Portrait photography is sometimes one of the most popular genres in photography. I can understand that very well, not for nothing portrait photography is my core area, even in advertising photography I work mostly with people.
People are the most exciting motif I can imagine. Everybody has his own story and with successful portrait photography it is possible to capture excerpts from these stories in an expressive portrait.
In portrait photography you constantly get to know new people and no one is the same as the other.
A portrait also makes the subject happy. (Provided of course that the portrait is not a catastrophe ;)) Which landscape, architecture or product is already happy about successful photos of itself?
Portrait photography can captivate like no other kind of photography. Have you ever been stuck on photos of expressive characters and couldn't stop looking? I feel this way all the time.
After my article about the 230 portraits in 2 days has raised many questions (apart from the setup, which is explained in the article), this article should give you some tips and answers on how to start with portrait photography yourself.
Contents:
1. equipment for portrait photography
2. settings and technique
3. perspective in portrait photography
4. psychology and work with people in front of the camera
5. last but not least
How do you start with portrait photography?
It is precisely because people are involved that many don't dare to take portraits at the beginning. A healthy respect is also quite appropriate, but there should be no talk of fear. With the right knowledge, equipment and the right people, the introduction to portrait photography will be fun and a real enrichment.
Of course, it's a great help if the basics of photography have been clarified for you, so you can already take pictures and no longer work according to the "principle of hope". As you will see in a moment, you don't have the time or the mind to take care of the technique for a portrait. You have to deal with the person in front of the camera.
It would be presumptuous to claim that you can explain portrait photography in a single blog article or tutorial and make yourself an excellent portrait photographer tomorrow. In this field you can learn all your life, both in terms of technique, lighting and image design or editing, but also and especially in psychology. It is already in my 3 day intensive workshop "Character Portrait" a challenge to cover this extensive topic (ask the participants how their head smokes ;-))
But I can give you some tips to help you get started. Many of these tips quickly brought my Portrait Workshop participants closer to their goal.
Portrait photography for me is 90% psychology. (This does not mean that you only have to be able to photograph 10%. Just so we don't get the wrong idea 😉 Just, no matter how good you take pictures, you have to be a lot better on the psychological side)
With these tips you will find it easier to get started in portrait photography and you will have a good basis to find out if this genre is right for you.
1. equipment
Which brings us to the first "question of religion" - what equipment do you need for portrait photography. You will find as many answers as you ask people about it. Some will tell you that you need a fixed focal length of over 70mm, at least 3 flashes, light shapers, reflectors, assistants, make-up artists and preferably a studio.
Sure enough. All this can be used for portrait photography. And much more.
But do you really need that for a good portrait?
Not at all!
In fact, you can start right away with exactly what you have available.
Lens
Of course, things get a bit difficult if you only have a fisheye lens or a super wide angle. But I assume that you have at least one standard or kit lens with your camera. And that is enough for now.
If you have a budget or already have a range of lenses, a fast lens is of course an advantage. The more open the aperture, the softer the background, the better the subject stands out from the background.
Also the thing with the longer focal length has its justification. If you want to photograph faces without distortion, you should actually use focal lengths above 70mm. One of my favorite lenses for portrait photography is the 85mm/1.2 from Canon.
But I also like short focal lengths for portraits. So like now, short or long focal length, isn't there a simple answer to that?
To shorten it a bit here is a little demo how one and the same portrait looks like with different lenses. With photos from 16mm to 200mm focal length:
This does not mean that you cannot use 35mm or 24mm for a portrait. You just have to do it with a lot of thought and very carefully. If the effect that is created in the photo is what you want and you use it in a very specific way, then it can be excellent.
Plato, for example, has photographed a complete series of portraits of the most powerful people in the world and has made each portrait very wide angle. This was absolutely intentional, because the more wide-angle the portrait, the closer you get to the face and you can feel that in the picture. He not only accepted the distortion, but used it as a stylistic device.
As always with the "rules" - they are there to be broken. But you have to know them to be able to break them purposefully. An unintentionally broken rule seems bumbling, but a deliberately broken rule can be a stylistic device.
And "right" or "wrong" can rarely be seriously discussed in photography when a rule has been broken deliberately.
 |
Of course, but a little more exciting.
Combining flash with ambient
light is a fantastic
way to make your portraits more interesting. |
Flash or light
The next hot topic in portrait photography - do you absolutely need a flash or your own light? Yes and no. This is also mainly a question of style.
Many photographers deliberately avoid additional light sources.
But if we are honest, a large part of them do without them because they have always avoided using a flash. If you say "flash" to them, they say "Well, of course not, I like it". And I consider this to be a big mistake in principle!
I once thought like that and honestly asked myself why I think so.
Natural light, artificial light? The one does not contradict the other at all. Provided that you really know how to use the flash.
You can absolutely get along without flash, no question. You do not have to use it.
But I guarantee you, if you can handle it and only have a small flash with a small light shaper like the RoundFlash Beautydish in your pocket, you will expand your possibilities infinitely and generally have more fun taking pictures.
So you are no longer dependent on existing light.
You can build your own natural looking light anywhere.
So you "need" a flash? No!
Would I advise you to? Absolutely!
Alternative or addition: Folding reflector
What I would strongly recommend, even if you decide (completely unreasonably ;) against the flash, is a folding reflector.
It doesn't cost much, but can have a lot of effect.
For example, if you just want to smooth out shadows or improve the effect of your face, a folding reflector is small, light and can really serve you well. The question whether gold, silver or white is for the beginning pure taste.
Gold logically makes warmer light, silver reflects 100% of the existing light without tinting just like white, only the light from the white reflector is very soft, while silver is very hard.
If reflectors are completely new for you, I would advise you to start with a white reflector. This is the most "neutral".
The most important light rule
You can really spend a lot of time with the topic of light, and we also have a lot of lessons in the Shootcamp. You can make a real science out of it. This becomes clear at the latest when you learn the reciprocal square law and are amazed how you can apply such a mathematical rule to portrait photography.
But for a start, one really important thing is enough: Avoid the midday sun like the devil avoids the famous holy water!
Midday sun is hard light that comes from far above. No matter how beautiful your motive is, it will not do him any good on the photo. If you don't have much experience and haven't dealt with the subject of light intensively, you will easily despair of it.
It is best to go out in the morning or late afternoon when the sun is still low or already low again. This is much softer light and it does not come from far away. And then don't always try to have the sun at your back, but try different angles or perspectives. Let the sun stand behind the motif for a while. If you then use spot metering and have a little patience (it can easily go wrong) you will make beautiful backlit portraits over time.
2. settings and the technique tool
As a shoot camper you know how I see it - effect before effort. Especially in portrait photography. The camera should be a tool to reach your goal. Not the main motive. The main role here is played by 2 people - your subject and you.
Therefore concentrate on the essential things on the technical side:
- An open aperture helps you to get a blurred background and thus separates the motif from the background. This draws attention to the motif = good for the eye.
- The eye that is closest to the camera should be in focus - especially with an open aperture it is possible that both eyes are not 100% in focus when the face is slightly slanted. As long as the eye closest to the camera is in focus, everything feels right.
- Spot" exposure metering method. I'm usually a friend of center-weighted metering and use exposure compensation as needed. For portraits in natural light I make the exception and use the spot metering. That way you avoid that the background has too much influence on the exposure. After all, there is a clear main motif - the face - and it should be correctly exposed.
3. the perspective in portrait photography
Perspective always plays a decisive role in photography. In portrait photography as well. With only a minimal change of perspective you can influence the expression of a portrait enormously.
Whether the lens is above or below eye level of the subject will give the portrait a completely different look. I don't want to impose a right or wrong one on you here, the important thing is that you experiment with it and recognize the differences.
Lens above eye level easily leads to the person in the picture looking a bit "inferior". Not necessarily, but the danger exists. If you stay below eye level with the lens, the subject appears more "sublime", a bit more "powerful". Sounds logical? It is 😉 Which is why fashion, for example, is mostly photographed by photographers on their knees or even lying on their stomach. Just a small tip in passing 😉
I don't want to go into too much detail here, perspective is only one point you should keep in mind before you take your first portraits. Just think about how you want to create the picture first. Objective above or below the eyes, what do you want to express with the portraits? Or if the expression doesn't come across exactly as you imagined it, the perspective is another point you can question.
4. psychology - working with people in front of the camera
We are finally at my absolute favorite subject in portrait photography. I'm now lugging the workshops and lectures on this topic all over Europe, being at the northernmost place I've ever seen - Skellefteja in Sweden (an article in itself, the most intense 30 hours trip I've ever experienced (only one way) at the Photokina in Cologne, in Switzerland and even at the Photography Show in Birmingham with colleagues like Lara Jade.
Psychology is the part of portrait photography that fascinates me the most and that I enjoy the most. And I think that should be the case for everyone who wants to get more involved in the subject.
You can find some thoughts about it in this short video I made about it:
How to deal with people in front of the camera is the most decisive of all factors in portrait photography. Of course, the ideal case is that equipment, light, colors, etc. work together. But they are all completely worthless and the picture has no expression if you cannot deal with people.
So how do I get that into a blog article now? All at once? Not at all. I wouldn't have spent months of my life writing and teaching workshops and online courses on this topic if I could.
But I can give you a few tips to get you started, which should help immediately:
- First you have to work on yourself before you can work with someone.
First of all, let's make it clear - portrait photography has nothing to do with working with models. A model in front of the camera knows how she looks, how she wants to or should look and you as a photographer - if you also know what you are doing - can communicate clearly and easily with a model. You say "a little bit more strict" and your model will react. Ideally, the result is a fluent collaboration and everything runs smoothly.
When you take a portrait, you don't have a model, you just have a person who may have no experience with the camera. (Admittedly, many people who sign up in model files these days don't have that either ...) So you absolutely have to take the lead here and you can't rely on your subject knowing what to do.
Many portrait photographers are concerned with how they should deal with people so that they can get an authentic, honest expression out of them, but they forget that the basis for an authentic counterpart is first of all that you yourself appear deeply relaxed and authentic. If your subject feels that you yourself are not 100% authentic, you will never be able to capture an honest moment.
The more you work on yourself and your authentic appearance, the more you are honestly interested in people in front of your camera, the better your portraits will be.
- Don't practice the technique with real people (except with good friends or family, they can be tortured)
Sure, portrait photography is best practiced with people. But before that you need to master the technique. Camera angles and - if you work with light - light settings should be easy to master when you practice with real people.
That's why in my online course " The big flash 1×1 " we first practice with static motifs. Dolls or whatever can be found for this purpose.
My participants confirm through the bank - if they have practiced the technique with static motifs at first until it is easy for them, then portrait photography with real people is much more relaxed and easy going.
Who likes to face a sweaty, stressed photographer and "please look quite relaxed" ... nobody.
- Are you honestly interested in people
If you are honestly and sincerely interested in the person you are photographing, half the job is already done, because then you are making an honest connection.
You will find that every person has something to burn for, something that really captivates them, where their passion is at home. If you find this topic and make clear with a few questions that you are honestly interested, then your counterpart will start to talk about his passion.
And what do people look like who tell about their greatest passion? Correct. Just the way they like to be photographed.
The better you get at it, the better your portrait photos will be.
- Pay attention to the moments in between
If your subject finds it difficult to be relaxed and authentic in front of the camera, don't force it. Pay more attention to the moments when the camera is not in front of your face.
Have a relaxed conversation and try to be fast enough when a good expression comes up. Which brings us back to point 2 - practice first, then you will be faster when it counts.
- You are not an entertainer
Please do not tell bad jokes to cheer up the mood. That's all I really have to say about it.
If you're funny and you know it, that's okay. But you don't have to be compulsively funny. More importantly, as a portrait photographer you are an interesting conversation partner!
(My assistant Moritz is the exception. He threatens our clients every time they don't laugh willingly, he tells all the Chuck Norris jokes he knows. And there are many. And they are funny. But even that happens very, very rarely. So let's just stick with - no jokes. Thanks)
Sometimes - as with these photos - it is better not to demand an expression or "pose", but to capture the reactions in conversation. They are natural, honest, authentic and even if it is not what the person might have expected, experience shows that it is the pictures that they like best in the end. Precisely because they are so honest and show them as they really are.
5. in the end
If you are already into portrait photography, you should print your photos. You'll give someone a lot of pleasure and your photos will be much more "valuable" than if they were just stored as a digital file somewhere.
I can't argue enough for printing photos. Printed photos are "understandable", they are "vulnerable", they are much more valuable than a screen on which a few pixels are displayed. Only when you have tried it and see people's reactions to it (especially compared to portraits on screen) will you understand exactly what I mean.
Invest in printed photos. No matter if you have a high quality book made or if you buy a printer yourself (I can highly recommend the Canon Pro-1000 Din A2 and Hahnemühle paper)
Quite a lot to consider? We are far from finished, we could go on here for a very long time.
This won't make you a professional yet, but for the beginning this should be more than enough to start and practice with portrait photography.
What are your biggest challenges and experiences in portrait photography? Share them in the comments so that this article and all those who read it can continue to grow 😉
I hope this article will make it easier for you to enter one of the most beautiful and exciting genres of photography.
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