10 tips for better portrait photography

As a working professional photographer and photography tutor one of my favourite subjects is portraiture. Capturing the personality of a person within a photographic portrait is not an easy task so here's 10 tips on how to take better portraits.Paul Farris (Learn Photography)

1> It's all about the eyes
It's said that the eyes are windows to the soul so it's essential to ensure your subjects eyes are in focus. As a viewer our eyes are drawn first to what part of the image is in focus, so by ensuring the eyes are in focus the viewer is able to engage with the subject. Selecting a very wide aperture will also give a shallow depth of field for the classic blurry background 'portrait look' (see image.)
You may also wish to try capturing your subject looking directly into the camera or looking 'off-camera' - both will yield different results. Having your subject looking down the lens creates a connection between the subject and anyone viewing the image. However if the subject is looking outside of the 'frame' then this creates a feeling of intrigue and adds interest as the viewer can only imagine what they were looking at.

2> Composition
Choosing where to place your subject within the image can make or break a portrait shot. There is no golden rule here so the best advice is to experiment. It may simply be that the subject framed centrally staring into the camera works best, however placing your subject to the edge of the frame and giving them some space to 'look into' can also work well.

Read all about it - what people are saying about our photography courses

"I learned so much in the four hours, and now understand my camera for the first time. I'll be back for the practical course, this is one course that should be a must for every digital SLR camera owner, I will be telling everyone about this course. Thanks Paul, it was excellent!"

The above testimonial is just one from many that I have received in praise of my photography courses and workshops. If you are a keen photography enthusiast in reach of Brisbane then why not join us for a one of courses and find out how to get better images from your digital SLR camera. I'm a professional photographer offering photography courses that cover the essential theory, and practical courses that put the theory into practice in small groups to ensure you get plenty of personal attention.

www.learnphotography.com.au

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Wheels and randomness!

Another weekend goes by and as usual a packed few days of photography courses,  practical workshops and lots of photo taking!  Despite a very cold evening in Brisbane we got some great  images of the city,  the Brisbane wheel and also had some fun creating some random abstract images using the slower shutter speeds available on digital SLR's ...

Interested in joining one our photography courses or practical workshops in Brisbane or on the bay side and learning how to get more from your DSLR camera?  - visit my website for more details  www.learnphotography.com.au