Have you ever felt frustrated when shooting forever and there are no good photos and you often blame the poor quality camera. However, you forget that in order to create beautiful portraits besides the support of modern equipment, the most important thing is that you need to have the skill and master the skill. So, here are some nice portrait photography tips for beginners who will help you become a better photographer.
1 Select the appropriate equipment
In portrait photography, the device plays an important role. Because according to photography experts, lenses account for 60% of the quality of a beautiful portrait, 25% belongs to the camera and 15% are other auxiliary elements.
Moreover, most of today’s portraits are taken in a way that removes the background, partly because to create a shimmering effect on the background in the background, the other part is to easily isolate the subject from the Other undesirable objects in the frame.
Therefore, we need a lens with a maximum aperture of f / 2.8 or higher and a focal length of between 50mm and 85mm. And here are some lenses for portrait photography: Canon EF-S18-55MM F / 3.5-5.6 IS STM lenses; Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 70-300MM F / 4.5-6.3G ED VR lens; SIGMA 17-50MM F / 2.8 EX DC OS HSM FOR NIKON lens,…
For cameras, you should choose ones that have noise reduction, continuous shooting and fast focusing capabilities and white balance capabilities. In fact, with the line of portrait photography, the two brands Nikon cameras with Canon are most appreciated.
2 Beautiful portrait photography tips
Here are a few tips to help you take beautiful portraits even if you’re just starting to play the camera:
Express your feelings
To create a beautiful portrait photo, the most important thing is not where the shooting takes place but the emotions on the face of the subject being photographed. A face that expresses the most honest feelings will be easier to connect with the viewer than a wry smile.
To connect the subject to the camera, the only way to do this is to make the subject feel comfortable. Therefore, before taking pictures, you should drink tea, coffee or chat to make them feel comfortable. When you start shooting, make some poses and expressive suggestions for them as this can help build confidence.
Creativity in the layout
To create a beautiful photo, you also need to invest in thinking about the composition such as the posture, background, face and especially the eyes. An important rule to keep in mind when taking portraits is the 1/3 rule.
In an image, the eye is most attracted to 4 different points. Those are the 4 connecting points that divide the image into 9 parts. Placing the subject in these 4 points in a natural frame will draw the viewer’s attention.
Adjust the exposure compensation mode appropriately
When shooting portraits, light skin tones can easily fool the camera when shooting in dark mode. You will notice this more when photographing the whole face or when there is a lot of white in the picture. To overcome this situation, you need to adjust the exposure mode of your camera. To make the image brighter, move the cursor to the right side and to make the image darker, move the cursor to the left side.
Set the shutter speed
One important thing when setting the shutter speed is that you need to pay attention to the focal length of the lens and camera shake. The longer the focal length will increase the camera shake, so you have to choose a faster shutter speed.
The general rule of thumb when shooting portraits is to make sure the shutter speed is higher than the focal length. However, if your subject moves too fast, the shutter speed is not effective, you will need to use the camera’s anti-shake system.
Not every lens has this technology feature, but if you have it – take advantage. You will be able to capture a much slower shutter speed and still be able to take sharp pictures.
Increase IOS
To avoid blurring when the subject is moving or winking while shooting, you need to use a fast shutter speed. This will also help ensure sharp shots and avoid camera shake as you shoot portrait photos manually.
In Aperture-priority mode and maintaining a wide aperture, to increase shutter speed simply increase the ISO (from ISO 100 to ISO 400). In low light, you may need to increase it to ISO 1,600, ISO 3,200 or even ISO 6,400. Some small particles appear better than a low quality, blurry photo.
Use the flash when taking photos in sunny weather
When taking photos under strong sunlight, shadows will cast very strongly on the object. Therefore, you need to use the flash to handle uneven light areas.
Use reflective panels
Using reflective panels is not only a way to brighten portraits quickly and efficiently, but it also creates a more professional view.