Portrait Photography Made Simple

Becoming a portrait photographer is one of the toughest tasks a photographer can face. This form of photography is the most challenging and requires a complete mastering of the art. Now, don't let this scare you away because if you have the passion and the intent you can overcome anything. It is always thought that a studio is required for portrait photography. However, it is not true as more than half of portraits are shot outdoors. Environmental portraits allow you to show the subject as well as the surroundings. Even if you don't have a great studio you can flourish in the art by photographing in parks, beaches and open fields.

A best size of a portrait image is the one that can be enlarged to the size of 11x14 inches. If the size is any smaller, the face of the person will be too small and it will not be considered a portrait. You have to understand some photography techniques to get on top of the game. You will need the help of a low ISO, prime lenses, tripods and a mid-range DSLR camera.

When shooting in a studio you need to make sure you have a clear understanding of the basic elements of portrait photography. There are two elements involving the background and the lighting. We will try to explain the two in this simple tutorial.

The first element is controlled background. This simply means that you want to draw all the attention to the subject and minimize any harsh background or interference in the photo. Make sure that there is nothing in the frame other than the person and a clean, plain background. Most photographers believe that you need a seamless paper or monochromatic backgrounds but it's not always true. You don't have to have a specialized room for controlled background. You can simply build your own or buy a portable backdrop. These backdrops can help get a smooth background and they can be pulled out anywhere. However, if you still can't control the background then you need a fast lens. For example you can use a 300/2.8 lens. Fast telephoto lenses have very shallow depth of fields. This low depth of field will give a blurry background as desired.

The second element is controlled lighting. You have to pick the right angle that you want the light to be hitting from. You can use stands and hangers to place bulbs or flashes at the right positions to get the effect you want. You also don't want to create harsh shadows so you might want to look into umbrellas and diffusion equipment. Below are some key factors that you need to understand before you jump into portrait photography.

Lighting

You want to use off-camera lights. Inbuilt or on-camera flashes just always don't do the trick. You want to have soft lighting and want to avoid harsh shadows. Try using a flash diffuser, an umbrella or a soft-box to soften the lighting. For outdoor portrait you might experience harsh shadows under the chin or eyes. Try using reflectors or an electronic flash to fill in these shadows.

Position

We want to impress our clients. The best way is to give them what they expect and want. No one likes to see their nose bulge out. Our goal as photographers is to de-emphasize the nose as much as possible. Try standing at least 10 feet away from the subject when picturing.

Lens

Since we want to stand 10 feet away from the subject we must have the appropriate lens to work with. You want to fill the frame with the subject's face. Try taking a telephoto or a zoom lens to your portrait photography session. I usually work with a 28-135 mm lens. Prime lenses are great for portrait photography but they might limit your movement around the subject. I recommend taking a 50 mm to cover your bases.

ISO

You want to minimize the amount of noise in the image so using a low ISO is required. The main reason you want to have less noise is because you are shooting a close-up picture of the subject. Remember that the higher the ISO, the more the noise.

Finally, get out there and start shooting. Remember that our main goal is the happiness of our client. And again, give them what they want.