i need portrait help!!!!!

[invncblsonic143]

Ok so i want to try my first portrait but i dont have much to work with all i have is a canon rebel xti with no special lens or set equipment ..... my girlfriend will be my model but if the shots arent atleast a little flatering i will not get another chance at using her for a model to practice on....can anyone give me any ideas or tips for beginner portraits?

 

[Derrel]

When a person is posed so that they are taller than they are wide---ie, standing, and not laying down, or sitting on their butt,etc, then the pose is a vertical pose, and the camera ought to match that. The VAST majority of single-person portraits will best be framed as verticals. A standing person is in an active pose, as opposed to seated or reclining, which are not "active" poses. Bottom line: do not hold the camera so that every shot is a horizontal!!!