In this lesson: Learn the essential of the art of the portrait

While beautiful portraits look so easily created, there are many steps involved even before the shutter is depressed.

The goal of portraiture is to make the subject look his or her best. Typically, this means portraying the subject in a manner that makes them look relaxed and comfortable.

This is easier said than done, however.

There are upcoming Bootcamp lessons on several portrait-related topics, including posing and lighting. In this lesson, we focus on a few other tasks that are necessary to capture a great portrait.

Camera Positioning

How you position the camera will have a significant impact on how the portrait is viewed. For example, if you position yourself very near your subject, a close-up portrait will result, which is intimate and highlights the details of the subject, like his or her eyes and other facial features, skin, and hair.

On the other hand, if you take a shooting position that’s further away, the resulting portrait might be along the lines of an environmental shot, in which there is less focus on the details of the subject and more emphasis on the relationship of the subject to his or her surroundings.

You might even position the camera behind the subject to create a portrait of their backside. While this might not sound like a very good portrait at first, as seen in the sample image of the older couple walking in a field, a photo from behind can actually generate a very sweet (and slightly voyeuristic) portrait that feels very natural and relaxed.

Camera Angle

In addition to how near or far the camera is from the subject, the angle from which you shoot will also determine how the portrait looks and feels. Consider this:

• A low-angle shot in which you’re looking up at the subject tends to result in a more intimate photo and one that makes the viewer feel as though they are part of the scene.
• A high-angle portrait in which you’re looking down at the subject tends to feel more detached, as though you’re more of an outside observer looking at the subject from afar.
• When photographing children, it’s important to photograph them from their eye level, not yours. Similar to a low-angle shot, shooting from a child’s perspective makes the portrait more intimate and makes the viewer feel as though they are right there with the child, as seen in the image of the little boy with his teddy bear.
• Top-down portraits, in which the camera is positioned directly above the subject, result in a fun, laid-back image that’s great for kids and couples.

Background

One of the trickiest aspects of portraiture is getting the background just right. For many shots, this means using a wide aperture to blur the background, as is seen in the image of the little girl playing on the dirt road.

By blurring the background, you reap a couple of important advantages. First, doing so brings greater attention to the portrait subject because they are in sharp focus and everything behind them is blurred. That makes the subject more prominent in the scene, even if it’s a wider shot, like the sample image referred to above.

The other advantage of blurring the background is that you can hide unsightly or unsavory background elements. In this regard, you can shoot a portrait just about anywhere and still get a nice shot, even if the background isn’t ideal.

Choosing a background also requires that you pay attention to things like lighting, colors, textures, and shapes. Even if the background is blurred, odd lighting with large areas of highlights or shadows can still be distracting. What’s more, if the background is not blurred, wild colors or textures can easily distract the viewer’s eye.

So, backgrounds typically need to be non-descript, like the one in the image of the woman standing in front of the wood door. Notice how the background has some texture, but not so much that it overwhelms the shot. Notice as well that there are no crazy colors, shapes, or textures in the background to distract the eye.

Challenge Activity

Photograph a partner, spouse, or peer and work on the three elements of portraiture outlined in this lesson. You are making a portrait of a person and of a relationship, so use what you’ve learned to create a portrait that tells an effective story about the subject.

Step 1: Choose a location in which the model will feel comfortable. Remember to look for a spot that gives you a pleasing background that isn’t distracting.

Step 2: Position the model, striving for a pose that is comfortable for them to hold for an extended period of time – you’ll need time to work with your positioning and angle.

Step 3: Take several shots of the same pose from varying distances. Get up close for a more intimate, detail-oriented shot, then move back for a wider view of the scene, taking several shots in between as well.

Step 4: Play with the angles from which you shoot. Again, using the same pose, shoot from below the subject’s eye level, at their eye level, and above their eye level.

Step 5: Change the pose such that you have an opportunity to work with a different background, distance, and camera angle. Again, take multiple shots to see how you can best portray the subject.