Photographing Portraits of People - Photography Tips

So you have a great digital camera and you're tired of shooting landscapes and sunsets. Now you want to move onto faces and personalities. Good for you! It's probably the most rewarding subject matter to photograph. And it's my favorite.

To capture a portrait of someone - to truly capture their personality, isn't easy. You need to learn some basic posing techniques and you really need to know your camera. Know your camera so you don't need to be so focused on the technical, but more on the connection between you and your portrait subject.

Now that you've decided to explore portraiture, you need to understand the responsibility of a portrait. Being photographed is a very vulnerable experience. We've all seen horrible pictures of ourselves, and over time it can make some people feel less of themselves and think they are not 'photogenic'. When really they have just likely been poorly photographed.

First things first! Make your subject feel comfortable. Find out something about them, ask them questions. Asking about kids or family almost always puts a subject at ease. When you get them thinking about themselves and your questions, they stop thinking about being nervous. And when someone isn't nervous, you can capture more of their true personality.

I know what you're thinking. Talking and asking questions is easy, but how do I pose them? My advise is to start simple. Just concentrate of their face. Less to shoot is less to worry about, for both of you. Experiment with head tilt or angle of their face. But always keep their movements small and subtle. And try and get your camera at their eye level. Also find a comfortable distance to them. Close enough to connect, but not too close to intimidate them with your equipment.

Once you feel like you have some nice face shots, then try moving a little further away. See more of their body. Try having them fold their arms, or have them lean against a tree or a wall. People need to feel like they have some safety or an anchor.

The important thing to remember, is to have fun and keep the experience simple and unintimidating for your subject. For more simple tips on posing people for portraits visit this informative site!