The Art of Photographing People

If you write bios or profile-type articles, you will want to include a portrait photo of your article's subject. What is a portrait photo? Well, there are three kinds of portrait photos - posed, environmental and candid.

Posed -
In the posed portrait, you, the photographer, control the pose, background and direction of light. When shooting these portraits, you will most likely use either a full face, three-quarter face or profile view:

• A full face pose is usually not the best pose to use unless the subject has a perfect face, which few do. However, this is the pose to use, if you happen to be shooting young women with silky-smooth complexions.

• The three-quarter face pose will be one you will use the most. In this pose, the subject's face is 45 degrees to the camera and both eyes are visible. This pose minimizes blemishes on the far side of the face, so have the blemished side facing away from the camera.

• The other pose you will use is the profile. With this pose, the subject's face is 90 degrees to the camera and turned away from the camera until only one eye is visible. This is also a very good pose if one side of the face is less desirable than the other.

If the side of the face toward the camera is less than perfect, reduce the imperfection by using a diffuser filter. This filter gives a photo a slightly out-of-focus look and reduces the visibility of the imperfection.

The profile pose is also good to use if the subject has "chiseled" features. Natural sidelighting from a window will bring out the texture of the subject's face and accent those features. Lighting can be either natural light filtering in through a window or off-camera electronic flash. To tone down natural light filter it through a sheer curtain if one is available or bounce the light off of a reflector.

Environmental -
Another type of posed portrait is the environmental portrait. With this portrait, you are still controlling the pose, background and direction of lighting, however, you include more of the subject's surroundings in the photo. The surroundings may be in the subject's workplace or at home while engaged in a hobby. This type of portrait eliminates the problem of what to do with the hands.

Backgrounds can add to or distract from a photo. In shooting portraits, the background should be very subtle and unobtrusive. Some simple backgrounds to use are plain wallpaper, a plain painted wall, or in a pinch, a blanket. Position your subject about four feet in front of the background and use about a f8 or f5.6 aperture. Focus on the eyes of the subject. These apertures will throw the background slightly out-of-focus, so it won't overpower the photo and distract from the subject.

If the foreground adds to the portrait, then by all means show it.  For example, if you are shooting an environmental if a person tying a fishing fly, then you would want to include some of the fly-tying bench with fly-tying materials in the foreground.

For light colored skin, use a darker background. Conversely, for a darker colored skin, use a lighter background. Maroon is a great all-around background color. Use brightly colored clothes or props with subtle backgrounds.

When deciding the placement of the subject's face in the photo, place it about in the center of the photo. Not exactly in the center, but close. Shoot both close in and farther out. Get headshots, three-quarter face, profiles and full figure shots.

When metering for the shot, use a gray card or meter off the subject's face. If you do meter off the face, come in close, push your camera's shutter button halfway down, note the reading in your camera's TTL (Through-The-Lens) meter, drop back, adjust your camera to the readings you have just taken, recompose and shoot. For light skinned subjects open up one stop. For dark skinned subjects, close down one stop. Be sure and shoot both vertical and horizontal shots. Use a tripod and a cable release. This will allow you to concentrate on the composition and not have to worry about camera movement.

Always get a signed model, location or property release, if anything is unique and recognizable in the photo. It will make your photos more marketable.

Candid -
The last type of portrait is the candid. You can take some of the best people-photos when they don't know you are photographing them. Shoot candids by photographing people doing something and not paying any attention to you. With natural lighting, you can shoot many photos without being discovered. If you are using a flash, you are limited to probably just one. Once the flash fires, the subjects know you are photographing them and they are more weary and not as spontaneous.

The next time you write a profile article, experiment with some of these portrait tips while interviewing the subject of your article. You'll be surprised how much a portrait photo adds to a profile article.

If you enjoyed this article on how to shoot portraits, you'll enjoy my ebook titled The No-Nonsense Guide to Digital Photography. You can purchase it from this link and instantly download it for your digital photography reading pleasure.

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