4 Types Of Portrait Photography Every Photographer Should Know!

Types of portraits

Close-up (Close-up)

English terms have crept into photography too, so that this type of portrait is also called “close-up”.

Compared to classical painting and the beginnings in photography, this form of portrait is the youngest and therefore the most modern. Only the head with the neck area is recorded.

Due to the telephoto lenses, you no longer need to get close to the model for a close-up. Strictly speaking, it was only with the telephoto focal lengths that the close-up really found its way into portrait photography. This type of recording is almost standard in beauty and advertising photography, you only need to look once at the advertising in various magazines and magazines. The upper section often even goes through the forehead while the chin is almost completely depicted.

Upper

body portrait The classic upper body portrait includes the chest area and extends to the waist at most. This so-called “bust” shows the head, neck and shoulders as well as the chest area.

The recording format includes two sections. The chest piece shows the head with much of the torso, shoulders and arm sections. The shoulder piece (also called the bust) shows the shoulders, the portrait ends at armpit level.

Medium long shot

This shape goes a little further than the upper body portrait. It ends at the hips or in the crotch or buttocks. The legs should no longer be in the picture. Arms and hands are visible if they are not crossed or otherwise covered.

With the “American Shot” one falls back on an even larger image section. This form of recording comes from the film, especially the western. The model is shown approximately up to knee height. This is exactly the section in which the revolver can still be seen.

Full body portrait

This section shows the whole body. If you want to convey body posture, clothing or the overall impression, this section is the right one. You either need such images to show the model's figure, for example on a sedcard, or if you want to tell something about the model's environment.