How to turn your portrait photography from ZERO to HERO

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This time we will be discussing how to set your portrait photography apart from other photographers. When browsing through Instagram you might see a specific look you want to replicate in your own work. The majority of these looks can be achieved quite easily with the correct knowledge. My advice would be to make sure you have the basics mastered first. Once you’re confident with your camera, following these steps will guarantee you to produce higher-quality portraits. My suggestion would be to use these tips to forge your own style rather than creating imitations of other photographers' work. Obviously, inspiration will take part in your shooting but this and straight-up copying an image is completely different. Personally, I think portrait photography is the most difficult out of all the genres. It can become complex with knowing poses, choice of lens, and location ideas for the shot you want. I will be breaking these subjects down for you the simplest way possible with insight into other elements that make up a high-quality portrait.

Natural light 

As a beginner portrait photographer, I would suggest initially only shooting in natural light. Even if you plan to move to a studio set up with flashes, it’s still really good practice to get you started. Using only this type of light allows you to concentrate more on your subject and the shot you want to take, rather than worrying about flash positioning and the setting changes that come with it. You can experiment with sunlight, for example forming shadows on your subject’s face with leaves from a tree to create a moody look. You could also have the sunlight hitting your subjects back and aim a reflector at their face so you get the scenic shot of the sun in the background while still exposing her face correctly. Once you have practiced these various creative methods through trial and error, you will become more confident when giving direction to your subjects as you will know what works and what does not. This, in turn, portrays your knowledge with who you’re working with, so the subject will be more at ease and become more confident in your photography and direction abilities.

Studio light

If you’re confident enough in your abilities after practicing natural light extensively, then we can move onto a studio setting. Shooting in a studio with flashes can give you more professional-looking images in my opinion. This would be especially great if a client needed high-quality headshots for their company for example. When it comes to the settings on your camera you have multiple choices. What I recommend is to set your flash or flashes to a neutral power then adjust your camera accordingly. Typical settings would be as followed, 1/160s, ISO 100, and around an f-stop of 8-9. I personally always use these figures as a basis but if I need to adjust them I will tend to only really alter my f-stop rather than my shutter speed. The reason for this is because generally a lot of flashes do not have what we call ‘high-speed sync’, which means if you shoot at a shutter speed faster than around 1/250s your image will show up with thick black bands across it. This is due to the flash not firing off fast enough, so keep this in mind when on a shoot using flashes. With a studio, you can get really creative from, adding various furniture, clothing, and other objects into your image, to changing the backdrop to a vibrant color to match your subject's outfit. The possibilities are endless. For me personally, even though I have shot at studios on a good number of occasions, I still prefer shooting natural light and this is because I like to incorporate my subject into the scenery around me.

Lens choice 

Initially, when shooting models, you will find it quite intimidating. So knowing what equipment you need for various scenarios is essential. Generally, photographers start out using prime lenses for their portraits. The most common being a 50mm f1.8 prime. I would definitely recommend this lens to start out as I also bought this as my first portrait lens and I still use it to this day. The reason I recommend this comes down to aperture and price. Seeing as the aperture can open up to f1.8 you get a really shallow depth of field, which can separate the background from your subject quite well. The isolation in the image gives it a polished look. Normally when buying a lens with such a wide aperture it becomes really pricey but generally, for the 50mm f1.8, it only costs around £100-£150 depending on what camera brand you’re buying it for. This is great considering that any other lens for such a wide aperture will cost you upwards of £500. Currently, I shoot with a 24mm, 50mm, and 85mm which are all prime lenses. The 24mm is mainly used for environmental portraits, while the 85 for headshots, as it gives amazing compression to the background leaving your subject tack sharp. As shown in this image.

Settings

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to know your settings like the back of your hand. When shooting with your subject, you might have to drastically change one of your settings to accommodate a transition in light for example. Knowing how to make the adjustment quickly and without struggle, will set your subject at ease and they will have faith in your professionalism. Trust me it’s better to have put the work into your camera than look like a novice on a shoot. This can also relate back to your choice of lens. Knowing what to change to within terms of lens choice and exposure settings will give you more freedom to get various shots, from shooting at f1.4, getting that creamy background, to shooting at f5.6, building a scene around your subject while having a lot in focus. Switching between these options rapidly and decisively, can give you confidence and will instill confidence in your subject. This will then reflect in your images.

Tips For Composition

• Fill the frame 

• Use leading lines behind your subject

• Shoot from various angles

• Create a shallow depth of field 

• Consider if colors mesh when framing

• Keep the subject’s eyes above the midline of your image

Extra Tip: When focusing on your subject, always have your focus point on the subject’s eye that is closest to yourself.

Conclusion

By working through all of these things thoroughly, you will see a drastic increase in the quality of your portraits. From composing your image to exposing your image correctly in an instant. It will only take a short period of time to start seeing results and showing off your amazing portraits to the world. The main things to take away from this is if you’re a beginner only stick to shooting natural light and work your way up to a studio setting. Work on your creativity with your lighting, master your camera settings, and most important is to just communicate with your subject so you can both get the best out of the session as possible.