Shooting Angle Tips – Remember, whenever taking portraits, look for shooting locations that meet the conditions outlined in this article.
Shooting Angle Tips – Is it a meaningful place?
The first thing to do is ask yourself if this place adds any meaning to the story you intend to tell when taking the photos? For example, when asked to take a portrait of a family, ask if the family wants to go somewhere to shoot, a place that can help them connect emotionally. Maybe they’re proud of their house or garden, so we’ll take pictures of them there. Or they want to shoot when they are walking in the park with their pet dog, or when the whole family goes on a picnic, or in a country or suburb close to nature and the whole family will play together. Of course, those places will mean more to them than photos taken with a plain white background.
Your task is to choose a location to help tell the story of the people in the portrait or add to the photos the emotional and emotional meanings of the people you are photographing.
Open and shaded spaces
Every time a bride tells me they are praying for their wedding day to be bright and sunny, I honestly don’t dare confess to them that I am praying for them. The sky will be covered with clouds that day, blocking the sun.
Why so?
Sunlight will cause very bad shadow effects, especially when it affects the most important part of a portrait photo – the eyes.
An open shade area (called an open shade area) is ideal for portraiture because sunlight won’t hit the subject directly, and because the shadows are “open,” the space will still let in enough light. Light to create a sparkle in the model’s eyes.
Under the shade of an old tree or the light of a window are examples of open shade. The model will be standing/sitting in the shade but not completely isolated from the ambient light, as they will be placed roughly in the center of the room or in the middle of a shady, tree-lined area.
Straight lines leading to eye level
When taking portrait photos, especially outdoor portraits, you should look for details in the form of lines to include in the image because these details will help create depth for the image, leading the viewer towards the subject. And give photos a three-dimensional (3D) feel.
You can use fences, paths, along the twisted branch, beds (like the beds in a cornfield) – anything that draws the viewer’s eye towards your subject.
Sparkling Foliage
If you position your subject to stand with brightly illuminated foliage in the background, you will get a beautiful mosaic of sparkling greens behind the model. When taking pictures with this scene, remember to choose an aperture with a low f-number (f/4).
With backlit subjects like this, it’s also a good idea to choose spot metering to help the camera properly expose the model’s face and avoid creating a silhouette (usually encountered when shooting backlit shadows on a light background). It is recommended to use a reflector to increase the light on the model’s face.
Rough, Unusual Backgrounds
A rustic wooden door may not seem like an interesting backdrop, but its rough texture can help enhance the softness of a model’s skin.
Geometric shapes
Our brains love order. We usually like properly arranged jigsaw puzzle pieces, and therefore we don’t like things that don’t have accents. The brain will love to see the details in a picture fit together like the finished puzzle pieces.
So look for geometric shapes like triangles, circles, rectangles, and squares, and take a picture so that the pictures fit together harmoniously.
When you start looking for shapes, you will see them everywhere. Geometric shapes are often the basis of modern art, and when you interpret the structure of good photographs, you’ll find them present in them all the time.
Foreground, Center, and Background Details
To create depth in your photo and create a three-dimensional feel, you need to guide the viewer’s eye to details in the foreground, center, and background.
In the photo below, the foreground is swaths of grass, the center is a smiling baby, and the background is sunlight glistening in the trees.
Trees
The effects you get when taking portraits under a path made of trees look lovely. It is recommended to use a long lens (telephoto) as it will help to connect the details very well. The foliage creates the necessary shade, while the walkway creates a path and depth to the photo.
A long lens will help create a very good view of the viewer and give the image a “framing” effect thanks to the rows of trees.
Will the above experiences help you get more ideas when taking portraits? Try them out on your next photo shoot.
