Tips for getting amazing portraits

mrdenn1s · Aug 1, 2007

Hi guys,

i have recently started playing around with my D40 and love taking pictures of people. Landscape and and other stuff doesn't interest me so much.

What tips do people have for getting great shots of faces?

3 examples below of what I have done since i caught the shooting bug

JIP · Aug 1, 2007

I don't know about tips you did a pretty good job from what I can see.

Garbz · Aug 1, 2007

All of these are great because you have caught the emotion in the face, be it playfulness, happiness, or curiosity.

From a technical standpoint in picture 1 the child blends into the background and the photo offers no distinction between the subject and the rest of the scene. This makes it harder to look at but beyond that it is still a good photo.

Big Mike · Aug 1, 2007

It's all about light. The quality, intensity & angle etc. of the light should be considered.

You could probably find some book called something like 'Lighting for portraits'.

gizmo2071 · Aug 1, 2007

Off camera flash would really bring out the eyes and give extra emphasis on the subject.
The first could do with a much shallower depth of field aswell, the background is really distracting.

mrdenn1s · Aug 2, 2007

gizmo2071 said:
Off camera flash would really bring out the eyes and give extra emphasis on the subject.
The first could do with a much shallower depth of field aswell, the background is really distracting.

What do you mean by off camera flash?

I'm a newbie remember!

FYI - the first pic was not taken with any "technique". It just came out. (notice the Nikon lense cap in his hand...just done for this forum..haha) The next two had a little planning behind them after i read a bit from these forum pages

deanimator · Aug 2, 2007

Hehe...in #1, I think you should Photoshop the Nikon into his other hand. The pose is great...and would make a super-cool pic for his family.

Well done anyway.

What you are looking for, requires two things.
1) Technical: good exposure, focus, and good lighting. But although there is no "correct lighting"...it has a lot to do with creating mood. Regarding exposure...limiting depth-of-field is often very effective.
2) How you interact with people...big effect on the mood...the reaction..."what you get out of them" is up to you. Everyone will find something different.

In the end, you know...or should know...that you have "got it". The subject may say "wow...that´s me...the real me...or you have captured something I´ve seldom or never seen before"...and that´s the trick...you can´t plan THAT. But you can approach it the right way.

Know your subject...and watch their eyes...

photogincollege · Aug 8, 2007

The second picture is very good from a technical standpoint as far as the ole "grid" goes. See photographers have a kind of tic tac toe grid thats supposed to help you know where to put the subject in the shot, in the second the subject is to the right, not directly centered. Very well done.