Photoshop

Many people now own digital cameras and if there is one thing they love doing it is taking pictures of family and friends. And it is here that things start to go awry because the typical amateur snapper does not know the basics of portrait photography.

Many of us do not know the basics of portrait photography, so our pictures appear with head shots cropped and the photo centring on an elbow. All of this can be avoided if we take a little time to learn some of the basics.

Cropped head shots can be avoided by using your digital cameras LCD screen. Everything that appears in on that screen will also appear in your picture. So use it to centre the picture and take your photograph.

Professional photographers love to have a good background in their pictures. But for those of us amateur snappers that is not really necessary, unless you want the background to add interest to your photograph. A good background will enhance your portrait photograph, and if done skilfully will tell us something interesting about the subject of your picture.

Don’t worry about ‘posing’ your portraits as off the cuff or spur of the moment photographs can be the best. Of course, if it doesn’t work out and you find the subject had already wandered out of shot when you pressed the shutter button then don’t worry. Just delete the picture and move on.

Whether the picture is posed or taken off the cuff, it is important that photo fills the frame. That is important as it will add character to the picture.

When snapping photographs lighting is very important. Many people photograph outdoors so lighting is not such a big issue. But if you are taking your pictures at an indoor location, including your home, you need to consider lighting.

Natural light can be handy in helping bring some shadow into the picture. Make sure the shadows are not too strong especially if the light is very bright. A white card can also be used to reflect light that is too bright in posed pictures.

Finally, when taking a portrait remember to focus on the eyes as they are a persons most important, and revealing, feature.

Insight Photographers are specialist Hull wedding photographers and portrait photographers Insight are located in HUll, East Yorkshire and provide a full portfolio of services including weddings, publicity shots, portraits and commercial photography