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CLICK HERE TO SEE A GALLERY OF PORTRAITS

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Kylie © Todd Kuhns

The hundreds of entries for our “Double Exposure Challenge: Portraits” competition were awesome and very difficult to whittle down to a select few. Congratulations to all photographers whose images were chosen to illustrate this feature, and we thank everyone for sharing their wonderful photos with us.

People are the favorite photographic subjects of many photographers. We take these pictures for myriad reasons— some of us like recording family gatherings, birthdays, weddings and other occasions. Many people want to have a keepsake of family and friends, which shows how we looked and who we were at different times of our lives. Some images evoke memories of people we may never see again. Other people shoot portraits, weddings and events professionally, and are paid to capture other people’s memories. Others work as photojournalists and photograph people from a newsworthy perspective. But no matter what your motivation is for photographing people, there are always ways of getting better images. The subject of portraiture could fill an entire book, so we’ll present just a brief overview on photographing people.

Capturing Mood and Personality
Most photographs of people portray some sort of mood, or impart an overall emotional quality. Look at photos of people and think about how the images make you feel. Some images may make you feel compassion, others may repel you. Some draw you into the enthusiasm of the moment and make you feel happy. Mood is also dependent upon our interpretation of a picture, so whatever the mood of the photograph, it’s usually enhanced by our own experiences.

Danielle © Robert Cattan

Mood is also what motivates us to photograph particular people or scenes. Think about the photos you’ve taken—you’ll probably realize that the times you wanted to take pictures were when something about the scenes moved you. Learn to recognize the visual elements that influence your feelings, whether it’s the facial features of an individual or the relationship between two or more people. Light will also be a great influencing factor, as you need good illumination when doing any photography, and light is an important stimulus to our emotions.

It takes practice to successfully portray one’s personality. Some of the best portrait photographers achieve this by getting to know their subject before the photo shoot, or engaging them in conversation while taking their picture. Rather than posing your subject stiffly or commanding them to smile, try to get the person to relax. Most people are a little uneasy about having their picture taken, but if you can get them to feel more comfortable in front of your lens, the photo session will be more enjoyable for you and your subject, and you'll be rewarded with good images. And if your subject likes the way he/she looks in your photos, they'll want to be photographed again.

Lighting
When photographing people, the quality of light is very important, regardless of the source you use. The harsh sun of midday or light created by a bare lightbulb or spotlight creates strong shadows on people’s faces. Unless you want to emphasize the rough qualities of someone’s skin, soft light is always the most flattering illumination to use when photographing people. This doesn’t mean shadowless flat lighting, however. The even illumination of a lightly overcast day, the shade of a tree, or north-facing window light can produce subtle shading on people’s faces while still emphasizing their features. Soft light flatters faces without calling attention to blemishes or wrinkles the way that harsh light does.

Grandma © Monika Manowska

On bright days outdoors, you should try photographing people in areas of open shade, such as the shadowy side of a building, which gets soft, indirect light reflected from the sky. A reflector or Fome-Cor board is very effective for bouncing light into the shadowy side of a person’s face. You can also use fill-flash to fill in shadows on a sunny day. If you’re doing a lot of portraiture, it’s a good idea to invest in some good portable lighting equipment. An umbrella key light, fill light and a reflector may be all you need to get started.

A Variety of Lenses
A moderate telephoto lens (in the range of 85mm to 110mm on a 35mm SLR equivalent) is considered the typical portrait lens. It allows you to zoom in on your subject from a fair distance, and to frame your subject’s head and shoulders without distortion. The shallow depth of field of a fast telephoto lens is also an advantage. With a large aperture, you can isolate the sharp image of a subject against an out-of-focus background. A longer telephoto in the range of 200mm or longer is essential when shooting sports or events onstage, when you can’t get close to your subjects.  

Photojournalists often use wide-angle lenses (around 18mm to 35mm on a 35mm SLR equivalent) when photographing people, especially when they also want to include some of the person’s environment. You can get great depth of field when using a small aperture, and you can photograph large groups of people in confined spaces. Moderate wide-angle lenses used in portraiture can create some very striking effects, but they also cause some distortion to whatever part of your image is closest to the lens.

Very wide-angle (such as a fisheye) and telephoto (over 300mm) lenses can be used to purposely create dramatic effects when photographing people. They can distort, make a subject stand out dramatically against a completely blurred backdrop, or compress a scene.

A Person’s Environment
You can reveal much about an individual’s life by photographing that person in his/her environment. When traveling to foreign countries, you may encounter people in colorful and unique settings. But you can certainly capture people in interesting environments here at home as well. Some portrait and corporate photographers make a good living by photographing people in their homes or on the job.

Heroe on Board © Mercelo Esperon

Some people who may appear ordinary when photographed against a plain background may look much more interesting when captured in a setting that reveals something about them. Also, they may feel much more comfortable having their picture taken in familiar surroundings, making it easier for you to portray them in a natural, relaxed manner. Think about the people you know who have interesting jobs—consider shooting pictures of a local artist working in his studio, or perhaps an elementary school teacher in a classroom with her students.

Environmental portraiture presents its own set of challenges, however. You must choose elements and settings that contribute to the overall image, rather than those that may distract from it. . Simplify—don’t allow anything inside the frame that doesn’t contribute to the overall effect you want to achieve. Once you figure out where you want to shoot your images, experiment with a variety of focal lengths and vantage points. For example, when photographing someone at a desk, you may want try using a short ladder or stepstool to shoot down on your subject. This way, the items on the desk can be arranged to reveal what the subject does for a living while eliminating possible clutter in the background.

Most environmental portraits are taken indoors. There are a number of ways to light your photos, such as using window light or flash bounced off the ceiling or into an umbrella. If the room has enough natural, pleasing illumination, use a fast ISO setting on your camera or a tripod to ensure sharp images.

Photographing Couples and Groups
Some of the best photographers that routinely shoot engagements or weddings try to convey the strong relationship between two people. They do this by capturing a moment when they exchange affectionate glances or a spontaneous kiss. Successfully shooting interchanges like these are often more appealing than getting clear images of both faces. You’ll want to photograph couples at times when they’re involved with one another, and not being conscious of the camera lens pointing at them. You’ll want to watch through your viewfinder and be ready to snap a picture very quickly.

Fresh Air © Lewis Carlyle

Posed pictures can also yield great results, but you must make an effort to arrange the couple in a dynamic composition. One way of doing this is to have one person slightly higher than the other so that their heads form a strong diagonal arrangement. For example, a woman can sit on the arm of a chair in which the man is sitting. Avoid stiff, side-by-side poses when photographing couples.

Trying to pose more than two people in a photograph and making everyone appear happy and relaxed is a real challenge. However, these photo opportunities present themselves at family gatherings or with a group of friends. The most appealing pictures of groups of people are those that look natural. Instead of arranging everybody in rows by height, try being a little more creative. Having people’s heads at different levels will generally always look more appealing in a group photo. Ask some people to stand, others to sit. Another good way to photograph a group is to have them sit on a floor or on the ground, and get up on a ladder and photograph them from above. This is one a good way to make sure that everyone’s face can be clearly seen. And if you’re photographing a really large group, consider shooting a panoramic photo—you’ll get some creative results. You can do this with a panoramic camera, or via an image-editing program later on.

Try telling a joke or clever story to get people to relax. You don’t want to photograph a group that looks as though they’re about to face a firing squad. And whether you’re taking couples or large groups of people, try to utilize soft, even lighting. The open shade of a tree or an overcast day works well. 

Take our next Double Exposure Challenge—photographing Flora and Fauna. Look for details in the Call for Entries in this issue.

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CLICK HERE TO SEE A GALLERY OF PORTRAITS

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Let us know if you found this article useful, and tell us what kinds of articles you'd like to see in upcoming issues. Send your comments and ideas to Lynne Eodice.