What Are Spectacular Portrait Poses
And How Do We Capture Them?

Taking true "portraits" is not as easy as you might first think. Well, actually that's not entirely true. Capturing really good portraits isn't easy; taking a picture of someone and calling it a portrait is very simple.

Here are a few key factors that should be addressed if your goal is to create the "really good" variety.

• Equipment

• Location

• Capturing Their Heart and Soul

There are only two pieces of equipment that you need to consider... the camera and the lens. And for those of us who own a point and shoot camera, it really only means one thing.

Camera

If you have a digital SLR, there is more flexibility in producing a better portrait. Depth of field is a significant factor when taking portrait poses. With portraits and macro work, the depth-of-field is one of the most critical factors to consider.

When doing portraits, you want as little depth of field as you can get. Because of this reason, a full frame digital camera is preferable to one with a smaller sensor because of the increased depth of field.

Many less expensive digital SLR's have a smaller sensor because it is less expensive and in most cases, it's not an issue. However, in this particular situation, it is.

The only slightly confusing point is this - a large aperture is equal to a small F-stop number (F/2 for example); while a small aperture is equal to a large F-stop number (F/22 for example).

Lenses

Because it really comes down to your photographic preference, we are not going to take sides; instead, we will cover both.

According to beauty experts, the most unflattering part of the human face is the nose. The challenge then becomes how do you use a shallow depth of field lens that keeps the entire face in focus without emphasizing the nose?

The answer is to frame your subject, and then move as far away from them as you can while still having their face fill most of the frame. It basically comes down to numbers.

If you are standing a few feet away from your subject, the "zone of sharpness" is relatively small.

We run into a problem when the "zone" is less than the distance from the tip of the nose to the eyes. For example, if you are shooting portrait poses from a distance of 4 feet from your subject, let's say the zone of sharpness of the lens you're using is one inch.

If the distance from the tip of their nose to their eyes is 1 1/2 inches, then some part of their face will not be as sharp as you want.

On the other hand, if you're shooting from 15 feet away, the zone of sharpness may be 3 inches.

In that case, since the distance from their nose to eyes is unchanged, what this does is guarantee that all parts of their face will be sharp (because it is within the zone of sharpness).

This is fine for people who believe portrait poses should be sharp. For photographers who want a certain "softness" in their portrait poses like this one, they can approach the situation differently.

There are filters made to produce a certain fuzziness to pictures, by design. There are also flash attachments that can cause light to be diffused and therefore produce a gauze-like or angelic look to portraits. These type of effects can also be created by using photo-editing software in post-production.

One of the most important things to remember when doing portrait poses, is to avoid using a conventional flash, if at all possible. The reflected light will simply appear too harsh most of the time. Since most of us don't have a professional studio, here are some other ways to produce quality results.

When doing portrait poses, the two most important elements at your location are lighting and background.

Lighting

Since we don't have a complete studio at our disposal we need to make the most of the lighting that we do have.

One way to do this is to position your subject near a window or other source of natural light.

Since you cannot change the direction and intensity of the lighting (as you could in a studio environment), the only remaining option is to reposition your subject relative to the lighting that does exist.

Set your camera's controls to use a wide aperture and slow shutter speed. Because of this, you will definitely need a tripod. If you don't have any sources of natural light as described, you can usually find good lighting conditions in certain large government or academic buildings.

Notice which portrait poses produce too many shadows or too few. Taking outside portrait poses can be more difficult than doing them indoors. Bright overhead sunlight typically produces unsatisfactory lighting conditions by making your subjects appear too harsh; in addition to creating too many shadows under the eyes.

If your subject is wearing a hat, it is very likely that shadows will hide their face. In this case, it is important to use fill flash. If contemplating doing portrait poses outside, the best time to do it is when it is overcast.

Background

Sometimes you will want a solid-colored background, while other times you will be quite happy with very blurry nondescript blobs of color filling the space behind your subject.

This is an example of a decidedly not blurry background. Do you believe it would be better more or less out of focus, or does it establish part of the overall "story?"

There is also nothing wrong with a slightly out-of-focus background which adds to the overall story or effect of the photograph.

When you work with portrait poses, you can create whatever impact you want; from a mesmerizing black-and-white to a color portrait that captures the total whimsy of the subject.

1. Fill as much of the frame as possible with the subject's face.

2. If the portrait pose captures a memorable emotion, activity, or story; it is much less important to fill the frame with the subject's face.

   In fact, depending on the significance of the event and how it relates to the subject, it may not even be necessary to show the subject's entire face with any clarity.

Portrait poses which grab the viewer while capturing the heart and soul of the subject are rare because as of what's required of the photographer. Unless you are a photographer on assignment or you are doing a labor of love, most photographers are reluctant to spend the significant amount of time with the subject that is often required to truly capture their essence with a camera.

Like any other goal, striving towards it is often its own reward. And, once you do achieve the goal, portrait photography will never be the same to you again.

How to Capture Spectacular Portrait Poses

How to Create Effective Portrait Backgrounds