tips to portraiture

tips to portraiture heath foster

shooting inside can be miserable. especially the lighting. don't be afraid to break the traditional lighting "rules" of photography: shadows aren't always bad

use lamps as your lighting source: the shade defuses the light so it's a lot softer than overhead and can create gentler highlights on your subject

when shooting with only overhead lights: silhouette your subject against the lit background to create depth in narrow spaces

focus is something you have to nail for portraits: never trust the auto focus and always adjust for your model's eyes. open the camera's iris as wide as it can go

reflections: a great way to add depth to an image and lead the viewer's eyes up to your subject

differing perspective: adding a surreal photo to your portfolio forces the viewer to stop scrolling

always take funny pictures: these are the photos that either bring back the best memories from events, or help to calm down an anxious model during a serious shoot

pro tip: "say cheese" is not super effective. have some prompts ready to throw out so your models know what to do

framing is a vastly underrated component of photography: use leading lines to pull the viewer's gaze to a subject that stands out against the backdrop

photography isn't an exact formula: cool pictures can happen by complete accident, and shoots you've planned hours for can fall flat. take it all in stride

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Heath Foster

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