Portrait Guidelines

When shooting portrait sessions, it can be helpful to have a specific goal in mind

. For example, it is good practice to shoot for at least 6 to 12 different sellable poses. You should keep the sales table in mind when you are shooting. At the sales table, the last thing you want is for your customer to be bored looking at several pictures that look relatively the same. However, you don't want to overwhelm the customer either.

Shoot at least one shot of the subject sitting, standing, and laying down. If the person is unable to maneuver into these different positions (for instance, in the case of infants and elders), you are not out of luck. You can accomplish a lot just by turning the subject from one side to the other, as well as taking a shot from above the subject, at eye level with the subject, and from below. Dramatically different angles make for dramatically different pictures.

Always remember to take at least one extreme close-up of the subject's face, especially children and babies. Please do this with your zoom though and not by putting the camera right in the subject's face, as that can be uncomfortable. Pay close attention to the positioning of hands and feet. Fingers should usually be closed, and we do not want to see the soles of the subject's shoes. However, the bottom of bare feet is not as bad; in fact, it can be rather adorable, especially with babies and children.

When cropping photos, make sure that none of the subject's fingers or toes are cut off awkwardly. If they are completely out of the picture it is fine, but we do not want half fingers or half feet. When looking through the viewfinder, allow for the width of a toothpick along the top, bottom, and sides. This should be useful in making sure that none of your subject will be cut off. Remember too that the customer may want to frame the photographs, in which case you should leave toothpick-width space around the subject anyway.

by: Carl Helka

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