Portrait and Living

1. Portrait Photography
“A portrait! What could be
more simple and more
complex, more obvious
and more profound.” -
Charles Baudelaire
“Portraiture is a window to
the soul”
Holding Virgina - Sally Mann

2. Portrait and People Photography
 Photographs that
clearly shows the
expression of a
human most likely
to use their faces
as main Focal
Point.

3. Settings of Potrait Photography
 Settings and
scene can really
add emotion to a
portrait.
 Settings tell us
information about
the people and
their way of life.

4. Props in Portrait Photography
 Props help to give
the photographs a
life and tell us more
about the subject.
Include props but
don’t let them
become the main
focus of the portrait.

5. Lighting in Portrait Photography
 Make sure the lighting ADDS to the photograph
rather then subtracts. Lighting can make or
break a photograph.
 Shoot FROM the source of your light to fill in
faces
 Shoot in early morning or towards end of day for
nice soft diffused light. Mid day light is way to
harsh and high to effectively fill out facial
features

8. Work/Life/Candid
 Don’t tell your subject to pose. Rather be
unobtrusive and photograph them doing
what they do. A posing smiling person is
not always the best.

10. Angle in Portrait Photography
 You can minimize
distractions in your
photographs by
switching up your angle.
 Different angles can
really change the mood
and meaning of a
photograph.

11. Types of Portraits
When we speak of portrait photography in general terms there's a tendency to
overlook the sub-categories. From the strictly formal to the candid street shot.
Here is a range of the more common types of portrait photography.
Candid
 Posed
Formal
Couple
Environmental
Sporting
Children
Group

12. Candid
o un-posed and
unplanned photo

13. Posed
 Communication
between
photographer and
the subject about
the body position
and expression

14. Formal
 Communication between
photographer and the
subject regarding
clothing, location, style
and mood

15. Couple
 Interpretation of a relationship
between two people
Hiroshima, August of 1945

16. Small Group
 Interpretation of a
common bond between
members of a group

17. Environmental
 An environmental portrait shows the subject(s) in their own
territory.

18. Sporting
 shows the subject with their uniform, equipment
in their sporting environment.
 The important factor is to let the equipment and
location tell part of the story.

19. Children

20. Portrait Tips
 Choosing the Right Background
 Focus on the Eyes
 Lighting, Lighting and more Lighting
 Change the Format Framing
 Alter Your Perspective
 Experiment with Subject Expressions
 “Play” with focus
 Give Your Subject Space to Look Into
 Reflection & Shadow
 Movement
 Get serious

21. Choosing the Right Background

22. Focus on the Eyes
“the eyes are the window to the soul”

23. Lighting, Lighting and more Lighting
 Lighting is the most important element in any photo composition
and sets the mood, feeling and character of your photo.

24. Change the Format Framing
 Mix your framing

25. Alter Your Perspective
 completely
change the
angle that you
shoot from

26. Experiment with Subject Expressions

27. Same shot+different focus
=different story

28. (UN)Focus
 It adds
some
mystery
to the
image

29. Give Your Subject Space to Look Into

30. Reflection & Shadow

31. Movement
 Use movement
to show action,
even if it blurs
out the subject
entirely.

32. Get serious
 Not all
portraits
need to have
a smile,
capture the
serious
emotions too

33. BEN WATTS

34. DIANE ARBUS

35. THOMAS RUFF

36. CINDY SHERMAN

37. ANNIE LEIBOVITZ

38. DAVID LACHAPELLE