Research different settings e.g. outdoors, indoors

Outdoor Portrait outdoor settings –

‘Blurring the background is the key to classic portrait shots, to direct attention to the main subject. Using a standard zoom lens, set the focal length to between 50 and 100mm. Set your camera to Aperture Priority and select the largest aperture available on your lens, such as f/4 or f/5.6.

While the aperture and the depth of field are important, you also need to watch the shutter speed. Make sure you’re using a shutter speed of at least 1/125sec to freeze any camera shake or subject movement. You also need to set the Autofocus mode to single or one shot, and select the focus point so that it’s over the eye of the subject.’

Location

One of the great things about outdoor portrait photography is that you can shoot almost

anywhere, from your back garden to a glorious tropical beach. But it’s important to know how to

get the most out of any location you choose.

There are few hard and fast rules when it comes to working a location. If the location adds to

your portrait, you can include the background, but if the location isn’t particularly photogenic, try

using limited depth of field or tight framing to concentrate attention on your subject.

For the most striking portraits, it’s often best to keep things simple, so try to shoot against

uncluttered backgrounds such as the sky, a wall or foliage. This will help your subject stand out.

However, like most rules, there are times when it’s best to break them – particularly when you’re

shooting environmental portraits where you want to show the surroundings almost as much as

the subject itself. 

Composition and framing

Try to position either your subject’s face (on a half or full-length portrait) or eyes (on a head-and-

shoulders or close-up shot) using the rule of thirds. This gives a much more balanced

composition than if they are in the centre of the frame.

When shooting closer than full length, you’ll need to think carefully about framing. A good rule of

thumb is to avoid cropping the portrait so that any joints such as knees or elbows come too close

to the edges of the frame.

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01 Find yourself some shade

A simple solution is to position your model in a shady area. Don’t forget to watch the white

balance setting though. If the background is still in bright sunlight it can make your model’s skin

look too blue, because it will choose a daylight white balance, rather than shade.

Research different settings e.g. outdoors, indoors

02 Wait for some cloud

If you can’t find any shade, and there are some clouds in the sky, you can try waiting for the sun

to disappear behind cloud for a natural diffused effect.

Shooting in changing light means that you’ll need to work quickly to get your shots though, and

you also need to watch the exposure.

Make sure that you set the exposure for the model, rather than a bright or dark background.

03 Diffuse the light

If there aren’t any clouds to diffuse harsh light, you can get a similar effect by holding a diffuser

between the subject and the sun. The diffuser can be as simple as a piece of translucent white

cloth or one made specifically for the purpose.

This works very well for head-and-shoulders portraits, but it can be impossible to find a big

enough diffuser to diffuse the lightfor a half- or full-length shot.

Even for head-and-shoulders shots you’ll find it much easier if you have a willing assistant to hold

the diffuser in position.

04 Shoot into the light

For a completely different look, try getting your model to face away from the sun, and shoot into

the light. You’ll need to avoid under-exposure, because the bright background will fool your

camera’s meter. Try using +1 or +2 stops of Exposure Compensation

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Research different settings e.g. outdoors, indoors

As there are three things that determine the depth of field in your shots – aperture, focal length

and your distance from the subject – it can take practice to get the effect you want. Here’s how

these key factors affect your shots…

Aperture

One of the easiest ways to control the depth of field is to change the aperture that you use. For

shallow depth of field, choose a wide aperture (small f-number) such as f/2.8 or f/4.

To capture more of the scene in sharp focus, use a smaller aperture (larger f-number), such as

f/11 or f/16.

Prime lenses offering wide apertures (such as a 50mm f/1.8) produce a really shallow depth of

field, which makes them the perfect lens for portraits.

Focal length

If the other settings stay the same, a longer focal length lens will blur the background more than

a shorter one. Try selecting a focal length of around 55-70mm in order to throw backgrounds out

of focus.

Shooting distance

The final thing governing the depth of field of your shots is how far you are standing from the

subject. The further you are from your subject, the more of the shot will be in focus from front to

back, while the closer you are the less of it will be sharp.

Research different settings e.g. outdoors, indoors

Using an 85mm lens and an aperture of f/2 has produced shallow depth of field

This means you’ll find it easier to get shallow depth of field by getting as close as you can.

How far you are from the subject will be governed by the focal length of the lens you are using,

and how much of the subject you want to include.

Research different settings e.g. outdoors, indoors

It’s much easier to get shallow depth of field effects when shooting head-and-shoulder (or close-

up) images than it is if you’re taking full-length portraits.

But remember that it’s also easier to get shallow depth of field with a longer focal length lens, and

you’ll also produce unflattering distortion if you get too close to the subject.

Best Focus Modes For Outdoor Portraits

With most portraits it’s essential that at least one of the eyes is sharp, and when using shallow

depth of field it’s critical that you focus accurately on this area.

As long as the subject is static, you can use either manual or automatic focus modes to good

effect. Using autofocus you should select single or one-shot mode, so that you can lock the

setting by half-pressing the shutter release to focus on the eyes.

For moving subjects, you should set the camera to servo or continuous autofocus. Then the

camera can track the subject, although when combined with a shallow depth of field it can be

difficult to get pin-sharp focus on a moving subject.

For the best results, select the focus point you want to use, so that it corresponds to where the

subject’s eyes are in the frame. This will save you time compared to using the central focusing

point and reframing your shot.

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Research different settings e.g. outdoors, indoors

Indoor Portrait Settings -

01 Use window light

Place your subject close to a window to make the most of any available natural light – this will

generally give more flattering results than flash-lit shots.

02 A little reflection

A reflector is invaluable for filling in shadows on faces. Position it on the opposite side of your

subject to the window, and slightly below them to reflect light back onto their features.

03 Go prime

A focal length of around 85mm is the classic choice for portraits; wide-angle lenses can contort

facial features when shooting up close, while telephoto lenses are impractical. If you’re using a

crop-sensor camera, then a using a prime lens like Canon’s budget EF 50mm f/1.8 lens will give

you an effective focal length of 80mm and has a wonderfully wide f/1.8 aperture.

04 Use a wide aperture

When shooting indoors, set Aperture Priority mode and select a wide aperture (such as f/2.8 or

greater). This will not only allow you to make the most of the lower light levels, but will also give

you a shallow depth of field that will help your subjects stand out from cluttered backgrounds.

05 Up the ISO

To avoid camera shake, you need to select a shutter speed of at least ‘one over’ the effective

focal length – so for 85mm you’d need 1/100 sec or faster. Shooting indoor portrait photography

in low light will mean you’re likely to need to shoot at ISO 800 or 1600 to obtain a good shutter

speed. While higher ISOs mean more image noise, this is very well controlled in most recent

DSLRs, and a little noise is far preferable to a shaky shot.

06 It’s all about the eyes

Getting your focus spot-on for portraits is critical – always focus on the eyes (or the nearest eye,

if your subject isn’t square-on to you). Switch to the single AF point mode and use one of the off-

centre AF points for sharp focusing and to help improve your compositions. If you use the central

AF point and focus and recompose, when shooting with a shallow DoF, you may end up with a

pin-sharp nose but out-of-focus eyes.

07 Find a model

It goes without saying the some people are more photogenic than others, so it may be worth

engaging the services of a model. Websites such as Model Mayhem are great places to find

willing subjects, and many models starting out will do it for free, in exchange for images for their

portfolio.

08 Keep up the rapport

You’ll get better portraits if you really engage with your subjects. Give them direction for their

poses and offer encouragement. Show your subjects your shots on the LCD every so often so

they can see how good they look!

09 Make them pop

A simple Photoshop workflow will help make your portraits pop. Once you’ve processed theraw

format file, use a Levels adjustment layer to selectively brighten the eyes and teeth, and use the

Research different settings e.g. outdoors, indoors

Unsharp Mask to ensure the eyes are pin-sharp – values of Amount 80%, Radius 2 and

Threshold 0 are good starting points.

10 Make it mono

Portraits are often transformed by a black-and-white conversion; this removes distractions from

colourful clothing of blotchy skin. Mono is also brilliant for gritty character portraits.

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Tips

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most-popular-photography-cheat-sheets/