Portrait Photography Tips:
- Hold camera still or use a tripod
- Know how to use the manual/auto focus on camera
- Focus on the person/object, not the background
- If you focus on someone's eye, it will soften skin
- KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid): use narrow depth of field, background blurry
- Get up close (hands)
- Alter perspective (use different angles)
- Experiment with lighting (back lighting, side lighting)
- Take pictures one hour before dusk and one hour after dawn (Golden Hour)
- Do not shoot into the sun
- Shoot photos in a shady area
- Use color filters
- Rules of Composition: rule of thirds
- Break Rules of Composition (place subject in the dead center, add blur)
- Take a series of shots and put them together
- When taking photo with subject tell them to: look off to the side, look over shoulder
- Introduce a prop
- Shoot candidly/follow subject around