When it comes to portrait photography knowing what you should be doing is
great! But knowing what to avoid can be
incredibly useful too. In this video, I'm going to show you
8 common portrait photography mistakes
that you can easily avoid.
In a recent live critique show I reviewed portrait images submitted by
our members and it soon became clear that there were
a few common mistakes that many photographers seem to be
making. To help you quickly improve your photography I've
summarized the key points to keep in mind when
shooting portraits and I explain how to avoid the most common problems.
The background. Whether you're working in the studio or
out on location always consider your background
carefully. For studio or location shoots make sure the background
isn't a distraction, that it doesn't clash with your model
or their outfit and that it simply makes sense to the shot.
Often for many photographers backgrounds seem to be somewhat of an afterthought
when in fact they should be something you consider from the very start
of your shoot. Location shoots can be a bit more difficult when it comes to
getting the right background. Look out for distracting objects behind
the subject and do whatever you can to make the
surroundings pleasing to the eye. If that means clearing a table,
rearranging furniture, or moving something into the foreground
for interesting occlusion, then so be it. In these examples which
were just some of the images submitted by members for a critique,
you can clearly see what a difference choosing the right background can make.
In the left example although the photographer has created good lighting,
the flowers tend to blend into the background
and are somewhat lost against the background, whereas the image on the
right, the simple dark blue background offsets
the flowers and allows the subject to stand out more clearly.
Take notice of the little details. Hair, makeup, background, props and
lighting. There can be a lot to think about when
it comes to portrait photography and shoots can often seem somewhat
chaotic, however amidst all the chaos don't forget to
stop and look at the finer details. Look for stray hairs that could be
smoothed out, loose threads on outfits that could be cut off,
wrinkled shirts that could be smoothed, off centered jewelry that could be
straightened. Taking a few minutes during the shoot
can save you hours in photoshop afterwards.
This lovely portrait from one of our members is great
but the loose thread here could have been removed
and the fold of the collar of the outfit could have been improved. Posing
and positioning your subject. When it comes to posing people we not only have
to think about body position but also the placement of hands. Subjects
positioned square onto the camera is also a common
mistake made by many photographers just starting
out. Although it can be done to create symmetry it usually only results in the
subject appearing wider and more confrontational
than is desirable for a portrait. Positioning hands is also something many
photographers struggle with. Hands can very easily look very awkward
in an image, especially when they aren't shaped
correctly. To avoid hands looking claw-like and to
help them look more elegant try to position the fingers in a
staircase shape to make them look more elegant. In these
two examples from our members we can see how the hands haven't been posed
correctly. In the first the fingers could do with
being more evenly spaced and in the second image the finger tends
to point us out of the photo in what would have
otherwise been a relatively effective shot.
Separating the subject. Black on black or white on white can result in very
striking portrait images when done correctly however this technique
does require careful control of lighting to ensure the subject is clearly
separated from the background. Throughout my portrait critique show i
saw many examples of black on black where the
subject was not clearly defined against the
background resulting in floating heads, hands, or missing body parts.
As I explain in the critique this is a common mistake that can easily be
remedied by introducing a background light, rim
lights, or using a slightly lighter background.
Whilst black can be effective it's also worth mentioning that a dark grey
background can work better. Don't just use black for the sake of it,
take the time to think about whether it really complements the shot or not
and will your subject be visibly separated from that background.
Consider the lighting. Following on from the previous point
lighting is a key part of any image but what works for one image may
not necessarily work for anything else. Don't let yourself rely
on a particular lighting style or formulas.
The lighting should always be tailored to suit a particular subject or mood.
Harder, more sparkly light, for example, may work for a model with their makeup
carefully done but not for a natural portrait of an older lady.
A soft angelic light may suit a young girl
but it won't likely work for an older male business portrait.
Lighting on hands was another common problem that I saw throughout the
critique show. When incorporating hands in the shot the
placement is often quite close to the face
which can result in the hands being too bright.
As our eyes are naturally drawn to the brightest or highest contrast parts of
an image it's important to carefully control the
light throughout your image. You can do this by flagging light or
simply dealing with selective exposure in post-production. Think carefully
about the narrative and purpose. Photography as a visual medium
often tells a story as a standalone image
without supporting text or explanations. This is why the narrative or purpose of
the image is so important. Think about what you're trying to say
with the image and is it clear. This image from one of our members is a
great example of how to cleverly and subtly incorporate meaningful props
without distracting from the subject. The small piano tells us a little bit more
about the subject without being too obvious. This coupled
with his outfit results in a well executed portrait.
Guide the viewer's eye. If an image is able to hold the viewer's attention we
can consider it successful however this isn't always easy to do
especially when we are bombarded with thousands of images
every day. To give yourself a greater chance of holding the viewers attention
it requires a combination of all the aforementioned topics
as well as good composition. Composition isn't just about the rule of thirds,
if you'd like to learn more about composition then check out the other
video in my link below. Retouching. The post-production stage
often seems to be a bit of a balancing act for many photographers
with many struggling to know when it's too much or when it's too little.
Don't be afraid to make subtle tweaks and changes
especially when it comes to smoothing shapes as i demonstrated on a couple of
members images during the critiques. Or simply reducing overly bright
highlights, or removing temporary blemishes.
Several small changes can make quite an overall difference
but don't retouch without purpose otherwise you may take your retouching
too far. The most common instance where i see
this is in skin retouching, where the end
result often looks textureless and plastic-like and we have
several great skin retouching classes that
demonstrate simple and effective methods that you
can use for perfect skin retouching in our
post-production section on Karl Taylor Education.
If you'd like to get your work critiqued, or enjoyed one of the previous critique
shows then go to Karl Taylor Education, we also
have a huge range of portrait classes from natural light
to one, two, three and four light examples in our portrait section.
Well i hope you found this video useful, If you did
please give us a thumbs up and thanks for watching.
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