Portrait photography is a great way to connect with others.
To start with, I recommend you shooting your portrait in black and white.
I love using colour as a compositional tool to create a dialogue between my subject and their environment.
For example, I used the complementary colours Red and Green to shoot Spicy’s portrait at sunset. The warm light of the golden hours made the colours vibrant creating a glow around her.
But if the light was dull, and Spicy was wearing a black dress taking her portrait in black and white would have been the best option.
In other words, when your composition doesn’t have interesting colour(s), you should consider shooting in black and white.
Although shooting in black and white will remove the colours we love so much it will in return reveal your subjet’s emotions and inner life.
“When you photograph people in colour, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls” (Ted Grant, photo-journalist)
Start by observing the light
Photography is all about light. Natural light is lovely for shooting portraits. But you have to be aware that the time of the day, the strength, and the direction of the sunlight will affect your final image.
There are two types of natural light; soft light and hard light.
Soft Light
An overcast day will offer you a giant softbox so there is no direct harsh light on your subject.
Tip: Be mindful of the sky especially if the light is dull by deciding if you want to include it or not.
Hard Light
On the contrary, hard light will create contrast enabling you to play with shadows to create more dramatic and mysterious portraits.
Tip: Increase contrast to create a more dramatic composition.
Set your camera correctly for portrait photography
If you’re using an LCD screen, set your camera on B&W rather than shooting in colour and converting your images in B&W. This will be very helpful as you will see what the final result will look like.
If using a DSLR or compact camera, think about the golden triangle; ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed.
I like to set my camera on Aperture priority mode where the camera will never change the aperture.
A diaphragm set to F-5, 6-8 is great to capture the background as well as your subject. But if you want to create background bokeh set your camera to a larger aperture (the max. I can use on my Ricoh GR 2 is 2.8).
Because I find grainy images more beautiful than “perfect” pictures I push my ISO to a range of 800-1600.
And finally, I like to choose a speed of 125-250 to capture movement and gestures but you can reduce it to create more surreal images by adding blur to your composition.
On a smartphone experiment with the available filters. For example, on my iPhone SE 2016, I have the option to shoot in Mono, Silvertone, and Noir.
Choose your background
Ideally, the background should relate to your subject. When shooting in colour I always look for interesting combinations of colours.
But when shooting in B&W we must use other means such as shape, form, textures, and lines.
Lines
In the above portrait, Vivian used the ropes and chains to anchor her subject and create movement in her composition.
You can also use body gestures to create movement and play with lines.
Have a conversation
“Taking a portrait of someone – be it man or woman – starts with a conversation.” – Martine Franck
If you want your subject to relax while you are taking their portrait just start a conversation.
Let them forget about your camera and reveal themselves.
Most importantly, respect your subject’s personal space. Depending on our cultural background (and our vulnerability towards Covid) we all have different needs so before getting too close make sure your subject is happy with that.
In other words, practicing portrait photography will develop your social skills.
“At a recent conference in the USA, I noticed that when the American attendees met and conversed, they stood at an acceptable 46 to 122 centimetres from each other and remained standing in the same place while talking.
However, when a Japanese attendee spoke with an American, the two slowly began to move around the room, the American moving backwards away from the Japanese and the Japanese gradually moving towards the American.
This was an attempt by both the American and Japanese to adjust to a culturally comfortable distance from each other.
The Japanese, with his smaller 25- centimetre intimate zone, continually stepped forward to adjust to his spatial need, but by doing so he invaded the American’s intimate space; causing him to step backwards to make his own spatial adjustment.
Video recordings of this phenomenon replayed at high speed give the impression that both men are dancing around the conference room with the Japanese leading.”
Experiment as much as possible
There are many ways of shooting portrait photographs. Don’t be afraid to experiment before finding your own style.
For instance, like JR you can ask your subjects to pull a funny face.
Portrait Photography Assignment
Take a series of 5 portraits in B&W of your family, friends, or even strangers in the street.
Tips:
- Find a theme and stick to it – for example people at work.
- Use the same lens, format, and filters (presets) to have a harmonious series of images.
Have fun!
Pierre