Comments on: 6 Tips for Perfect Composition in Portrait Photography

By: Andy

Andy — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 12:43:20 +0000

Love your guides. Love exprimenting with photography and i’m very new to it. People like you help a lot, thanks for your effort!

By: hamid reza

hamid reza — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 09:29:06 +0000

Good tips for me.its been a big help to me as guider.

By: jev

jev — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 05:21:27 +0000

hi ms. christina, can you comments on these sample of outdoor portrait please so i can improve my craft. thanks.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:46:22 +0000

hfng: (RedDot)…..Love your lighting. For your outdoors shots, do you use supplemental lighting? I am still learning and a novice, but find that getting the lighting perfect is not easy – even outside, and if its not right, the picture are not “crisp”. Many great photos I’ve taken are ruined by the fuzzy look. Please, share your tips! mish@photographsbymish.com

By: Andrea

Andrea — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:32:33 +0000

I will remember these tips – thanks!

By: julie

julie — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 06:09:05 +0000

Thanks for sharing :) And for the photography snobs, seriously, go elsewhere. Since you are flawless, why aren’t you out there shooting since you have clients lined up out the door instead of putting down other photographers just trying to help others out?

By: Robin Ryan

Robin Ryan — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:21:16 +0000

@creative: it’s a matter of white balance, specifically the kelvin temperature. Shoot in raw, then play around with your kelvin temps in your editing program to find out what temperature your lights are… studios are often around the 4700-4800 range to exposure Caucasians properly, but this changes when shooting other skin colours. The benefit of RAW is that it doesnt set a temperature, and you can decide later

A few tips I would add to this article:

1) Let the post-production match the subject. Take these two shots, for instance:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/robinryan/3098664693/in/set-72157601769220969/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/robinryan/3467051783/in/set-72157601769220969/

In the first, I used a black and white with a strong filter to bring out the wrinkles and accentuate that mood. If I had gone for, perhaps, a red filter it would have made him look angelic (contrasting with his stern expression) and ruined the shot.

Second shot, I desaturated a lot but left that vivid blue eye in their to make sure you look right at it.

2) Context can do a lot. In this photo of shoe-shining kids in Quito, I kept a lot of the town square in the background because that is their lives… it tells us more about the subjects: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robinryan/3812480341/in/set-72157601769220969/

3) While eyes up high are often helpful, it’s a pretty flimsy rule and one that shouldnt be followed too religiously. Other forms in the frame can be used to draw attention to the subject or to even enhance him, as I did in the studio with this enormous shadow: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robinryan/3459337201/in/set-72157601769220969/

Here’s my studio portraiture set for anybody interested: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robinryan/sets/72157616184538095/

By: brian

brian — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:34:08 +0000

How red is red that is of course your white balance should be set to flash or try it on auto first and see what happens.lots of question to figure it out.
1. Are you shooting in raw?
1a.if so does the red show up in the preview?
2. What camera?
3. What lights?
4. white balance have you custom set white balance by shooting towards the light using something like an expodisc?
5. in the color settings for your camera is the hue set toward magenta side? typically there would be negative number for that.
6.Even for the white balance setting there should be an adjustment for hue using numbers is that off?

I’ve got loads more questions but later i have to go to work

By: Creative1tm

Creative1tm — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:15:31 +0000

I am a sports/ news photographer who has been taking shots of the crowd and friends as well as of the players on the floor for several years with my Canon 30D. I get lots of comments that I am good. Due to many requests I am setting up a litle studio without any knowledge about working with lights. It is challenging me. Thanks so much for this post. I am just starting to work with the lights my husband set up and I can’t figure out why the pictures are coming out red. I thought it was bouncing from the nearby walls, but bounced of the ceilng in a home with a baby and he was red. I have changed every setting including to tungsten, AWB and did a custom white balance with not much change. I got umbrellas but don’t really know how to use them. When do you go through them or put light into them to bounce back? My husband refused to spend a mint on lights until we see if (in this economy) it will work to set up a studio. He found an article on how to set up a studio cheaply. We are very rural but I feel like the country bumpkin photographer with heat lamps from the farm store clipped on tripods. Yikes! Maybe it is a reflection of the red in my face? *smile* I see a rainbow of colors on the inside of the lamps too. Are my “lights” the problem? :o(

By: Rares

Rares — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:57:10 +0000

What do you say about these two examples of mine?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/red_rares/3938290717/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/red_rares/3938290341/in/photostream/

It was my first attempt with portraits , after reading some tips from DPS . I used them , and this is what I managed to get . I would love to hear some opinions of yours .