subject: Embellish Your Portrait Photography [print this page] Portrait photography refers to photographing the subject in which the facial expressions are a predominant feature. In this type of photography, a photographer can also take the picture of the group of people as a group portrait. The main purpose of portrait photography is to focus on the persons face. This photography focuses on the mood of the subject and the photographer portrays this mood of the subject. In a portrait, the subject often faces the camera directly. These photographs are majorly used for personal purposes. Some of the portrait photographs are used for promotional or public exhibition.
History of Portrait Photography:
This form of photography was introduced in the middle of 19th century. It was introduced by the professional photographers when camera became popular. However, at that time this form of picture had its own technical challenges to face. Over the years the advancement of the camera and the technology brought tremendous improvements in the portrait photography. The equipment became more advanced and modified producing high quality photographs. Later on, the green screen technology was also introduced that added more visual effects to the photography. These are also called chroma key effects that change the background of the subject.
Lighting of the Portrait Photography:
There are various lighting effects used for the portrait photography. A photographer should properly light the subject as well as the background. You can keep a plain background or superimpose several types of images at the back of the subject. There is a key light that lights up the background as well as the subject. The back light distinguishes the background from the subject in the photograph. The fill light removes the shadow from the face and clothes of the subject. You can also make use of butterfly lights that leaves softening effect on the face of the subject. A photographer can change the background of the subject digitally. This is feasible by using green or blue cloth at the background of the subject while taking a photographer. You can merge any picture that you desire and replace the picture by any background image. These are called chroma key editing. They make your portrait photograph attractive and captivating.
