Taking portraits

When you use a digital camera to shoot portraits of people, controlling the lighting is a major concern. Shooting out-of-doors allows great diversity of photographic expression by changing the position of the camera and the model in relation to the light source, the sun. Illuminate your subject from different angles for different effects. Always be aware of the variations in color temperature and height of the sun, which depend on the season and the time of day.

Digital cameras are not suited for shooting objects with strong contrasts. When illuminating from the back with strong light, details in the shadow will be obscured. To avoid this, use a reflector or supplementary light, such as a built-in flash, set to its highest setting. Ordinary lighting from the front does not pose any problems.

Photo shot under front lighting conditions

Backlit and side-light photos

In portrait photography, the secret to creating a lifelike image is to use the background well. Digital cameras have a wide lens, and the depth of field is great, so you cannot blur the background. To cope with this problem, shoot the photo against a background that does not require blurring. Later, when you are editing the image on the computer, you might want to add a touch of blur. But when you initially photograph the image, you should aim for the clearest possible exposure.

Portrait against a simple background

Portrait against a cluttered background

Learn and use the varies features of your camera to their fullest.

The macro feature is convenient for capturing facial expressions. In this kind of photography, the disparity between what you see in the view-finder and what is captured by the lens increases as the subject becomes closer. Use the liquid crystal display to frame close shots.

Using the monochrome mode to take black and white photographs is easy and enjoyable. The monochrome images appearing on the LCD are often quite interesting.

Expression shot in macro-mode

Portrait shot in the monochrome mode

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Compare:Understanding Digital Cameras/Photographing in the monochrome mode

Compare:Understanding Digital Cameras/Making good use of the macro mode of the camera

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Compare:Understanding Digital Cameras/The position of light changes according to the hour and the season