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1. Set a wide aperture
When shooting portraits, it’s best to set a wide aperture (around f/1.4-f/5.6) to capture a shallow depth of field, so the background behind your subject is nicely blurred, making them stand out better. Shoot in Aperture Priority mode to control depth of field.
2. Shutter speed settings
When setting shutter speed, factor in your lens’s focal length otherwise camera-shake (and blurred results) will become an issue. As a general rule, make sure your shutter speed is higher than your effective focal length. For example, at 200mm use a 1/250 sec shutter speed or faster.
3. Shoot from Slightly Below Your Subject’s Eyeline
Shooting from slightly below a person’s eye line is quite flattering for most people.
4. NEVER use the on-camera flash. On-camera flash gives a deer-in-the-headlights look to even the most beautiful subject. Because the light is perfectly in line with the lens, the light hits the subject squarely and creates a flat light that is far from flattering.
5. Obscure Part of your Subject
A variation on the idea of zooming in on one part of the body is to obscure parts of your portrait subject’s face or body. You can do this with clothing, objects, their hands or just by framing part of them out of the image.
Sony A6000 F/6.3 Speed 1/40, ISO 3200
6. Frame Your Subject
Framing is a technique where by you draw attention to one element of an image by framing it with another element of the image.
7. Go with a Wide Angle
Shooting with a wide angle lens attached to your camera can help create some memorable shots when you’re doing portrait photography. At very wide focal lengths you can create some wonderful distortion. It might not be the type of shot you take of your wife or girlfriend (unless she’s in a playful mood) but using these focal lengths will enlarge parts of the face or body that are on the edge of the frame more than what is in the centre. It can also give a wide open and dramatic impact when your subject is in an impressive setting.
8. Use Centre-weighte in metering modes
Multi-zone mode takes a light reading from across a whole scene. It’s suitable for everyday use and pretty accurate in most situations. Centre-weighted Average takes a reading that concentrates on around 70% of the centre of the frame and feathers out towards the edges. It’s ideal for shooting portraits.
