Making better portrait photos - Part 1

Some of the portraits I have taken over the years.  

Everyone can take a photo of a person, of two people, or a group of people.  Such photos are typically called portraits and they are representative of what someone looks like at a particular point in time.  Portraits can do other things too, such as show a person's character, point out a location or activity, or just capture that exact moment when something special happened.

The key to making a good portrait photo is to do it well.  As simple as it sounds, there is a lot that goes into it.  Each decision you make about camera and lens settings, location, choice of equipment, and where and how your subject is positioned all produce an impact.  Want proof of that?  Take your camera and go to a public place and ask people at random to take your photo.  Tell them to be creative with how they do it, and let them decide how to set the camera up.  If they have no clue, get them to use portrait mode and go from there.  Have them sculpt you; you are the clay, they are the potter.  Move locations a bit and repeat.  If you take 100 photos, you will get 100 different results.

Well, if there are so many variables, where do you start?  So many times, the answer also varies, but it is safe to say that you start with the equipment you have and with where you are or want to be.  Each decision you make will affect the outcome.  Time of day, weather, inside or out, and all the other aspects plus more have impacts.  

The purpose of this series is to give you guidelines in many of the areas.  These are principles and things that have worked for me.  Keep in mind that creativity and thinking outside the box is what helps set one photo apart from another.  Hopefully, the thoughts I will express in the following blogs will help you improve your shots.  More importantly, I hope they allow you to have more fun with your camera.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com


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