Everyone wants to capture beautiful photographs of their family and friends, but often the shots come out with harsh shadows across the face, blown out with flash or the kids won't keep still and the pictures are all blurred. What can you do to maximise the chances of good results?
Luckily, there are a few quick wins that will help you get better shots more consistently.
1 Get the light right
We've all heard how photography is all about light, right? Well, it is. If you shoot in the midday sun, the light is directly hitting the top of the head, so you get big dark shadows under the eyes, the nose, the chin and the neck. Shoot with your subject facing directly into the sun and you'll get them squinting, shoot with their back to the sun and you get a silhouette. Seems impossible??
The best outdoor portrait results are obtained either early morning or late afternoon when the light is soft. Aim to shoot in flat shade (CAUTION: dappled light from trees etc causes real inconsistencies in lighting which are best avoided) , better the shade of a building or rocks if shooting at the beach. This will give you consistent light, but if there is some sunlight nearby, it will reflect up and your subject will be nicely lit.
Aim to have the sun at a 45 degree angle to your subject, so they are not directly facing it, but so that it still puts that little catchlight in their eye.
2 Focus on the eye nearest to you
As a viewer, we work our way front to back through an image, so if the person at the front is out of focus, we have already written it off as a bad image, even if someone behind is in focus.
Getting your focus right is paramount with portrait photography, and ensuring your auto-focus dot is lit on the front eye in the image is the best way to ensure a winning shot every time.
3 Shoot on continuous focus mode or AI Focus (Canon)
As a beginner, there is nothing more frustrating than your subjects moving, and the pictures being blurred - hence why many of us start with landscapes and nature!
One trick that I use with my students is to take advantage of the improvements in Auto-Focus SLR functionality. Most SLRs and hybrid cameras now have continuous focus modes in the Auto-Focus menus (AF-C in Nikon, AI Focus (slight movement) or AI Servo (significant movement) in Canon), which means getting your subject in focus much more of the time!
4 Shoot on A or AV and set your dial to its lowest F number - often F4 or 5.6
For those a touch more advanced, you can think about blurring your background slightly by using the aperture priority settings. If you use a low number, this reduces the depth of field and gives you the nice softness to your background. Getting closer to your subject also helps. Practice makes perfect here!
5 Think about your composition
Finally think about how you put your subjects into the frame. If you have a group, a pyramid structure works well, with a few people standing behind in the middle. It is also important to ensure you leave plenty of space above the heads, and some space in front of your subjects to look into.
I hope this gives you some starting points to improve on your shots. Remember that I offer some portrait workshops if you'd like a bit of one-on-one advice with your camera.
All the best, and happy shooting!
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