Tips For Taking Portraits
So you’ve gotten an assignment and want to try your hand at taking a picture of a particular person for the article. If you aren’t really a photographer yet, how do you go about gettting a good shot? Here are a few tips that are based on my own experience:
- Natural light is generally the most flattering, so take a picture outside if you can. Just make sure that the sun isn’t casting weird shadows on the person’s face.
- Get the person to relax a bit before taking the photo. Talk to them about hobbies, kids, etc. If they are tense, it will show in the picture.
- Take tons of different shots. You never know which one you’ll wind up using.
- Try different angles. Do full length shots and closeups. Variety is important.
- Count down so that they know when you’ll be snapping the picture.
- Look at the review screen to see if the person’s eyes are open. (This is assuming you have a digital camera.)
- Don’t get too close or the camera will not focus.
- Watch your background. Try to avoid things such as trees growing out of the person’s head or a lot of distracting clutter.
There is no reason you shouldn’ t be able to take a photo like this, so give it a go! Here are some more tips for shooting portraits to help round things out. Remember, confidence is key, so don’t let on that you’re a novice!
