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Portrait Digital Photography
The freelance Portrait: a reflection of ones true self captured within a frame of a photograph. The art of shooting pictures of people in a natural state, with a realistic tone. First off let me clarify by saying this is maybe the hardest type of freelance photography for beginners. Yes, anyone could take a picture of a person, but with a portrait it has to convey their personality (in most cases). A hard task indeed, finding a subject is really one of the hardest parts, but after a portrait is completed it is truly one of the most rewarding pictures you'll ever take. So through this section you will find tips on lighting, angle, background, and other factors in taking a really good digital camera freelance portrait.
By the end of this you will have the rudimentary knowledge to take great freelance portraits and maybe someday become a freelance portrait photographer, or at least enough knowledge to impress the neighbors.
-Subjects- -Setup-
-Portrait Angle- -Subject Angle-
-Portrait Lighting- -Portrait Jobs-
If you want to jump right in the taking and editing portrait pictures you should start Here!. This will give you a ton of stuff you need to get started and make your pictures look truly professional.
What or Who is a good Subject
Like I said choosing a subject for your freelance portrait is one of the hardest parts, but some times that is why you might want to choose a subject on a candid level. By a candid level we mean not telling the subject that you are taking a picture of them. This is still very hard because usually a good portrait is a pretty close shot, but it is possible to set up your camera on a street side or carry it around with you on a sidewalk and just snap unsuspecting people as they walk by. Or bringing your camera to family functions in a natural setting. When doing this you will really get a sense of a person's everyday life without their fake smile in front of a camera. Or if you see a couple go up and ask them if you can snap their picture, when they are together they wont think its weird, but someone alone might be uneasy, so be careful (I'm not trying to get you murdered). Finally, make a point to just take your digital camera where ever you go just in case an interesting subject comes along.
If you can get your family in a natural setting that really looks good, somewhere where they are comfortable.
Childern love to have a digital portrait taken and they usually don't act differently like adults do. A big problem with precognitive pictures of adults is that they try to act for the camera they don't remember how to smile or carry themselves.
Try taking tons of pictures of someone and they will soon loosen up, and keep talking to them to make them feel comfortable, just like the model photographers do: "oh very sexy" "I'm loving it" "beautiful" (that was the last one I promise). Also after you get your subject warmed up don't always tell them that you're taking a picture, because some of the best pictures are the ones that come in between poses.If all else fails, then its time to start practicing on your dog.
Before we Start (setup)
When getting a subject (or subjects) for your freelance portrait taking, make sure you have them wearing something that doesn't conflict with the other people in the photo or the surroundings. If your going to take something with more of an organic background just make sure they are not wearing a bright green or pink t-shirt unless you want them to look like a tourist in their surroundings. When subjects are in a urban setting almost any clothes will do, but I recommend colors that match the color of the buildings, like grays, dark reds, navy blues, or in other words try to stay away from pastels. If all the subjects in the picture don't match a color and clothing scheme it could look really sloppy, try everybody wearing similar apparel such as all casual, formal, or business. And make sure not to include to much of the background to phase out the portrait, the background could distract the viewers eyes of the digital portraits purpose.
Learn how to give pictures that vintage look with filters
Don't be afraid to contrast your photos, if you take a family photo the parents could dress up in fancy clothes and the kids could dress up in casual clothes (just make sure not too casual). By doing so you will reflect every bodies role in the family instead of just conveying that half the people were uncomfortable when you took the photo.
Positioning everybody in the picture is pretty crucial, although a candid photo doesn't really require any position mostly just a basis of luck or finding the right people, other types of precognitive portrait taking requires some thought. For example the members of a family portrait are usually standing in a three dimension pattern of tallest to shortest, but there are all kinds.
Think of what the family photo is suppose to convey is it suppose to make people smile or relate, or maybe just to show family uniformity.
When positioning a couple or a man and woman then think about what the positioning would mean to show what their relationship means to each other. If it is just a casual relationship show them to be having fun, such as laughing with the man's arms wrapped around the woman, conversely if they are a married couple or have a deep relationship show them engaged in a kiss or holding each other intimately (whooh is it getting hot in here?). I know this stuff might sound basic but it is one of the biggest mistakes to not have a concept, it really separates a type of freelance portrait photographer.
Portrait Camera Angles
There are four main types of angles when approaching freelance portrait digital photography:- Above Eye level
- Eye Level
- Below Eye Level
- Macro or Close up
They should be self explanatory, but each of them convey something different to the viewer. Examples such as above eye level could show innocence as if an adult was taking picture of a child. A below eye level shot should say power pretty much the reverse of the above eye level shot. Eye level is the most common and shows formation and uniformity, great for formal picture taking. And finally macro and close up photos are to convey emotions and to give a freelance portrait a personal touch.
Freelance Portrait Subject Angles
Now that you got a good camera angle, you need to know another digital freelance portrait factor: positioning your subject accordingly, unless your going for that candid look we talked about earlier. There are quite a few subject angles but the most standard ones are the 'straight on' '45 degrees' and the 'the profile'.
Very simply a straight on shot is the standard look forward at the camera.
The 45 degree is slightly cocked to the left or right (about 45 degrees obviously).
And the profile is a 90 degree angle left or right.
Looking straight forward in the camera doesn't say much and makes everybody aware that a picture is being taken. But the most classic stance is the 45 degree, and slightly looking away from the camera, this shows a real third person perspective. The profile is a good formal pose (just think of the presidents on our coins), and strays away from the forced picture taking process if done properly. The last thing you want people to think about your photos is... "it looks like the person was trying too hard!" You want the portrait to come natural, and force people to feel what the person was feeling in your digital photo.
Freelance Portrait Lighting
Lighting is a bit tricky, especially indoors where full lighting is definitely needed for digital portraits, but flash can get the job done if used correctly. Try bouncing the light from the flash off the walls, be careful because this usually only works on lighter colored walls. Make sure you're a good distance, if you are too close the person will be bright and the background will be dark.
Another way to light up the room is changing the exposure time (how much time is taken shooting a single picture, check out Freelance Lights Digital Photography. Exposure time can usually be changed in picture taking options, the time is measured by seconds and you can use as much as 5 seconds if need but be careful! If the room is too bright you're picture will come out over exposed and keep in mind that you will need a stand or something solid to set your digital camera on if you're using high exposure times. Do not try and holding the camera at a high exposure time, you will get a mess of blur.
Keeping windows open on the opposing side of the subject, meaning not behind the subject which causes a unpleasant silhouette around the person.
Try all kinds of lighting like sunsets, street lamps, shaded areas, and even try some of the colorings on your camera like sepia or black and white. Imagine what each type of lighting means, such as a sunset could represent a romantic setting or a sepia lighting could give the portrait an old classic look.