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Four Tips for Shooting Awesome People Portraits

Amiyrah of 4 Hats and Frugal

In between sessions at Viewfinder Day, Serena, Amiyrah and I went outside for a quick photo shoot. I love taking portraits and every time I do, I am reminded why I love photography so much. We spent about twenty minutes shooting pictures of each other and sharing tips. When shooting other people, here are a few basic tips for capturing your subject at their best:

Catch them laughing. Do this and you know you will have a great shot. People who are laughing tend to be more relaxed and their pictures always look better. Get them laughing and you will have a great shoot.
Let them “fall into” their poses naturally. I always ask the person I am photographing to stand comfortably. When they do this, the posing does not look forced. Have them extend or slightly alter the pose for the most flattering shot.
Shoot in all kinds of light. When you have challenging lighting situations, make it work for you. The sun was at 1 p.m. when the ladies and I went out to shoot pictures. Instead of shying away from it, we embraced it. I had them stand in the shade and lots of light was coming through the tree they were standing under. I had them turn and shift their faces until the light was more of a highlight/accent before taking the picture. This gave the pictures a natural, artistic flare.
Enjoy the process. When you are shooting with other people, enjoy the process of sharing something you all enjoy. Photowalks and group shoots are a great way to learn and share what you know. After seeing how images looked with the prime lenses I was using, Serena now knows the next lens she is going to purchase for her camera. Amiyrah did not bring her big camera, but she was still able to glean information that helped her shoot great self-portraits with her smartphone.

Serena of Thrift Diving

Never stop learning or practicing your craft. It does not take a three hour shoot to create some amazing portraits. And, if you are open to learning something new, you will. Keep shooting and don’t forget to enjoy the process while capturing your moments.

4 Tips for Awesome Food Photography

I’ve been baking. A couple weeks ago, it was quiche. Last week, devil’s food cupcakes. I used to take pictures of food faithfully a few years ago. I loved exploring shopping for interesting foods to shoot and baked goods always made for great subjects. The baking has renewed my interest and love of food photography.

Shoot with Natural Light.

Foods always look better when you use natural light. I shoot next to a window or outside. Having an awareness of how the light looks at certain times of the day makes a difference with your food pictures. Experiment and play around. It is worth it.

Keep it Real and Fresh.

I remember when I found out years ago all the crap photographers used to put in foods to make them look better or last longer during a photo shoot. I don’t do that. I will not put glue in a bowl of cereal. I will not shoot my fruit with glycerin. I don’t have money to waste on foods for a shoot, so I keep it real, authentic and natural.

Collect plates, bowls and fabric.

The more you get into shooting foods, the more you are going to want to style your images. Thrift stores are perfect for finding interesting bowls and plates to place your food on. Also, check out your local fabric store and start collecting a yard or two of fabric for backgrounds.

Experiment with Color.

You know that thing called the Color Wheel you learned about in grade school? This is a good time to resurrect your knowledge of primary, secondary and complementary colors. Primary colors are red, yellow and blue. Secondary colors are a combination of two primary colors (orange, green and purple). Complementary colors are colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel (such as red and green, blue and orange, yellow and purple). Why is this important? Choosing colors that complement each other can make a difference in the interest of your image. For example, green and purple grapes. They are secondary colors and tend to look great when photographed together. Play around with color combinations and see how it adds interests to your pictures.

I hope they inspire you to give it a try and if you do, please share. I would love to see your photos.

Four Tips for Shooting Awesome People Portraits