Master Portrait Photography: 15 Tips You Must Know
Mastering Portrait photography requires finding a balance between art and technique. Just like a painting, you have to capture the right emotions while balancing all photography elements.
Is it difficult for beginners? If you are ready to learn—No, it’s not.
Instead, it is among the most sought-after photography niches for social media, editorial, and business shots.
So, if you are planning to start a career in Portrait photography, the following guide will provide everything you need in one place.
- What is portrait photography?
- 15 Actionable Portrait Photography Tips
- Types of Portrait Photography
- Average price for a portrait photography shoot
We have a lot to cover, so let’s start immediately without taking any more time.
What is portrait photography?
Portrait photography is a style that aims to capture a person’s personality, identity, and emotions. It involves a combination of the right camera settings and lighting, as well as how the model is presented in the shoot.
Since portrait photography is all about capturing emotions, it is vital to use the right technical skills and have a good understanding of how to reflect the right sense in the photos.
Some of the most common emotions that one can portray using portrait photography tips are sadness, blissfulness, over the moon, dual personalities, secretiveness, boldness, and happiness.
Using the right techniques and practicing this skill, you can master portrait photography techniques to evoke any emotion within your viewers.
And that’s what makes this photography style so popular and impactful. It requires you to understand what the scene will project, as well as, how to use your camera the right way.
To put it in a more dramatic perspective, a portrait photographer can make a bride relive her first dance and at the same time make people buy products online from an eCommerce store.
15 Portrait Photography Tips to Master The Skill
- Capture the expressions
- Focus on important details
- Curate a backstory
- Look out for Candids
- Spend time with your model
- Find the right Poses
- Allow your model to experiment
- Choose the location
- Design color palette
- Work with burst-out shots
- Use the right camera and lens
- Use lighting to your advantage
- Use shadows
- Experiment with angles
- Add props to add depth
Capturing the expressions right
We are learning about portrait photography techniques, and capturing emotions is a vital part of this journey.
Your camera must be able to capture the scene in a way that evokes some emotions in the viewer.
And while this is easy when you are doing personal shoots, since you capture natural emotions—-challenge occurs when you are working on a business project that requires a specific output.
Going ahead we are learning about communication and creation of the right scene. But it is important to understand here, what the end-goal of your portrait photography project is.
Prepare for the learning, keeping that in mind.
Focus on capturing details
Even a neutral face can be used to portray lethargy, suffering or lack of emotion. When it comes to photography, everything is in the detail.
Hence, look out for the elements that would further emphasize the emotions that you are trying to showcase.
Some of the most common photography elements are lighting, subject, angle, composition, and colors.
These photography elements are the core behind curating a scene. That is why, make sure you learn about how to use them.
A good practice here would be to follow different hashtags on Instagram, and save images into different folders depending on the mood they are reflecting.
Having this hands-on collection will help you when looking for inspiration and ideas for portrait photography.
Curate a backstory
We have established well that the idea of capturing a portrait is essentially capturing emotions.
For events like weddings, you already have a real-life story and hope for the future. Make the portraits filled with emotions that reflect in your work.
But if you are running an editorial shoot or model photography campaign—you might start by focusing on the story that will give you a shot.
Ideally, discuss it with the client or the creative team. Look out for what they want the photos to evoke. Curate a story based on the insight you get and communicate it with the model and your team.
You might be looking for just one shot, but if you want it to be perfect—you would want to capture a scene from somewhere between a story.
Look out for Candids
We are discussing how to plan portrait photography. But in doing so, let’s not forget the impact of candids.
They are the real story and emotion that professional photographers aspire to capture.
And while candid can’t always be “planned,” an environment can be created on the set that can increase the possibility of evoking the same emotions.
For example, if you are capturing a fun face make sure the model and everyone on the set are cheerful. Music can be a great source as well.
On the other hand, if you are capturing a neutral, composed, or sad face, silence on the set might be helpful. Using instruments, music can also help a model express the right emotions.
Each to his own style and method, these are few commonly used techniques that can help you candid portrait photography.
Spend time with your model
It’s very important that your model is aware of the story, product, and the aim with which you are capturing them.
Discuss your ideas, and tell them what you are expecting out of the shot. You can take it a step further by meeting a day or two before the day of the shot.
This should make both of you much more comfortable with each other. It will also allow you and the model to understand what you both, as a unit, are trying.
Continue this notion of talk even while shooting. Guide your model on what they can try in order to get some planned shots.
This communication might also result in giving unexpected yet astonishing portrait photographs.
Find the right Poses
When you are working professionally, it is essential to be prepared. Among all the elements that can make an image stand out, the pose is the most important one.
Your saved posts from IG might be a great inspiration to start from and should help you get some ideas on where you can begin.
You can finalize a few shots with the creative team and model. Let’s call them planned shots.
These poses will act like pillars around which we can experiment and come up with new ideas.
And since you don’t have to start from your “no-idea”, getting started with a pose and correcting it to get some new angles should help you find the right outcome.
Just make sure you are not simply recreating the shot but are adding your own layer of creativity to stand out.
But again, if you are going for a corporate shoot—you will have a precise pose and angle, which should be followed across models. Understand the job well and take actions accordingly.
Allow your model to experiment
Here is a little secret for you if you want to Master Portrait Photography in no time.
Let your model add in their style around the key points to share and output you desire. \
Especially if you are working in a team, instead of being whole and sole, let the model be part of the process.
Firstly it will take a few burdens off your shoulder while getting some new ideas. Addiotionally, it will help you understand if the model understood your inputs well. If not you shall elaborate it more.
Nonetheless, if you didn’t get any amusing shots from the model, you can always stick to planned shots.
But letting the conversation flow, and getting the input of the model’s creativity would allow you to get much more effective results.
Choose the location
While portrait photography is all about the emotion, your location adds a story to the scene. As a photographer, it is important to learn about the proceeding of the shoot. Is it indoors or outdoors?
Are you looking for natural lighting, or are you going with an artificial scene? You’ll get answers to all these questions by determining:
- What would help you bring the best results?
- Do you have the resources to get the desired results?
- What role will each element (location, specifically) play?
We all know of photographers who have traveled the world to capture one single portrait. There are some inspirational shots.
But we have to understand the importance of that location for the shot first. If it doesn’t contribute to the scene, it is best to find an indoor studio where you can control your photography environment.
Design Color Palette
Yes we are talking about the colors you shall look forward to adding in your composition.
Again, just like every element of portrait photography, designing a color pallet requires both artistic and technical skills.
It requires you to understand what you want to project and evoke in your frame.
This is something that photographers can learn as well when it comes to integrating the right colors. An important note here would be to understand the engagement of colors with one another.
Bright colors usually evoke energetic emotions. Darker colors, on the other hand, are known for their grounding effects.
As a photographer, you must find what best aligns with your end results and make decisions accordingly.
Work with Burst-out Shots
Waiting for the right moment is hard. Even when it comes to capturing it at the very right moment, it can be very hard.
In portrait photography, that moment is the expression or the pose of your model.
You can’t wait for the perfect smile or the pose. One can only prepare for shots that would make every other shot worth it.
To make sure you capture that split second, you must be ready with your camera. Using continuous shots is surely advisable. This will capture the moment that even one can’t recall.
Use the right camera and lens
No craftsman would ever blame the tool that he is using. Hence, nor should you. There is no camera that can be quoted as the best Portrait Photography camera. To start, you could use a decent DSLR as well.
Any further result will depend on how you use your camera. We recommend you keep the quality and detail of the image as high as possible.
Also, make sure the image is not at all grainy, and white balance is set according to the scenario you are.
As per the lens, this would again depend on your choice of photography. If you would like to capture a bit of the landscape, you should use a wide-angle lens.
A telescopic lens of 85mm or 105mm would perfectly set a balance between the background and the model if you wish to get a complete focus on the model and completely blur the background 70mm-200mm lens.
Use lighting to your Advantage
You don’t have to be a pro to know how important lighting is in portrait photography. The tone, direction, and lighting source all play a critical role.
Lighting is also an important consideration when choosing the location of the shoot. If you are capturing a portrait of a family, it would be recommended that you use warm lights.
On another hand, if you are capturing a business portrait using a cold and gray tone would be much better.
Other than this, some of the most enduring portraits are captured at the golden hours, i.e., at the time of sunset or sunrise.
Getting started with these basic concepts of lighting would be great. Moving ahead, you can learn about different lighting setups, such three-point lighting, butterfly lighting, Split lighting, Broad lighting and more
Another myth-breaking tip is you can use props in your portrait photography. You shall add it or not it completely depends on you, but if you do, keep some things in mind to get a better result.
Your prop should never capture the attention. Moreover, it should just be used to emphasize your actual portrait. Even if you decide to add a prop and can’t find something that compliments your frame, you shall use it to bring depth to your portrait photography.
Use Shadows
If lighting has a role to play, shadows have one too. They are the other side of the story that adds tension and secretiveness to your portrait.
If you are trying to add drama or depth in your portrait photography, shadows are among the best photography elements that you can add in your images.
To get started, instead of creating a scene by yourself—look out for natural lighting and shadows. For practice, go out and try to capture the portraits that use shadows as their main element.
The following practices should help in gaining an experience of how an image is enhanced by balancing light and shadows.
Experiment with Angles
Is portrait photography only about capturing the face from the front? That would be headshot photography.
Portrait is about capturing a subject in a way that evokes a certain emotion. And to achieve the best possible results, you can and must try different angles.
This way you can come up with your own creatives and get the best result. Also, varying the angle will allow you to present your model according to you.
A photographer can make a model look tall, short, wide, or thin just by changing the angles. So, it’s important to experiment and explore new ways to present your models.
Add props to add depth
Another myth surrounding portrait photography is not using props. Again, let’s break this notion.
Using a prop or not is entirely your call depending on the result you want. If a prop can elevate a scene and help in a better portrait—use it.
Yes, it is important to ensure that the prop doesn’t take attention away from your subject. It is important that props only play a supporting role, but featuring it in the frame is also your call.
Experiment with it, and you might end up getting the best portrait photos. If not, you can always remove it from the scene and stick with other portrait ideas and inspiration.
make your career grow.
your post-production service. Overall saying if you have your own inspiration gallery, you will never go out of ideas and make your career grow.
Types of portrait photography
1. Standard Portrait
These are regular portrait styles with a simple pose or a smile. The focus is entirely on the subject with a simple background and natural lighting.
In addition to these common traits, in Standard portrait photography, you will find that the model is aware when they are being captured and has good eye contact with the camera.
The self-portrait style is one of the best examples of standard portrait photography.
2. Natural Portrait
Natural portrait photography is the style where you capture your model in their natural environment doing what they would normally do. Simple activities like walking, watching, interacting, etc are the prime focus of this style.
What makes this style unique and impactful is the composition and angles you go for. You must be looking for a new way and perspective to present the model. Something that stands out and still feels natural.
Close-up, lifestyle, and candid portraits are some of the most common examples of natural portrait style.
3. Creative portrait
The creative portrait is one of the most popular portrait photography styles because of its ability to draw the attention of the viewers instantly. Here everything is mostly planned and set up for the same reason share a message and create an impact on the viewer.
And when we say everything, we mean everything. The background, the type of lighting, the pose, the editing style, the composition, and everything else.
Sure, one can let the model share their input as well that aligns with the message and emotions that you are looking for, but most of the time everything is planned and discussed before getting started.
Some of the best examples of creative portrait photography are Glamor portraits; Conceptual portraits, and model portrait photography.
The average price of a portrait photographer
In the USA, the average cost for a portrait photographer is $150 per hour. It can range from $100 to $500 depending on the skills, experience, deliverables, and location of the shoot.
In terms of pictures, an hour should give you about 40 to 50 images. From which you can pick the best and get them edited.
Hand over to experts!
After sharing all the tips that you need to know to master portrait photography, here is a bonus tip that most photography services are using. And that is handing over your product images or as we have discussed your portrait photography to the portrait retouching services.
This lets you learn and grow your own skill and you get an editorial photo editing service. To learn more about it and get the best photo editing service by Pixelphant subscribe to our e-mail newspaper and get updates on photography, eCommerce, and Dropshipping to grow your business online. We highly recommend reading this blog Fashion Photography Mistake to avoid.
If in case you want to use fashion photo editing, Image Color Correction, Studio Photo Editing, Model Photo Editing, Photo retouching online, and skin retouching, contact us and get it done within 24 hours.
