Portrait Photography

“A portrait! What could be more simple and more complex, more obvious and more profound.” -

Charles Baudelaire

“Portraiture is a window to the soul”

Holding Virgina - Sally Mann

Portrait and People Photography Photographs that

clearly shows the expression of a human most likely to use their faces as main Focal Point.

Settings of Potrait Photography Settings and

scene can really add emotion to a portrait.

Settings tell us information about the people and their way of life.

Props in Portrait Photography Props help to give

the photographs a life and tell us more about the subject. Include props but don’t let them become the main focus of the portrait.

Lighting in Portrait Photography Make sure the lighting ADDS to the photograph

rather then subtracts. Lighting can make or break a photograph.

Shoot FROM the source of your light to fill in faces

Shoot in early morning or towards end of day for nice soft diffused light. Mid day light is way to harsh and high to effectively fill out facial features

Work/Life/Candid Don’t tell your subject to pose. Rather be

unobtrusive and photograph them doing what they do. A posing smiling person is not always the best.

Angle in Portrait Photography You can minimize

distractions in your photographs by switching up your angle.

Different angles can really change the mood and meaning of a photograph.

Types of Portraits

Candid PosedFormalCoupleEnvironmentalSportingChildrenGroup

When we speak of portrait photography in general terms there's a tendency to overlook the sub-categories. From the strictly formal to the candid street shot. Here is a range of the more common types of portrait photography.

Candido un-posed andunplanned photo

Posed Communication

between photographer and the subject about the body position and expression

Formal Communication between

photographer and the subject regarding clothing, location, style and mood

Couple Interpretation of a relationship

between two people

Hiroshima, August of 1945

Small Group Interpretation of a

common bond between members of a group

Environmental An environmental portrait shows the subject(s) in their own

territory.

Sporting shows the subject with their uniform, equipment

in their sporting environment. The important factor is to let the equipment and

location tell part of the story.

Children

Portrait Tips Choosing the Right Background Focus on the Eyes Lighting, Lighting and more Lighting Change the Format Framing Alter Your Perspective Experiment with Subject Expressions “Play” with focus Give Your Subject Space to Look Into Reflection & Shadow Movement Get serious

Choosing the Right Background

Focus on the Eyes

“the eyes are the window to the soul”

Lighting, Lighting and more Lighting Lighting is the most important element in any photo composition

and sets the mood, feeling and character of your photo.

Change the Format Framing

Mix your framing

Alter Your Perspective completely

change the angle that you shoot from

Experiment with Subject Expressions

Same shot+different focus=different story

(UN)Focus It adds

some mystery to the image

Give Your Subject Space to Look Into

Reflection & Shadow

Movement Use movement

to show action, even if it blurs out the subject entirely.

Get serious

Not all portraits need to have a smile, capture the serious emotions too

BEN WATTS

DIANE ARBUS

THOMAS RUFF

CINDY SHERMAN

ANNIE LEIBOVITZ

DAVID LACHAPELLE