6 Tips for Perfect Composition in Portrait Photography
The following guest post on composition for portrait photography was submitted by Christina Dickson, a portrait photographer and photography instructor from Portland, Oregon. Her work can be seen at: www.christinanicholephotography.com.
The following article on portrait photography composition was written by Christina N Dickson
Every on-location portraitist is faced with the challenge of paying attention to the details regarding his or her subject, such as posing, lighting, composition etc. Perhaps the greatest mistake made by amateur on-location portrait photographers is the lack of emphasis placed on a portrait’s background surroundings.
Photographers who do not closely examine the surroundings within the frame of their image are those who come away with images that have great distractions. No high school senior or bride will purchase a portrait in which a tree limb is sticking out of her head. Such distracting elements take emphasis off the subject, and are detrimental to the portraitist’s sales. There is nothing more painful for a portraitist than taking a portrait that is beautifully posed, gorgeously lit, and absolutely unusable – simply because no attention was given to background composition!
Posing and lighting both play enormous roles in the creation of a dynamic portrait. However, background composition is a forgotten component that requires an equal amount of time and thought.
Some things to consider when creating a perfectly composed portrait:
1. Fill the frame with your subject
A portrait is about the person, so don’t be afraid to zoom in close! Remember that zooming in does not mean capturing only face shots. You can also capture “tight”, close up shots of your subject sitting on a stool or leaning into a tree.
2. Keep eyes in the upper third
This is the most natural spacing for a portrait. Try not to divert from this rule unless you are deliberately creating tension. Another exception of this rule is when a subject is full-bodied in the bottom third of the frame.
3. Use framing to concentrate all attention on your subject
Rather than eliminate the environment, use it! Doorways, arches, windows, gazebos are all creative solutions that allow for maximum subject focus and heightened visual interest.
4. Create texture
Once again, if you can’t eliminate a distracting background, use it to your advantage! By pulling the subject away from the background and shooting on Aperture priority (f4.0), you will create a small depth of field to blur the backdrop and allow for artistic texture. Your subject will stand out of the background without completely removing all creative interest in the shot.
5. Use lines
Brick is the perfect background for a portrait! The lines add creative interest, but they also draw attention to your subject. Keep in mind that any “line” used in a portrait is strongest when it comes outside the frame and leads to the subject.
6. Change your angles
Sometimes eliminating a distraction is simply a matter of moving the camera to another position. To make the best use of perspective, work to change your camera-to-subject angle. Often by moving a little to the right or left, or getting higher or lower, you can completely abolish that distracting tree branch or telephone pole.
You will be guaranteed to sell your portrait creations when you concentrate on background details, make your subjectstand out, and invest creative interest in the portrait’s composition.
See more of Christina’s work at www.christinanicholephotography.com.
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March 11th, 2008 at 12:44 am
Great Tips! Things we all need to be reminded of!
March 11th, 2008 at 4:34 am
These are some really great tips and I do try to use them many of them when I photograph my daughter:
my example: http://www.amatterofmemories.com/2007/12/our-christmas-princess.html
The third picture in this post is my favorite and I three of these techniques are used – I changed the typical angle by shooting her from above, which allowed me to fill the frame with her dress and texture is created by the pattern on her dress.
March 11th, 2008 at 6:06 am
Cool Tips! I have some portrait photos, but they aren’t anything especial… because of my lack of knowledge! Thank you for the tips :)
March 11th, 2008 at 7:37 am
Short and sweet!
I’d love to have more in depth information about portrait photography; keep these articles coming!
March 11th, 2008 at 9:08 am
“and shooting on Aperture priority (f4.0)” Aghem.
Well, you might as well shoot on MANUAL, and the f number depends on the situation. I myself usually prefer the fastest aperture my lens can provide (thank you, f/1.8 nifty fifty! :])
March 11th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
i like your ‘how to’ today …
i agree that shooting on aperture priority is not ideal here. shoot on manual. however, f1.8? for a portrait? i think that’s too shallow, where the nose and eyes may be in focus, but the ears and rest of the head will be soft.
thanks, though, for some nice ideas.
cheers
david
http://www.davidsmeaton.com
March 11th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
i took a peek at her site and she seems to have huge problems with focusing, how come i wonder that she teaches photography.
March 12th, 2008 at 1:22 am
christina’s depiction of simple rules to make great photographs is worth commendable. i liked her idea of leading lines and rule of thirds. thanks.
March 12th, 2008 at 4:21 am
Thanks for the great tips. i always lent towards shooting the head of my subject in the upper third, but didn’t know to keep the eyes up there as well. nice.
March 12th, 2008 at 7:53 am
These are good tips and ideas to remember or rather train to consider without thinking. A softer focus is often times what is needed to be “photogenic”. Acne we all know is or can be an issue for teens. Makeup can hide a lot, but then at times you need to hide the make up. Alternatively spend hours on the computer to touch up the portrait.
I guess that your ears might fade to the background if you are trying to use a macro lens for the portrait. In this case… backup. Some backgrounds are much cluttered and need to be diffused greatly, while others work well with the shot. But then I guess that is why Canon or Nikon or whoever, made that aperture thingy adjustable.
I did look at her site and enjoyed seeing her images. She does nice work with angles and perspective. If you look at her pictures she appears to be about 3 to 6 meters away from her subject in most cases. Any closer and aberrations would start to develop. Faces would lose the fullness of seeing around the sides for depth.
If that works for her then that is wonderful. Other artists have different techniques and if it works for them, just as wonderful.
Thanks Christina
Mike
March 12th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Very practical insights, really helpful. I look into her webpage and was able to picked up some good ideas on portrait.
March 12th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
nice tips. Thanks for your work
March 12th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
Great site Christina ,… very encouraging. Thank you for the great tips too
all the best
Winn
March 13th, 2008 at 4:46 am
Thanks for the tips, will try some shots soon :)
March 13th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
While these might be insightful tips for a complete novice, this article is rather presumptuous. Only the second of all three of those photos is even above mediocre from a professional standpoint, and can hardly be called a portrait since there’s so much excess environment that it’s hard to even focus on the woman pictured. None of this necessarily qualifies for “perfect composition” for a portrait.
May 13th, 2008 at 2:03 am
Perhaps Jennifer would be gracious enough to do a duplicate article for comparison. It’s easy to criticize (just ask my mother-in-law).