When shooting portraits, there are certain things or ways we shoot that help us achieve a better end result. We should all be trying to capture the best portrait possible, so if someone shares advice I usually give it a try to see if it works for me or fits the style of my work.
Photographer Jessica Jobeissi is joined by fashion photographer Kayleigh June to share eight important portrait tips every photographer should know. The first tip is good, but I think it’s subjective and depends on what you are shooting. That tip is to add accessories to your models, like earrings and a necklace. Adding jewelry may not fit your idea for the portrait and I do see this more in fashion and editorial work, but if the model does have some that match the attire while working with your vision, give it a try and see which you prefer.
The next tip is something I learned very early on when I started shooting, which is to shoot near eye level with your subject. Usually, I am a bit taller than most of the models, so I constantly find myself bending over to get lower. The fifth tip is another one that may not work for everyone, but with cameras producing larger and larger images than before, you can follow their advice on not cropping your photo in camera and doing it later in post. I tend to crop in camera, just one less step for me later and I am able to capture all the data where I need it. Like I said, cameras are increasing how much they capture so you could have room to crop your photo in post and still have plenty of resolution left. I think it also comes down to the plans for the photos, if you plan to make prints, submit to a magazine, or anything else that made change your aspect ratio of your photo, leaving some extra room to crop in post can help tremendously.
I won’t go through all the tips with you, so go ahead and watch the video and leave a comment below letting me know which is your favorite tip. What are some other tips that were not discussed in the video?
