{"id":998,"date":"2016-06-27T14:03:08","date_gmt":"2016-06-27T14:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/?p=998"},"modified":"2016-12-27T16:53:53","modified_gmt":"2016-12-27T16:53:53","slug":"making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Photo Portraits People Will Notice \u2013 Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

OK, so you like to take portraits. Most photographers do, at some point. After all, the photo portrait<\/strong> is one of the oldest forms of human communication – cave paintings, Egyptian pharaohs, the Mona Lisa, Emperors and Kings, Marilyn Monroe.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s even the modern-day “selfie.” As long as humans have been alive, we have wanted to preserve our likeness, be it via painting, sculpture, drawing or photography.<\/p>\n

So, how do you turn an ordinary humdrum portrait \u2013 your basic head-and-shoulders thing \u2013 into something people will actually notice, and maybe even comment on?<\/p>\n

\"photo
Here, I distracted Emily\u2019s attention away from the camera by having her take a picture of herself. (photo: Allen Moore)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A compelling portrait is one that draws you into the story. It has relate-ability.<\/p>\n

The Secret:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Instead of \u2018taking\u2019 a portrait,
\nyou \u2018make\u2019 a portrait.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

There are scores of photo\u00a0portrait technique tutorials available in books, videos and online. There\u2019s a lot of good advice in many of them. Unfortunately, if you blindly follow the average portrait tutorial, there\u2019s a good chance you\u2019ll end up with a very average, ordinary portrait.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not go there! Let\u2019s take it up a notch and go to the next level by stepping outside our comfort zone of ordinariness and introduce some uniqueness to our portraits.<\/p>\n

We know that not everyone has access to a fully equipped studio, so most of the photos used here were created using only available light or only one flash (speedlight) \u2013 in keeping with our theme that it\u2019s not about the equipment. It\u2019s about you, the photographer, and how you use your existing gear. \u00a0(part 2 on photo portraits here<\/a>)<\/p>\n

The Fundamentals<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are many different styles, genres, and techniques involved in portraiture. There is the standard head-and-shoulders, living-room conventional portrait, the quirky, avant-garde theatrical style, and everything in between. But regardless of the style with which you choose to work, there are certain fundamental principles you should use to create a successful portrait.<\/p>\n

Caroline shows how even a simple head-and-shoulders portrait can take on a classic, almost ethereal feel. (photo: Allen Moore)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Alison shows how playing around with costumes and characters can be a lot of fun! (photo: Allen Moore)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So, what makes a photo portrait successful?<\/h3>\n

When you draw in the viewers and make them think they\u2019re part of the scene, you\u2019ve nailed it. In order to make this happen, you \u2013 the photographer \u2013 have to create a chemistry between yourself and your subject. Sometimes, that takes a bit of work. Famed portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz, for example, will spend two days with her subjects.<\/p>\n

On the first day, she never takes a picture. That time is reserved for getting to know the person she\u2019s going to photograph on the second day.<\/p>\n

How do we make this magic, this chemistry happen?
\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Helo\u00edne was a bit nervous at first, but it didn’t take her long to start relaxing and enjoying her time in front of the camera. (photo: Allen Moore)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Julie reflects upon herself in the mirror.
\n(photo: Allen Moore)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Julie\u2019s beautiful smile is overpowered by the strong, distracting lines of the stairs. The crop is a bit too tight, clipping her left hand.
\n(photo: Allen Moore)
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Working with Your Subject<\/strong><\/p>\n

Believe it or not, many people are nervous in front of the camera. Take yourself, for instance. After a photo is snapped, are you curious about how you look? You might worry about your hair, clothing, and other things. One of the keys to great portraiture is being able to draw out the essence of your model and get her to relax.<\/p>\n

This is easier said than done! Here are some things that we\u2019ve learned along the way:<\/p>\n

Relate-ability:<\/em><\/strong> If you just snap away without talking to your model, she may think to herself, “Do I look good? What is the photographer thinking? Am I posing correctly? Did I blink? Is this the right angle?”<\/p>\n

Talk to your subject and continually reassure her that she is doing a good job and avoid using negative terms, such as, “Good! You look great. Let’s try a different pose,” is more encouraging than, “Your arm looked weird. Can you move it to the left a little?” Be sincerely interested and focused on her.<\/p>\n

Humor:<\/em><\/strong> Tell jokes. Or, if not a joke-teller, maybe you can poke fun at yourself (I’m rather clumsy and have used that to break the ice.) In between all of the conversation and jokes, remember to breathe and be sure to ask your subject to do this too!<\/p>\n

Mirror:<\/em><\/strong> Use mirroring techniques when interacting with your subject. Whether it’s showing her how to pose or your own vibe, you will find that she will copy you, either consciously or subconsciously.<\/p>\n

Props:<\/strong><\/em> Props can be advantageous in order to relax your subject. Just be sure they help to convey a message, feeling or story about the scene or the subjects character and personality. Note:<\/em> Be careful so the props don’t overpower or distract, but instead, enhance your subject.<\/p>\n

Practice, and be yourself!<\/em><\/strong> Ask friends and family to pose for you for a\u00a0photo portrait . Become familiar with your camera settings and technicalities until they are second nature. Have mentors but always be yourself!<\/p>\n


\nComposition 101<\/strong><\/p>\n

Expensive camera equipment, lenses and photo-editing software cannot think for you. They cannot automatically compose elements in your frame. Although rules have known to be broken, there are a few things to keep in mind:<\/p>\n

Keep it simple:<\/em><\/strong> Your main focus should be on your subject. For instance, if you are making a close-up image of the person’s face, crop tightly so that you highlight her eyes. Avoid busy backgrounds or dappled lighting that will draw the audience’s attention away from your model.<\/p>\n

Watch out for distracting elements:<\/em><\/strong> Telephone poles “growing” out of a person’s head or a trash can on the side will certainly draw the viewer\u2019s attention away from you subject.<\/p>\n

Be careful not to cut off part of a hand, ear or foot and leave enough space around your subject when cropping.<\/p>\n

Color harmony and lighting:<\/em><\/strong> Use complementary colors, whether in the clothing colors that you ask your subjects to wear and in the background that you use.<\/p>\n

Shade or cloud-covered days are ideal, but if you must take a picture in the middle of a sunny day, place your model in shade. Use fill light through the use of reflectors or an off-camera flash.<\/p>\n

Use leading lines and framing:<\/em><\/strong> Have your model pose so that her arms point towards her face. Look around at your environment – can you use the trees to frame your subject? A long-winding road or the quintessential railroad tracks provide diagonal lines to pull your viewer’s attention towards your subject.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

You can have your subject make a frame by using parts of her body, like Helo\u00edne is doing here with her arm and hand. (photo: Jean Lua)<\/strong><\/p>\n

TIP:<\/strong> Get creative and use your local resources. To give your portraits that studio look, visit your local fabric store or big box store and purchase fabric or plain curtains or sheers and use them as a backdrop (Be sure they are well-ironed). Check with your hair salon and see if someone would be willing to do the makeup on your subject if you give them and their salon the credits for doing the work (They are always interested in more business).<\/p>\n

These are a few tried-and-true Rules of Composition which work well in most circumstances. But let\u2019s break some rules \u2013 and break them we shall, in order to accomplish our objective \u2013 generate interest!<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll learn how in Part 2<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

by Allen Moore and Jean Lua
\nAll text and photos: \u00a9 2014 Allen Moore and Jean Lua. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OK, so you like to take portraits. Most photographers do, at some point. After all, the photo portrait is one of the oldest forms of human communication – cave paintings, [read more]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":999,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[51],"yoast_head":"\nMaking Photo Portraits People Will Notice \u2013 Part 1 - Apogee Photo Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Making Photo Portraits People Will Notice \u2013 Part 1 - Apogee Photo Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"OK, so you like to take portraits. Most photographers do, at some point. After all, the photo portrait is one of the oldest forms of human communication – cave paintings, [read more]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Apogee Photo Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ApogeePhotoMagazine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-06-27T14:03:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-12-27T16:53:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Emily-2S-72.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"633\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ApogeePhoto\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Apogee_Photo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Apogee_Photo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ApogeePhoto\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ApogeePhoto\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3b189d8a8e52a5c4267a41c54efd6ef1\"},\"headline\":\"Making Photo Portraits People Will Notice \u2013 Part 1\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-06-27T14:03:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-12-27T16:53:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/\"},\"wordCount\":1330,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"photo portrait\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Techniques\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/\",\"name\":\"Making Photo Portraits People Will Notice \u2013 Part 1 - Apogee Photo Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-06-27T14:03:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-12-27T16:53:53+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Making Photo Portraits People Will Notice \u2013 Part 1\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/\",\"name\":\"Apogee Photo Magazine\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Apogee Photo Magazine\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/apogeelogo_small.gif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/apogeelogo_small.gif\",\"width\":330,\"height\":100,\"caption\":\"Apogee Photo Magazine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ApogeePhotoMagazine\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Apogee_Photo\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3b189d8a8e52a5c4267a41c54efd6ef1\",\"name\":\"ApogeePhoto\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2f5e073abe7053e24e42d0784cacf0bb?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2f5e073abe7053e24e42d0784cacf0bb?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"ApogeePhoto\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/author\/apogeephoto\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Making Photo Portraits People Will Notice \u2013 Part 1 - Apogee Photo Magazine","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Making Photo Portraits People Will Notice \u2013 Part 1 - Apogee Photo Magazine","og_description":"OK, so you like to take portraits. Most photographers do, at some point. After all, the photo portrait is one of the oldest forms of human communication – cave paintings, [read more]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/","og_site_name":"Apogee Photo Magazine","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ApogeePhotoMagazine\/","article_published_time":"2016-06-27T14:03:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-12-27T16:53:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":400,"height":633,"url":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Emily-2S-72.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"ApogeePhoto","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Apogee_Photo","twitter_site":"@Apogee_Photo","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"ApogeePhoto","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/"},"author":{"name":"ApogeePhoto","@id":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3b189d8a8e52a5c4267a41c54efd6ef1"},"headline":"Making Photo Portraits People Will Notice \u2013 Part 1","datePublished":"2016-06-27T14:03:08+00:00","dateModified":"2016-12-27T16:53:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/"},"wordCount":1330,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/#organization"},"keywords":["photo portrait"],"articleSection":["Techniques"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/","url":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/","name":"Making Photo Portraits People Will Notice \u2013 Part 1 - Apogee Photo Magazine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-06-27T14:03:08+00:00","dateModified":"2016-12-27T16:53:53+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/making-photo-portraits-people-will-notice-part-1\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Making Photo Portraits People Will Notice \u2013 Part 1"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/","name":"Apogee Photo Magazine","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/#organization","name":"Apogee Photo Magazine","url":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/apogeelogo_small.gif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/apogeelogo_small.gif","width":330,"height":100,"caption":"Apogee Photo Magazine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ApogeePhotoMagazine\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/Apogee_Photo"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3b189d8a8e52a5c4267a41c54efd6ef1","name":"ApogeePhoto","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2f5e073abe7053e24e42d0784cacf0bb?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2f5e073abe7053e24e42d0784cacf0bb?s=96&r=g","caption":"ApogeePhoto"},"url":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/author\/apogeephoto\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/998"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/998\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.apogeephoto.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}