How to shoot a unique portrait?

Speaking of portrait photos, one of our most intuitive impressions is the ID photo, which can be said to be a kind of portrait photos, but not all of them. Kistler For many photographers, although portrait photos look simple, it is still difficult to be original, because if you don't pay attention, you will regard the portrait as a photo, with your back against the wall, and your composition is rigid and your expression is stiff. However, when you use the following techniques, your portrait photos will also be very artistic.

1, shot with medium telephoto lens.

I have also introduced the choice of lens before. Portrait photography, it is best to choose medium telephoto lens, fixed focus lens and zoom lens, but the medium telephoto fixed focus lens is better. A lens with a focal length of 85- 135mm is the most ideal, because a lens below 50mm is prone to distortion, tends to exaggerate the features of the face, and sometimes makes the nose look bigger than it really is, which is not recommended here. If you shoot with a focal length of more than 200mm, it will make your face look peaceful.

(As shown in the portrait taken with a focal length of 135mm, it looks very natural. )

2. Vertical composition is just suitable for portraits.

Although the horizontal composition seems to be most in line with our visual habits, there are also many novice portrait photographers who regard portraits as horizontal pictures. This horizontal composition is most suitable for shooting group figures. When you take a portrait of a single person, it is more appropriate to use vertical composition, which is also an important reason why we see that almost all portrait photos on the cover of many magazines are composed vertically. Because when the vertical frame is used for framing and composition, the frame corresponds to the vertical rectangle of the head itself or the head and upper body, which can better highlight the characters.

Of course, nothing is absolute, and vertical composition is also suitable for taking portraits of couples, which can show their intimate and romantic feelings incisively and vividly. When you take portrait photos with horizontal composition, you must pay attention to the problem of cropping. The most natural cut of a character should be chosen in the narrowest part of the body, such as the neck and waist, so that it looks natural.

(Pay attention to the cutting problem in horizontal composition)

3. Use a large aperture to avoid direct glare.

Because the aperture is directly related to the depth of field, it is best to take a portrait with a large aperture. Large apertures such as F 1.8 to F4 can better blur the background and highlight people, while small apertures are very suitable for taking landscape photos and tourist photos with clear backgrounds. If you take a portrait with a small aperture, there will be problems, because a small aperture can make the background look quite clear and will divert the attention of the subject.

In addition, the most taboo to take portraits is to use direct sunlight overhead. Because this light will cause dark shadows in the eye sockets, around the nose and under the chin. In order to avoid this destructive light effect, we can choose an open field, such as under a big tree on a sunny day, or there are many reflected lights around to supplement local shadows, so that there is no shadow on the face of the character. If you have to take a portrait at noon, when the subject is facing away from the sun, it will form a backlight shooting. At this time, you should fill the light with light to eliminate the shadow on your face.

(Blur the background with a large aperture)

(Backlight shooting requires fill light)

4. Pay attention to the parallelism and close-up of implementation.

For portraits, eyes are the finishing touch, and the easiest way to improve portrait photography is to start with the horizontal line of the subject's eyes. The eyes are often the most vivid places. When shooting, when the subject is flush with the eyes, the photos will be more intimate and the eyes will be more easily noticed. When shooting from a parallel line of sight, the model's eyes and face will be more intimate and prominent.

When you shoot a child, in order to be parallel to the line of sight without distortion, you should bend your knees or even your waist so that the camera and the child's eyes are roughly on the same level.

(portrait taken in parallel line of sight)

5. Other techniques for taking portrait photos

The following tips are also very enlightening for taking portrait photos:

Secret 1: Concentration is more attractive than smiling. Not all portraits need to have a smile, and the smiling portraits are too mediocre. Portrait photos can be taken without a smile, but the characters in the image must focus on what they should do, not the photographer. The task in the photo did not smile at the photographer, but it showed that she was absorbed in playing the violin and immersed in music.

(A focused portrait without a smile)

Tip 2: Clever use of props. Many portraits are shot with props. When taking portrait photos, using props or tools can make the environment around the characters in the portrait more interesting. Eyes, leaves, etc. Can be used as your props, as long as it can make your portrait more vivid. The addition of apples makes the child in this photo more energetic.

(Appropriate selection of props)