Shooting Portraits Like a Pro

Two of my very favorite Digital Photography books are called just that... The Digital Photography Book and The Digital Photography Book Volume Two. They are both written by Scott Kelby and I consider him a virtual genius... at least in the photography world. He is a dedicated Nikon and Photoshop user, so if you're a fellow Nikonian of mine, you may very well have heard of him. He teaches workshops for Nikon and for Photoshop. He's the president of NAPP (National Association of Photoshop Professionals) and also the editor and publisher of Photoshop User Magazine and Layers Magazine. I'm sure lots of you already know this, but for those of you who haven't discovered him, you should totally check him out!

Some of the places you can find him are...

kelbytraining.com and scottkelby.com

I decided to focus this tutorial on learning to shoot portraits like a pro. He devotes an entire chapter in volume two to this subject. Here goes...

1) Don't Leave Too Much Headroom.

Personally, this is what drives me NUTS when a random friend or family member takes a snapshot of me or anyone else for that matter, which is why I'm almost never in pictures, because it makes me crazy when I look at the screen and half the picture is air. Okay, now that I've vented about that... This is fastest way to ruin a portrait. Just don't do it. Don't leave too much space above the subject's head. :)

Kelby details the rule of thirds in a different chapter of this book and as far as headroom goes, it basically states that your subject's eyes should be in the top one-third of the frame. If you do this, you'll avoid too much headroom.

I chose to demonstrate this with the cutest little boy I know.

Too Much Headroom...

Taken Using the Rule of Thirds...

2) The "Sun Over Your Shoulder" Rule is Bogus.

You might have heard of this rule which says that you should always have the sun over your shoulder, or behind you so that the subjects faces are always lit. This, however, is pretty much the worst thing you can do. It pretty much guarantees that they'll be squinting and this is the last thing we want. Right? Right. It also causes them to have harsh, direct light bolting right down onto them. Instead, he says to try to keep the sun behind them, so that there's a flattering rim of light around them. Then you can use a tiny amount of flash to put just enough light on their faces to help compliment the natural light that's around them.

Also (this is totally me, NOT Scott Kelby), if you shoot with the sun behind your subject, you can catch one of my very favorite things.. sunflare!!!

3)Shoot Profile Shots in Horizontal

The reason you never want to shoot a profile shot in vertical is because they look boxed in and this tends to be uncomfortable to the viewer.

Here's that adorable little boy again. I don't know who he belongs to, but he should totally be a model for Gerber... ;)

See how this just looks wrong, but still... incredibly cute? ;) You just don't know who or what he's looking at. It looks like he's looking at the walls of a box.

When you shoot a profile shot in horizontal, it gives the subject more breathing room and they just look more comfortable within the frame...And... just in case you're curious about what that little bundle of sweetness is looking at... it's my dad.

4) Trendy Composition Tip

Turning your camera at an angle is a very popular technique right now. I love to do it. I was hesitant to post the picture below, because I was thinking.. hmm.. I may be breaking the number one rule in this one (too much headroom), but I think I just did pass with getting her eyes into the top third. ;)

Since most portraits are taken in either horizontal or vertical, doing something different like angling is always fun and... different!! :)

5) Cropping off the Top of Their Head

This is going a step farther than not leaving too much room above your subject's head. This is a very popular pro technique that fills your frame with your subject's head. Kelby says that although it's perfectly fine to cut off the top of the subject's head, side of the arms, shoulders, hair, etc., you should never cut off their chin. People are used to seeing shots where the top is cut off, but the chin being cut off is a very uncomfortable composition.

And I had to squeeze in a picture of my sweet girl... her brother's been featured five times already. Gotta give a girl some exposure...

And here's my best friend and fellow photog, Amy, again... isn't she so beautiful?

6) Tip for Posing Group Portraits

The next time you go to pose a group of people for a portrait, instead of lining them up, try having them gather around and object or on a couch or chair. You'll find that they'll naturally arrange themselves around it or on it.

Also, for a more compelling group shot, put your subjects in a tight pyramid shape. Try to make sure they're all touching... arms around each other... heads really close together. It gives the shot a more fun-loving, casual look, and also provides a sense of energy and fun to the shot.

7) When Using Window Light

Positioning the Subject: The most beautiful light for portraits is the window light from a north facing window. The window acts as a diffuser and the larger the window, the more soft and diffuse the light is. You should position your subject with their shoulder facing the window... so that the light comes across them and creates soft shadows on the far side of their face.

Where You Should Shoot From: You want to be pretty much up against the window, shooting at a slight angle back towards your subject. Your subject should be about 6 feet or so away from the window.

Okay, this is where I'm going to end this tutorial. I feel like it's already gotten a bit long and drawn out. Sorry if I've bored you to death. Scott Kelby offers up many more suggestions in the book on how to shoot portraits like a pro, but these are the ones that really stuck out as being the most important to me.

And for the sake of not plagiarizing...

The Digital Photography Book Volume 2, Kelby, Scott, Peachpit Press, December 2007. Chapter Three. Pages 71-100.

All Images were taken by me. :)