Any good photographer will soon realise that the human face is a priceless richness of textures, emotions, angles,
shades and contours, all waiting to be captured on film.

By following these simple guidelines, you can make the best out of your photographs of people:
Keep the background simple and medium-toned in order for the subject to stand out. Another way of
doing this would be to shoot the image using the lowest f-stop possible (for example f2.8 or f3.5). This
will blur the background but keep the all-important subject perfectly in focus and therefore, the focal point
of the picture.

TIP: A low f-stop means a very low depth of field. Make sure you focus on the person's eyes (or whatever else
may be the focal point of the portrait you are taking) in order for the most important aspects of the subject to be
in focus.

• For the most flattering angle, position the camera slightly below the subject's eye level.

• Pay special attention to the angle of the hands and head, as they can easily look awkward.

• Adjust your camera before you get the subject to pose, otherwise you run the risk of getting a very
artificial, forced or unnatural pose.

• Relax the subject by telling them a joke or talking about something that interests them. Remember to
tell them where you would like them to look (straight into the camera, to the side or even over your shoulder)
depending on the effect you are striving to create.

• Most importantly, take a few images. People tend to relax the more they hear the camera click and you
will often find that the best image you get is one of the last that you take. >

Below:

Adjust your camera before you get the subject to pose.
pic.

• The biggest mistake that people make is presuming a good portrait includes the whole person's body.
Instead zoom in, include only half the body or go even closer: fill the frame with just the face or even half
of the face. A close-up is an excellent way to focus attention and create a feeling of intimacy in your
photograph. It also removes the distracting background, focusing attention exactly where you need it. An
exception to this rule would be environmental portraits, which I will cover a little later.

Good portraits seldom happen by themselves, instead they necessitate crucial planning and require the
photographer to control facets of the environment around the subject and to plan what equipment he/she is going
to use for the picture. Most importantly, the photographer needs to decide, prior to clicking the shutter release
button, precisely what characteristics of the subject he/ she wants to portray in the photograph.

Your choice of lens and use of lighting make a big impact on the outcome of good portraits.

LENSES:

The ideal portrait lens is considered to be the 50mm lens. Lenses wider than this tend to distort the face,

separating the subject from the background. A lens longer than 50mm compacts facial features and brings
the background right up on the subject. A longer lens will normally require a lower f-stop, which increases the
chance of camera shake.

Shooting with a lens such as a 38-1 35mm is my ideal choice of lens because;

• Used at its widest it is idea! for shooting large groups of people,

• For standard portraits you have the option of shooting at 50mm,