free to experiment with taking pictures when your subjects’ eyes are closed.) Just make sure your subject is not blinking.

When the subject’s face is in your viewfinder, place the focus point of your camera on the subject’s eye, NOT the nose or the chin.

If you don’t, based on your aperture’s setting, the depth of field could result in a sharp picture of the tip of the nose while the rest of the face is slightly out of focus.

Having the subject staring directly into the camera, is typical with portraits. However, some of the most striking portraits have your subject(s) looking elsewhere.

For example, consider:

  • The subject looking at something outside what can be seen in the picture
  • Your subject staring intently at an object that can also be seen in the same picture
  • Two subjects looking at each other

Taking Candids

If you’ve ever met anyone who states: “I don’t take good pictures,” posing them could be a problem.

Don’t give up. Take the necessary time to learn about and relate to the subject. Once they give you their unspoken approval, taking candids can have spectacular results. I personally find this approach works best with very young children.

Backgrounds

Let’s face it – the subject in your photo should be more interesting than the background. If not, make the background the focus of the shot. With that said, you can use backgrounds in different ways.

To make the background as invisible as possible, use as large an f-stop as your camera allows (F/2.0, for example). This will cause your background to be blurry and therefore help your viewer focus their attention on the subject.

Expressions

For some portraits, the expression of your subject says it all. It’s easy to capture extreme expressions when taking candids of children. Unfortunately, it generally takes more time, work, and effort (from the photographer) to elicit the same type of true emotions from adults.

Using Props

There is always a little risk when adding a prop. On the plus side, you can improve your photograph by adding another point of interest that draws your viewer in.

On the downside, the prop can take too much interest away from your subject. This is one of those areas where common sense and experience are your best teachers.

These posing tips should improve your portraits. And if you like what you’ve read, you can have photo tips when photographing kids sent to you every month, without charge.

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Written by ady · Filed Under Digital Photography 

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