The best portrait photographers do not just show us the person in the photo, they tell us about the vision of the photographer.
Don’t just take photos of people portraits, take photos that tell their story.
A creative eye and technical skills are both important to capture outstanding portraits. So here are my photography tips to keep in mind when you photograph people.
> Use the rule of thirds
> Use leading lines
> Frame your subject
> Link the layer
> Try unusual camera angles to affect the viewers perception of your subject
> Look for details
> Use unique composition to draw attention to your subject
>Choose the right lens
*Use short/wide angle (14mm – 28mm) if you want your composition to include the surrounding environment.
*Use standard (35mm-70mm) to give slightly tighter composition with room to show some surrounding environment.
*Use Long/Telephoto (85mm-300mm) to bring all the focused attention to your subject individuality.
Think about the context
> Use plain backdrop to isolate your subject from the world
> Use objects to tell the audience about your subject, personality, or profession
> Use opposition to attract your viewers to your subject
> Learn to exclude obstructing objects to emphasise your subject.
> You can try to show the human traits of your subject by using only objects that portray them.
> Use the eyes to determine the focal point, this lets the viewers scan more of the photo
> To achieve a powerful portrait photograph, make sure the subject gazes somewhere near the camera
> Try to blend in to capture people in their natural state
> To photograph a strong group portrait try to capture the individuality of each one of the members.
Street portraits
To find interesting people to photograph in area you want to document start to wonder in the streets at differ time of the day and if you can even at different seasons. Be familiar with the urban environment and its inhabitants.
Be ready in a spot of interest and wait for the action to come to you.
Look for colors, patterns and shapes that can lead your viewers eye to your subject and tell more about who they are, preferably in Black and White or with a complimentary colour scheme.
Use a small camera with fast lens. Try not to attract too much attention to yourself to achieve as much natural face expression as possible.
Now go out there and look for the next story about people to capture in unique and special way.