Assignment One

Portrait Photography

Portrait photography is one of the largest segments of professional photography, so it seems like a good idea to start here for our first project. There are hundreds of tips and tricks in books, magazines and web pages about portrait photography, but here I’ll list a few of my favorites. Feel free to google as much information as you think you need, both for technique and for inspiration. The following tips are just starting points… use some of them, none of them, or just let your eye guide you.

1. Shoot Candidly. Separate yourself from your subject. While there is nothing wrong with posed photographs, sometimes they can seem a bit contrived. Along with posing your subject, shoot some frames candidly. You’ll be amazed how often the candid shots end up as some of your best.

2. Keep it simple. Either do this by using a wide open aperture to blur the background, or by filling your frame with your subject, or by shooting with as neutral a background you can find. Bring the viewers attention to your subject, and not the cluttered background.

3. Change up your shooting angle. Shoot from below or above the eye line of your subject. It adds different perspective and often provides a more interesting result than a shot from straight on.

4. Take a series of shots. This will be easier for those of you with DSLR’s. Set your mode to continuous and shoot away. Sometimes the best shots just happen.

5. Fill the frame. Be creative with your cropping, and you will get some interesting results. I tend to use this especially when there is nothing interesting about the background.

6. Introduce some kind of prop, and record your subject interacting with it. This can be cliche’ at times, but be creative and have fun with it. Who doesn’t like a picture of a child playing with a bubble wand?

7. Play with the eyes. Not all portraits need to have the subject looking into the camera lens. Experiment with having your subject look off frame, but try to re frame a bit and give your subject some real estate to look into.

8. Frame your subject… use a window, or door or some other geometric shape to frame your subject. Be sure to use a fill in flash if your subject is back-lit.

Those are just a few. There are literally thousands more. GO. Shoot some portraits, kids, friends, lovers, whoever.

That’s your assignment. Shoot this week, and shoot a lot. Use backgrounds, fill frames, use props, use strong color, use black and white. Change up your shooting angles. Shoot portraits. Take something that means something to you, and email it in. We’ll share them with each other and teach each other a few things. Comment on your favorite portrait tips. Get involved and have some fun.

Email your submissions to

jim@digital-photography101.com