Follow these five simple tips to take great portraits of kids, adults and pets.
As a photographer, are you always asked to take portraits? While some photographers are naturals at capturing portraits, others simply freeze when it is time to click a portrait of a person. Photographers are confused about how to make people pose, how to select the perfect flattering light and how to make the subject comfortable for the photo shoot.
Well, shooting a portrait can be easy if you just take a deep breath, relax and read these five simple tips for shooting picture-perfect portraits.
1. Pick out the right lens
It is important to pick out the right lens as it can give you greater flexibility while shooting a portrait. If you are going to shoot a large group, then a wide-angle lens can give you a wider angle of view. A 50mm portrait lens on the other hand can give you sharp images, with lower f-stop ranges. It will also give you more diversity. You could also opt for a telephoto lens that will help you restrict your angle of view.
2. Set your aperture
When shooting a portrait image, it is better to set a wide aperture like f/2.8-f/5.6, as this will give you a shallow depth of field. This way the background will not overtake the subject. With the right aperture, your subject (child, adult or pet) will stand out. Shooting in the aperture priority mode will also help you gain a deeper depth in the image.
3. Think about the exposure
Paying attention to exposure compensation can help you brighten up your subject’s face, if you don’t have enough light directed towards their face. This trick is often used by landscape photographers to lighten/darken skies and is very useful even in portraits. To make this work, simply press the exposure compensation on your camera and choose from the options. Continue reading
