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TOP 10 Ways How To Shoot A Stunning Portrait

You don’t have to be a professional photographer to make an impeccable portrait. But how do you precisely take one that has that ‘wow’ effect? If you think about it, often the most striking portraits are those that break all the rules.

Sometimes it is good to change the angle you are shooting from, or maybe you should emphasize one body part of your subject. Below I present you with some essential tips that will lead you to make a good portrait.

Shoot Candidly

candidly

via lisa-marie-photography-lisamariephoto

Sometimes posed shots can look a bit artificial and inauthentic. Some people don’t look good in a posed environment, so switching to a candid type approach can work. Photograph your subject at work, with family, or doing something that they love.

Play With Eye Contact

eye-contact

via pappattila.hu

It is amazing how much the direction of your subject’s eyes can impact an image. That can create a real sense of connection between a subject and those viewing the image.

Break The Rules Of Composition

break-the-rules-of-composition

via fanpop.com

While the rules are useful to know and employ, it is also useful to know them so you can purposely break them – as this can lead to eye-catching results.

 Move Your Subject Out Of Their Comfort Zone

out-of-comfort-zone

via Olivia Bee

Shoot on places that are amazing, surprising, and quite funny. Make a story out of the whole scene, introduce communication between the subject and the environment and make the portrait storytelling.

Get Close Up

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via downgraf.com

Focus upon one body part or get right in close so that you can photograph a part of your subject. Photographing a person’s hands, eyes, mouth, or even just their lower body can leave a lot to the viewer’s imagination of an image. Sometimes it’s what is left out of an image that says more than what is included.

Obscure Part Of Your Subject

obscure

via sendochic01.blogspot.com

Doing this means that you leave a little to the image’s viewer’s imagination and focus their attention on parts of your subject that you want them to be focused upon.

Introduce A Prop

prop

via marenkathleen.deviantart.com

Add a prop of some kind into your shots, and you create another point of interest that can enhance your shot.

Experiment With Lighting

light

via kingcreative.tumblr.com

Another element of randomness that you can introduce to your portraits is the way that you light them. There are almost unlimited possibilities when it comes to using light in portraits. You should consider side-lighting, backlighting, and silhouetting your subject.

Take a Series of Shots

series-of-shots

via angelawynnphotography.com

Switch your camera into ‘burst’ or ‘continuous shooting’ mode and fire off more than one shot at a time.

Alter Your Perspective

perspective

via studiosevensalon.ca

Most portraits are taken with the camera at the eye level of the subject. While this is good common sense, completely changing the angle you shoot from can give your portrait a real ‘wow’ factor.

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