Photographs always revolve around people. Be it party photos, travel captures or birthday photographs of lovely children, there is a continuous need to click pictures every single day. Portraits are not the same as photographs of people. The main aim of capturing a portrait is to reiterate one particular feature or character of the person photographed. There are a few things that need to be set right in order to capture the best portrait.
Portrait Camera Settings
Portrait photographs require the close up of a person's face. Since it is taken close up, anything distracting in the back ground needs to be removed. What this does is that it gives an illusion of looking at the person's face from a very short distance. Using a wide aperture will do the trick of producing a photo that is free of any distractions.
The other point to be considered while taking portrait photographs is to make sure a low ISO is set. The portrait will get bad if a higher number ISO is used as this will cause a digital noise. If you would want to capture a person in the natural environment the rules can be changed a bit. This is called environmental portrait photography where the main goal is to capture the individual in a natural habitat. In this condition the background cannot be blurred, so it is recommended to use a lower aperture.
Lighting
One can actually play with lighting when it comes to portrait photographs. To get a professional looking picture it is recommended to capture the portrait in a studio. This will let you control the lighting unlike the outdoors where you would need to depend on natural lighting. Well since not all photographers are professionals, chances are you wouldn't own a studio. You don"t need to worry, just follow these steps to click a professional looking portrait.
Position your model by the window such that the light coming from the window lights up the side of their face. Make sure that the light is bright however not direct. Place a piece of white cardboard on the other side of the model so that the light coming from window will be reflected and will brighten the other side of the model's face. Now it's time to click, making sure that the piece of cardboard you used to reflect the light is nowhere seen on the picture.
Communicating with the model
Since portrait photography is all about the emotions of the subject, it is mandatory to build a good rapport with the model so that they remain relaxed and happy. Anybody who is uncomfortable will fail to give results. An uncomfortable model will not be able to provide you with a good portrait photograph. Talk to the model and build a professional relationship so that they would get comfortable and relaxed.
Portrait Camera Settings
Portrait photographs require the close up of a person's face. Since it is taken close up, anything distracting in the back ground needs to be removed. What this does is that it gives an illusion of looking at the person's face from a very short distance. Using a wide aperture will do the trick of producing a photo that is free of any distractions.
The other point to be considered while taking portrait photographs is to make sure a low ISO is set. The portrait will get bad if a higher number ISO is used as this will cause a digital noise. If you would want to capture a person in the natural environment the rules can be changed a bit. This is called environmental portrait photography where the main goal is to capture the individual in a natural habitat. In this condition the background cannot be blurred, so it is recommended to use a lower aperture.
Lighting
One can actually play with lighting when it comes to portrait photographs. To get a professional looking picture it is recommended to capture the portrait in a studio. This will let you control the lighting unlike the outdoors where you would need to depend on natural lighting. Well since not all photographers are professionals, chances are you wouldn't own a studio. You don"t need to worry, just follow these steps to click a professional looking portrait.
Position your model by the window such that the light coming from the window lights up the side of their face. Make sure that the light is bright however not direct. Place a piece of white cardboard on the other side of the model so that the light coming from window will be reflected and will brighten the other side of the model's face. Now it's time to click, making sure that the piece of cardboard you used to reflect the light is nowhere seen on the picture.
Communicating with the model
Since portrait photography is all about the emotions of the subject, it is mandatory to build a good rapport with the model so that they remain relaxed and happy. Anybody who is uncomfortable will fail to give results. An uncomfortable model will not be able to provide you with a good portrait photograph. Talk to the model and build a professional relationship so that they would get comfortable and relaxed.
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