People see themselves as uglier than they are. Okay, we’re all a little ugly (or handsome, depending on how you look at it), some more and others less, but I’m sick of seeing the face of horror, fear, panic and real fear that some people put on when they’re shown a portrait of them.
This must be remedied. The planets, stars, gods and other forces that watch over the balance of our Universe have decided that YOU, dear reader, are in charge of solving this situation. Yes, you who are always behind the camera, because you had to have some mission at some point, and today is the day it will be revealed to you: save 2 or 3 of your friends from depression for believing they are ugly (or uglier than what deep down they are :P)
Do you accept the mission?
(If you cowardly decide to stop reading at this point you will cause a huge imbalance in the Universe, think twice before giving up 😉 ).
8 tips for producing stunning portraits
Nothing to do with high and expensive photography equipment, reflex cameras of 3,000 euros, huge lighting panels or a team of elite professional makeup artists. The tips that I propose below are simple and within the reach of any photographer, whether professional or amateur.
The only thing you are going to need is a camera, ideally a reflex camera, a friend who allows himself to be photographed, a little desire, and follow the following tips:
1- Select a reduced Depth of Field: This basically consists of setting the camera to Aperture Priority semi-automatic mode (“A” on Nikon cameras, “Av” on Canon and other brands), and setting the camera to as small an f/value as possible (f/1.4 would be ideal, but an f/3.5 would work just the same). With this we will have configured a reduced Depth of Field, which in the end is nothing more than telling the camera: “Get as much focus on the subject as you can and make everything else blur.”
When we apply this trick, we are really making the subject the only protagonist. Anyone who looks at the photograph would feel an irresistible desire to look at the subject first, before looking at the rest of the elements of the photograph.
2- Light, light, lots of light: In addition to attracting attention and giving prominence, light is normally associated with very positive sensations. Before composing the portrait, try to find a place that is as lit as possible. Obviously, natural light is a thousand times better than artificial light, although if there is no natural light, artificial light would also be fine.
3- Avoid direct flash at night: And speaking of light… have you ever noticed how oily and sweaty portraits taken at night with direct flash light look very close? Never, never shoot at night with direct flash.
Instead, there are a number of tricks you can use with the flash to get very good results: for example, bounce the light from the flash off a nearby white wall so that the light reflected on the portrait subject comes from the bounce off the wall, and not from the flash directly. It also usually gives very good results to fire the flash with some kind of diffuser screen, which diffuses the light of the flash and makes it softer on the subject.
Trick: When I don’t have a diffusing screen I use a piece of Kleenex paper, it works great.
4- Avoid dawn and night: If you don’t want to complicate your life too much directly, avoid the moments of greatest difficulty for a photographer, which are night and dawn. Although I admit that sunrise usually attracts me a lot to take photos, it must be said that it presents a lot of difficulty due to the lack of light. If you dare you can try it anyway, but if you want to be sure, set up your session in the middle of the morning or in the afternoon a little before sunset.
5- Use the 50mm: If you shoot with the King of Targets you have half the job done. It’s a pass.
6- Entertain him, amuse him, make him laugh: On the one hand, the subject will always associate the photo with the moment of the session. Humans are incapable of separating a positive emotion such as having fun from an objective fact such as being handsome or ugly in a photo. Really. Give him a good time and your subject will subconsciously keep that photo as one of his favorites.
Also, you’re not doing your subject a favor if you let them appear serious or nervous in the photo. You have to help him feel good, comfortable and relax. During the photo session go chatting with him, comment on things, do not be inhibited from exclaiming out loud how well the photos are coming out, because that will give him confidence and help him relax much more.
7- Find the right angle: There is a suitable angle for each person, depending on their gender, their height, their physical complexion, and the message that you want to convey through the portrait. It is recommended to portray the girls slightly from above (without exaggeration), since that point of view normally transmits tenderness; a man is told that it is better to photograph him from below as this gives a greater sense of strength and virility. If you photograph a child lowering you to his same height, you make him look very handsome, and so on…
(I feel like writing more extensively on this topic. I’ll try to post something soon.)
8- Pay attention to the colors: Everything that I have been commenting on above can end up being useless if you let the theme of colors escape. It is essential to find a colored point that gives prominence to the character instead of taking it away.
For example, if you wear green, photographing it in an extremely green environment (grass) will not give you much prominence. Remember, we want the subject to be the protagonist, to be the center of attention. So try to choose background colors that contrast with the colors of the subject. Think of the typical photo that we have all seen of the red ladybug on a green leaf, can you imagine that the ladybug was green…?
In some cases you can even make them complement each other: for example, a character with a small green accessory (a scarf for example) in a green environment, as long as the dominant color of the clothing is not exactly green.
Anyway, I hope that this article has been entertaining as well as useful for you, and that from now on yours will look “a little more handsome” through the photos you produce.
As always, if you enjoyed reading this I would appreciate a recommendation on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ 🙂