3 Portrait Photography Tips from the Pros

Portrait photography tips can be helpful to anyone new to the art. There's a certain style and rules that one needs to follow in order to create the best possible work. Here are three tips to help you out.

1. The Subject Must Dominate the Frame

Portrait photography is about a person
and that person needs to take up most of the space in the frame. There should be no doubt in the composition that this person is the subject of the photo.

2. Separate the Subject from the Background

To help the subject dominate the frame, you need to separate her from the background. There are two ways to do this without lighting. The first is to dress the subject in wardrobe in a color that contrasts with background so that she pops out. Then take advantage of depth of field to make the subject appear sharp while the background is blurry and out of focus.

3. Use Three Point Lighting

The standard lighting scheme for portrait photography is three point lighting. You accomplish this by first setting a key light onto the side of the subject that you want to feature the most. Then you set a smaller light to balance out the shadows created by the key. After that you set the back light which will create a halo on the subject's head and shoulders. That will help her pop out of the background more.