Portrait photography - for both men and women - is a challenge as every face is different. Therefore you will need to deal with every portrait session as being unique. Yes, there are photographers around that find a system and stick with it. But look at their photographs and what do you see? The same supermarket mentality towards portrait photography, and a hoard of boring replica-like photographs. If you want to find the individual character of your sitter, here are some facial tips to regard with your portrait photography.
These tips are about imperfections that everyone has to some degree. Some people are more fortunate than others in this respect. If you wish to de-emphasize particular characteristics that may be considered unattractive in a portrait, then have a look at these tips.
Cheeks: Your lighting technique will differ depending on how you want to emphasize features of the face. Pale cheeks will benefit from blusher; if cheeks are hollow avoid strong lighting or light from high above. Full or puffy cheeks are helped by placing your key light high and almost directly in front of the subject.
Ears: Women can always remove attention from ears with hair, unless cut extremely short. Ears sticking out can be very distracting and undesirable in a portrait. To deal with this problem, do not shoot the head face on, angle sideways starting at 45 degrees to view away from the full face. This will eliminate one ear and leave the other placed in shadow. Don't fill this side too much and your problem is solved.
Hair: Hair is fairly easy to deal with, just add an additional light. This light is placed above the head; choose an attractive angle and keep the light high out of camera range. Make sure there are no strands that are obviously out of place as your hair light will pick it up. Keep a small spray bottle of water handy to wet hair down if necessary. To keep hair from looking too dark, have the key light angled so that no shadows are thrown to this area.
Chins: Prominent chins can be shortened by lowering the camera. A double chin can be minimized by positioning the model on a high stool and having her lean forward. Flat lighting is also very effective for this issue.
Teeth: Teeth should look clean and white so don't put this area in shadow. If the model's lips are full and puts teeth into shadow, you can correct this by a fill light directed at the mouth. If the model's teeth are not that attractive, shoot her smiling with the mouth closed, or utilize other expressions where the mouth is mostly closed.
Lips: Because this area is a high expression area, you will be looking for various expressions before you begin. A very subtle change in expression with the mouth, or your lighting to this area, will change the mood of the photograph significantly. You want the mouth to be relaxed and the best way to achieve this is by laughter, and photograph during or just after depending on what you want from the subject. With women, lip gloss is useful for a more sensual look.
Noses: Long noses can be shortened by lowering the camera a little lower than on an even plane with the subjects head. Another technique is to have the model tilt her head back slightly. Remember that long noses will always look exaggerated in profile or with the head angled forward. In addition a longer lens or a more distant point of view can help if your studio allows this.
Short noses can give the impression of being longer in when shot in profile or when the camera is placed above or close up.
Glasses: If you are photographing a model and glasses are a requirement, they can give you a lot of trouble with reflections. Glass reflection can be avoided by raising the lights high or by placing your lights far to one side. You can also use polarized light in addition to a polarizing filter on the lens to eliminate reflections altogether.
Eyes: Along with lips the eyes are perhaps the other most important feature for expression. The eyes should reflect the personality of the sitter. They should be engaging, open, lifelike and lit well. Light the eyes by having the key light in a position where you can just see catch lights appearing in the eye. However, try to avoid overdoing this by having more than one catch light or you will blow out the eyes.
Taking a little extra care and examining the face vigilantly will result in getting better quality images from your model. Follow and experience these tips and they will come naturally after practicing over time. By following reputable online photography courses you can easily master these, and more, lighting techniques; learning when and how to apply each for optimum results.
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