November 4

Portrait Photography Tips

The quality of the light, soft or harsh, warm or cool, direct or diffuse, has a significant effect of the shot. When shot right, natural light can completely evolve a photo. To start you need an understanding of how light interacts with your subject. In order to better your Portrait shots here are some tips.

“Watch and learn how light behaves and moves.” Don’t be afraid of natural light and keep practicing! Try to keep the sun behind your subject and avoid open shade. Open shade makes the shot look flat and removes the desired dimension. When shooting on a cloudy day, tilt your subjects head towards the sky or have a reflector at hand. When indoors use windows to your advantage.

“A curtain can be a great way to diffuse natural light.” You can use various thing to reflect light, including styrofoam, aluminum foil, cardboard, mirrors, etc. Using a curtain to diffuse light rather than the flash gives the subject more depth.

“When using a reflector, avoid lighting the model from below.” Don’t expect great results without the practice and understanding of light! Using a reflector from above the subjects head helps give of more natural shadows. Your background should not have bright or vibrant spots.

“Keep an eye on how the atmosphere of a shot changes with the light.” When working with light you need patience and the will to experiment with the shots! When you choose what you want to shoot, take pictures in different time of the day and different weather. By doing this, you’ll get practice with how to photograph in these conditions with the natural light provided.

“Arrive at the location in advance, and take your photos at sunset, sunrise, and blue hour.” To determine where the sun will be you can download accurate apps that will help determine the time of day you want to shoot. Spend a few days at the scene and get used to the weather. Don’t forget, use the weather to your advantage!

“Usually, I just try to keep it as simple as possible and work with the light that is already there.” Knowing how to take advantage of natural light is very helpful when shooting real estate, architecture, and interior scenes. If you don’t use strobes or speedlights, you’ll need a bracket to block the light from the windows.


Posted November 4, 2021 by sukilynne in category Projects and Posts

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