As every photographer knows, capturing personality and emotion is the key to successful portraiture, but it isn’t always easy getting your subject to rise and shine in the moment as required or desired.
Many of the factors that apply to great photography in general – composition, lighting, camera settings, etc. – also apply to portraiture, of course. But shooting a truly great portrait often depends less on the technical details than it does on capturing the essence of the subject, and how you do it. That’s the challenge. And the reward.
Here are some tips on eliciting and presenting personality and emotion in your portraits, in short bringing your portraiture to life.
Lighting
Some would argue that since you’re aiming to draw out someone’s authentic self, it might make more sense to use natural lighting in portrait photography, and there may be some truth to that. This is especially true when shooting outdoors around the golden hour, lending the subject of your image a warm glow or casual but candid aura.
Natural light has its limitations, however, including an uncanny ability to change quickly when you least expect it and have a dramatic impact your subject. By contrast, artificial lighting gives you near-total control and the power to create the most flattering effects possible, highlighting chosen features while leaving other elements strategically shaded in the darkness of shadows.
Artificial lighting can be intimidating, however, and may have a chilling effect on your subject. In a studio setting, a seasoned fashion model will have no trouble dealing with a strobe, but an untested subject might find the powerful pop of a flash distracting and discomforting. In such an instance, perhaps consider using a continuous light source instead.
Experiment with diffusers and light-shaping tools to accentuate the atmosphere and complement the emotion you’re aiming to achieve with the shot.
By way of background
The background or backdrop you choose to place your subject in front of will speak volumes and lend an additional emotional element to the portrait – use it to best advantage, with an eye on the simplicity or busyness of it. Make sure that it suits the overall mood and doesn’t compete for attention.
If you’re using a fabric or paper backdrop, a neutral colour is always safest, but there’s no harm in experimenting with more vibrant shades to see what this might bring to the image. If you’re shooting outdoors in a natural setting, a shallow depth of field will lend a desirable background blur and suitable bokeh effect that similarly should match or accentuate the subject’s personality.
Connect, connect, connect
This part of the equation is difficult to qualify and impossible to quantify, but it goes straight to the heart of this endeavour. Connect with your subject and they’ll connect with you. Ultimately, it’s the people viewing the photo who will be making this connection too. Never underestimate the power of eye contact.
Some photographers are natural-born experts at this. Others find their pace after a few false starts and some good old-fashioned practice.
It goes without saying that there are countless ways to connect. It starts with friendly conversation, of course, but it also depends on maintaining and developing this rapport throughout the entire process. It’s an opportunity to become genuinely acquainted and learn something about your subject, which can also inform the image.
The ultimate goal is getting your subject to reveal their true selves. The moment you place someone in front of a camera, they often become guarded. They’ll be posing, not just with their body but also their face. The trick is to get them to drop the mask, if even for a moment.
These aren’t hard-and-fast rules, just simple suggestions. Every shoot, every subject generates its own dynamics, so it pays to be astute and nimble enough to react spontaneously and capture your subject’s personality as it happens to unfold in an instant and moment by moment.
