Portraits

This month I will discuss portrait photography, though this is a much larger area of photography that cannot be covered in one article. Still, there are easy steps you can take to improve your results, such as applying the “rule of thirds”, using good lighting, keeping the focus sharp and telling the story.

The rule of thirds

As with landscape photographers, the rule of thirds can be applied to portraits as well. When composing a head photo, position the eyes of the person in the top third of the image. If the photo is showing more of the person, normally position the person off-center in the image and position the left or right thirds of the shot.

Using good lighting

Lighting is a huge subject, especially when using strobes. Usually softer lights work best for portraits – for example, light that comes in from the window or light during the hour before sunset and the hour after sunrise. When using strobes, use the light from something that diffuses the light, like a soft box.

Keeping the focus sharp

The best lenses for portraits are the prime lenses with a large aperture, allowing the use of a shallow depth of field to isolate the person from the background and to create bokeh in the background. When using a shallow depth of field, it is important to get the focus point correct, as the focus point will normally serve as the eyes of one’s subject.

Telling the story

There are times when the face of the pictured person tells a story, but usually some context is required to avoid the photo looking technically good and also a bit like a passport photo. Previous thought about how to frame the photo to provide the context and use other elements in the frame to tell the person’s story is important. A person wearing a hanbok, or perhaps performing a task related to their job, might provide enough context.

Things to avoid

When taking portrait shots, avoid the following:

1 – Do not chop off people’s fingers, limbs or forehead. The tight crop can work in some situations but usually chopping off body parts does not appear natural and is not appreciated by the person being photographed.

2 – Do not use a flash. No one looks good when they look like they have just seen a ghost. Try and avoid this hard light, and if using hard lights try underexposing the shot by two or three stops.

3 – If there are people in the background not related to the story of the photo, wait for them to move, or if you know them well then politely ask them to move out of the frame. Lurkers in photos might be funny on Facebook, but such shots make for bad portraits.