There is a famous saying, “a picture is worth a
thousand words.” Similarly, a good portrait is one that tells you the whole
story behind it. The best thing about making a friend’s portrait is that you
know your friend well. It shows that you know what kind of person your friend
is, and what would make your friend look good. There are lot of personal
preferences, but here are some of my thoughts on making a good portrait.
1-
Camera and its use
The key to the right picture is the camera. The
camera you use is very important when it comes to photography. You cannot
simply have a good portrait using your phone as a camera. You need to have a
high-definition camera that gives you different options and modes to work with.
Most photographers use an SLR camera. After having a camera, play around with
it until you know all the functions that the camera has. This helps in deciding
the type of a photo you want to take.
2-
Know how about portraits
After self-educating yourself on how to use the
camera you move forward to making the portraits. There are different types of
portraits you can work on. There are the up-close portraits which capture the
facial features, and then there are the portraits that capture personality
through dressing and surroundings. You need to figure out how your portrait
will best describe your friend.
3-
Features of the subject of picture
A good way to work on your friend’s portrait is to
focus on his or her most vibrant feature. That feature can be anything ranging
from coloured eyes to the long masculine beard to the tall height of your
friend. This gives you something to work around and keeps focus on something
that is unique and distinctive about your friend. This technique is mostly used
while working on the up-close portraits.
4-
Different angles
of the subject
Another good technique for portraits is to play with
different angles. The standard, cliché way to take a photo is from the eye
level of your friend. That is the normal and boring way, but if you want the
portrait to be something that is out-of-the-box and which will capture the
viewer, then you should try unique angles. You can try taking pictures putting
the camera on the floor, from above your friend or tilting the camera at an
angle to give an interesting impact.
5-
Lighting and background
A good portrait has the right amount of lighting and
the appropriate background. It depends on the situation to decide the angles
and proximity of lights, while considering the background. The lighting should
be used in a way that brings out the main features of the subject in a
portrait.
There are many other ways to make friends look good
in portraits. Would you like to enlighten us with your interesting tips and
techniques? Please share!
