Introduction to Portrait Photography

Good portrait photography is the combination of finding good light, making your subject feel at ease, and understanding a few basic portrait photography concepts. In this course, you'll learn how to get spectacular portrait photographs by deciding what your photograph should look like, finding or creating good light, determining appropriate composition, and selecting the best camera settings.

Lessons

1. Determine the Purpose of Your Portrait To capture memorable portraits, you must think carefully about why you're taking the photographs, how they'll be used, and what they should look like before you begin taking pictures. This lesson shows you how to plan a portrait sitting. 2. Create a Pleasing Composition Once you know the purpose of the image and its use, it's time to focus on composition. Bad composition can turn an otherwise wonderful photo into an unsatisfactory image. In this lesson, you lean about photo composition and posing techniques.

3. Find or Create Good Light Photography is all about light. For portrait photographers, the skill of finding or creating excellent light is essential to making subjects look their best. This lesson covers lighting techniques and what to do when good light is hard to find. 4. Select Appropriate Camera Settings The automatic settings on today's digital cameras do a reasonably good job capturing images; however, you can greatly improve your photos by adjusting some settings manually. This lesson focuses on shooting modes, aperture, ISO settings, and more.

Determine the Purpose of Your Portrait

Welcome to the Course

To capture memorable portraits, you must think carefully about why you're taking the photographs, how they'll be used, and what they should look like before you begin taking pictures. This lesson shows you how to plan a portrait sitting.

Good portrait photography is the combination of finding good light, making your subject feel at ease, and understanding a few basic portrait photography concepts. In this course, you'll learn how to get spectacular portrait photographs by deciding what your photograph should look like, finding or creating good light, determining appropriate composition, and selecting the best camera settings. Here's what to expect in the lessons: This course is geared toward consumers with a digital camera and some experience with manual camera settings who aspire to take stunning portraits.

Beyond the lessons, be sure to complete the assignments and quizzes. When you're done with those, visit the Message Board. It's the perfect place to discuss course topics and swap questions and comments with other students and your instructor. Let's get started with the topics in Lesson 1. Take a few moments to meet your instructor and fellow students on the course Message Board, and let them know a little about you.

Lesson 1: To capture memorable portraits, you must think carefully about why you're taking the photographs, how they'll be used, and what they should look like before you begin taking pictures. This lesson shows you how to plan a portrait sitting. Lesson 2: Once you know the purpose of the image and its use, it's time to focus on composition. Bad composition can turn an otherwise wonderful photo into an unsatisfactory image. In this lesson, you learn about photo composition and posing techniques. Lesson 3: Photography is all about light. For portrait photographers, the skill of finding or creating excellent light is essential to making subjects look their best. This lesson covers lighting techniques and what to do when good light is hard to find. Lesson 4: The automatic settings on today's digital point-and-shoot cameras do a reasonably good job capturing images; however, you can greatly improve your photos by adjusting some settings manually. This lesson covers digital shooting modes, aperture, ISO settings, and more, while offering tips for point-and-shoot and DSLR (digital single lens reflex) cameras.

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Reveal Personality

Planning is one of the elements that can turn a photograph into a portrait. When planning a portrait sitting, you should consider several important factors:

Purpose of a Portrait

Each of these factors have an effect on the final image and are described in detail in the following sections. There are many different reasons to have portraits taken. Sometimes, a portrait is a way to document an important event, such as a wedding, graduation, or birth. Other

The purpose of the portrait How the portrait will be used What the portrait should look like The personality of your subject

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portraits are meant for display, such as family and fine art portraits. Senior portraits and children's photos with Santa Claus are often given away as mementos. Individuals in some careers, such as actors and CEOs, require head shots and corporate portraits for promotional purposes.

How a Portrait will be Used

You should consider how your photographs will be used. If the portrait will be printed on a very large scale, you need to capture the image at a much higher resolution than a resolution meant for Web site viewing. Portraits destined for printed literature should always be taken at the highest possible resolution. Portraits to be printed on a smaller scale, such as wallet-sized images, should be simpler in composition than a portrait destined for larger exposition. A busy image with several focal points seems cluttered at wallet size.

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What the Portrait Should Look Like Consider the Subject's Personality

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What should the final image look like? Will it be a formal or casual portrait? How many subjects will be included? Where will the photographs be taken -- in the studio, outdoors, or in some other location? You should answer all of these questions before you take your first shot. You need to decide which aspects of your subject's personality you want to reveal. This decision influences many of the other details of the portrait, including the setting, lighting, and pose. If your subject is a playful young child, you could arrange the setting and pose to reflect that. In the portrait of a 2-year-old boy, shown in Figure 1-1, the subject is posed on a favorite rocking horse. Notice the completely natural expression on his face -- he's simply playing on his rocking horse, looking at his mother while the photographer takes pictures.

Figure 1-1: Young child playing.

Because he's forgotten about the camera, his personality is easily revealed. Ideally, your subject should be relaxed enough to forget the camera or at least be concentrating on something else. When a subject is fixated on the camera, the portraits turn out stiff and posed.

Engage your subjects in light conversation -- or, if you're photographing children, engage them in play -- to help them focus on something other than the camera. This also gives you clues to their personalities, which can help you arrange poses that show them authentically.

Tell a Story or Show an Activity

Now that you've given some thought to your subject's personality and how you might best reveal it, let's discuss how to tell a story or show activity in a portrait. When planning a portrait sitting, you should always think about the story your photograph will tell. You've already thought about the personality of your main character -- your subject. Now you should consider the story behind the portrait: What does the subject want? Why is she in this place? Does she expect to achieve her goals today?

These are all questions that reveal the subject's story and background. The most interesting portraits are those that excite the viewer's imagination or leave us asking these types of open-ended questions. We, as viewers, are left to imagine the story behind the person.

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Select a Natural Environment

What if your subject simply isn't the type to sit still? Rather than force them into an uncharacteristic posed portrait, why not photograph them in their natural environment? An athlete's portrait is often taken on the sports field rather than in a studio because it's a more comfortable setting for the subject and reinforces that aspect of his personality as well.

If you shoot in a studio, capturing the natural environment might not be feasible; however, you can include props that show the subject in a characteristic pose or activity. The portrait of a young child on a rocking horse is a good example. He would have fidgeted and wiggled too much had the photographer asked him to sit on a posing table. Putting him on a rocking horse simultaneously entertained him and revealed his true personality.

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When planning a portrait, give some thought to what your subject will be wearing. Not all portraits should be taken with the subjects in formal attire. In the rocking horse image, the young boy is wearing a casual shirt and denim overalls -- his everyday play clothes. Clothing is one of the elements that determines the formality and tone of a portrait, and it should be arranged to match the desired outcome. If the boy's mother had dressed him in a suit, the result would have been a much different portrait -- more formal and posed, less candid and revealing. You should avoid trendy clothing that becomes dated quickly and distracts from the true subject of the portrait -- usually, the person. Unless you're taking fashion portraits in which the clothing is the true subject of the photograph rather than the model, clothing should serve to reflect the subject's personality.

Show a Relationship

Now that you have thought about the person and the story your portraits will reveal, let's expand on those ideas and consider portraits with two or more subjects.

When you're photographing more than one person, you should always try to show their relationship. Any time two people interact, they form some kind of relationship. Are your subjects emotionally close or distant? Is their relationship casual or more formal? Are they peers or is one person dominant? You can give the viewer clues to all of these questions using lighting, poses, composition, and other elements.

Taking Corporate Portraits

In a corporate portrait where the subjects are not particularly close emotionally, you can highlight their professional rather than personal relationship. In the case of a mentoring relationship, you could arrange the older person slightly behind the younger, resting a hand on the younger person's shoulder. You would use a sharper, less-diffused lighting scheme for a corporate portrait than you would for a mother and child or a wedding portrait in which the intimate personal relationship is the focus. A group of peers should be posed in such a way that no one seems to dominate the group.

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Taking Personal Portraits

In contrast to a corporate portrait of professionals, this portrait shown in Figure 1-2 of a mother and son uses composition, posing, and lighting to highlight the closeness and warmth of the relationship. The mother is seated with the child on her lap. She's holding her son close with her head slightly angled toward him, indicating that although she's looking at the camera, her attention is on the child. This leads the viewer to focus on the child as well. Her arm is posed on an angle around her son, cradling him. The lighting is warm and soft, reflecting those characteristics of the mother-child relationship.

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Capture a Snapshot

Figure 1-2: Mother and son.

Next, get some tips for capturing snapshots. Now that we've discussed the various things you should consider when planning a portrait session -- the personality of your subject, the story behind the person, and the relationship of two or more subjects -- let's focus on a more casual type of photo -- the snapshot portrait. You've probably taken a lot of snapshots in the past. Candid photographs of family and friends fall into the category of snapshots. They often show the subject engaged in some activity or conversation. Photographs taken of couples dancing at a wedding reception are a good example of this type of portrait. Printer Supplies

Because snapshots are so candid, they can be more difficult to capture properly than a posed studio portrait. In the studio, the photographer can arrange the subjects in various stances, take care to angle their heads and arms just right, and set up flattering lighting schemes. Capturing good snapshots depends more on being in the right place at the right time and taking several shots, hoping one or two turn out well.

A subject doesn't usually pose -- at least not formally -- for a snapshot portrait. Instead, you take the portrait without the subject's notice, or it's a momentary interruption that's quickly forgotten.

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Sports photography is another good example of snapshots. A photographer on the sidelines doesn't have the luxury of asking players to re-create a winning play, so they take many shots -- sometimes dozens of them in the span of 10 or 20 seconds -- in the hopes of getting a shot at a good angle of the high point of the action. You can use the same theory when taking pictures of a high school football game, backyard snowball fight, or people engaged in any other high-action activity, such as a birthday party, like the one shown in Figure 1-3.

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Figure 1-3: Sometimes you may have to take a number of photos in a high-action situation to capture the perfect moment.

Create a Fine Art Portrait

Now that we've covered the basics of taking a snapshot portrait, let's move to the other end of the scale and talk about creating a fine art portrait.

When you're capturing snapshot portraits, you need to do very little formal planning. Fine art portraiture is just the opposite. When planning a portrait sitting with the intention of creating fine art, the photographer may spend more time experimenting with different lighting effects and lens filters than he does actually taking photographs. Fine art portraits are often more fictionalized than other types of portraits, which aim to reveal the subject's true personality. Fine art portraits often present a romanticized or idealized version of the subject. In the portrait shown in Figure 1-4, the subject is dressed in a French colonial-style gown and is posed in a reclining position. She is gazing up at a warm directional light source. The photographer's intent was to create a portrait that emphasizes the subject's elegance and romantic personality.

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Figure 1-4: Fine art portrait.

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The photograph came out quite well as taken; however, to create a piece of art, the photographer had to do some manipulation using image editing software. As you can see in Figure 1-5, she added a soft omnidirectional light filter to create a vignette to further soften the image, and then added a lens flare to create a focal point for the subject.

Figure 1-5: Digital lighting manipulation and lens flare effect.

These digital manipulations are simple to apply, but as you can see, they alter the image drastically, adding interest and changing the story the portrait tells. In the original image, the portrait is of a woman in an elegant gown. In the final image, we see a woman gazing at a glowing orb hovering above her.

Moving On

Assignment #1

In this lesson, you learned how to plan portrait sittings in general and picked up tips for taking snapshots and capturing fine art portraits. Lesson 2 will teach you about image composition and posing techniques that can mean the difference between great portraits and disappointing images. Before moving on, complete the assignment and quiz for this lesson, and then stop by the Message Board to interact with your fellow students and instructor. See you there. Using what you learned in Lesson 1, plan a portrait sitting that culminates in a fine art portrait of your subject. Before the sitting, review the lesson and decide what you'd like the final image to look like. Look online for examples of fine art portraits for inspiration.

Quiz: #1
A) B) E) A) B) A) B) C) D)

Take as many images as you need, experimenting with lighting and poses. After the sitting, import your images into the digital image editing software of your choice and apply special effects to create the final image. Question 1: What are some of the most important factors you should consider when planning a portrait sitting? (Check all that apply.) The purpose of the portrait How much time you have allotted to take photographs What the final image should look like True False How the portrait will be used The personality of the subject

Question 2: True or False: You should have your subjects avoid trendy clothing when dressing for a portrait sitting. Question 3: What is one thing you can do to take good snapshot portraits in action-oriented circumstances? C) D) Carefully set up the lighting and scene. Take as many shots as possible to improve your odds of getting a few good ones. Use an expensive telephoto lens designed for sport photography.

Create a Pleasing Composition

Inform the subjects that you may need them to re-create key scenes if the first images don't turn out well.

Select a Background

Once you know the purpose of the image and its use, it's time to focus on composition. Bad composition can turn an otherwise wonderful photo into an unsatisfactory image. In this lesson, you lean about photo composition and posing techniques. In Lesson 1, you learned how to plan a portrait sitting. Now you'll learn how some basic composition techniques will help you take great photographs.

The background you choose for your portraits depends greatly on the planning you did in Lesson 1. For some portraits, a neutral background is best because it doesn't distract from the subject. For others, the background or setting is just as important as the subject and should be considered a secondary subject. In the portraits discussed in this course so far, the backgrounds have been simple and unobtrusive. In the first portrait of a child on a rocking horse, shown previously in Figure 1-1, a simple unbleached muslin sheet was hung as a backdrop. In the fine art portrait discussed in Lesson 1, the background was black broadcloth draped over a posing table. Professional portrait studios have large, painted canvas sheets to use as backdrops; however, you can certainly take good-quality portraits without them. Another alternative is to use a natural setting as your background. The portrait shown in Figure

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2-1 was taken outdoors in late fall. The brown leaves on the tree are neutral enough not to distract from the subject. Had the same photograph been taken in the summer when the leaves were green, the green cloak would have caused the subject to get lost in the background.

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Figure 2-1: Natural background.

Capturing Head and Body Shots

Once you've chosen your background, it's time to think about how you'll position your subject. You've decided on a background for your portraits, so now you need to determine how to position your subject. When capturing head shots, you're actually shooting the head and shoulders. You should be sure that the subject's arms are not held stiffly at the sides but are positioned loosely and slightly away from the body. This prevents the subject from looking wider than they are and creates a base for the image.

Head Positions

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There are three basic positions for the head: profile, three-quarters, and seveneighths. They are fairly simple positions but may take some practice to get just right: Profile: In the profile, you see exactly one half of the face.

autofocus and antishake compatibility with over 20 years of A-mount lenses sold worldwide.

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Seven-eighths: In the seven-eighths view, the subject's head is tilted just slightly away from the camera.

The subject's head should be slightly tilted in almost every shot to create an angled line from the eyes. This helps create a more dynamic composition. A portrait in which the eyes are not angled at all tends to look stiff and static.

Body Shots

There are two basic types of body shots: three-quarter length and full body shots. Three-quarter length shots show the subject's head and body below the waist. These shots typically cut off the subject either at mid-thigh or below the knee. You should avoid cutting off the subject at a joint, such as the waist, knee, or ankle, because it makes the subject appear to have been cut in half.

In the image shown in Figure 2-2, the photograph ends just below the subject's waist.

Figure 2-2: Three-quarter length body shot.

Compare that image with the image in Figure 2-3. It's the same photograph, but it's been cropped to end exactly at the subject's waist. The photograph looks unfinished.

Figure 2-3: Three-quarter length body shot cut off at the waist.

You can take a full body shot with the subject sitting, standing, or lying down; however, you should angle the camera so that the subject slants away from or toward the lens, as shown in Figure 2-4. A full body portrait in which the subject is facing the camera head-on tends to look like a mug shot. The exception is a subject that's facing away from the camera.

Figure 2-4: Full body shot.

Decide Where to Place the Head or Heads in the Frame

Now that you understand some basic positioning concepts and techniques, you need to decide where to place your subject within the frame of the photograph. Deciding where to place your subject within the frame of your photograph is one of the most important decisions you need to make when composing a portrait. Ideally, you should create a composition that's dynamic, interesting, and directs the viewer's eye to the most important features of your photograph. Although many portraits are composed with the subject in the center of the frame, you'll notice that the subject's eyes are on a line approximately one-third of the way below the top of the photograph. There are two common methods for determining where to place the head or heads in your portraits: the rule of thirds and the golden mean.

The Rule of Thirds

This is the simplest of the two ways of achieving dynamic composition. Imagine your photograph is divided into nine boxes -- three rows and three columns. The dividing lines break your image into thirds vertically and horizontally. The greatest areas of visual interest occur where the lines intersect. This is why, in a portrait, the subject's eyes are often placed at the top third of the image -- on or near a dividing line. In Figure 2-5, you can see that the subject's head is positioned on the intersection of two dividing lines.

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The Golden Mean

Figure 2-5: A subject placed according to the rule of thirds. Another method of determining dynamic framing is the golden mean. It was first described by the ancient Greeks and is still in use today. It's especially useful for portrait compositions with two subjects. To determine the golden mean, draw a line diagonally from one corner of the frame to the opposite, and then draw lines from the empty corners to intersect the first line at a 90-degree angle. Place your subjects' heads at the two intersections. In this example, you see that the two subjects are placed close to the intersections.

Figure 2-6: Two subjects placed according to the golden mean.

Regardless of which rule you use when placing your subjects within the frame of the photograph, you should pay attention to the direction your subject is facing. If the subject is facing toward the right, place her on the left side of the frame so she's gazing toward the center of the photograph, not off to the side.

You also need to decide whether to frame your subject vertically or horizontally. If you plan to take close-up head and shoulders shots, you may want to take them

horizontally to balance the naturally vertical orientation of the subject. You need to take full body shots vertically if they're close up. If the purpose of the portrait is to emphasize height, a vertical orientation reinforces that. Landscape photographs are nearly always taken from a horizontal orientation because this enables a wider view.

Simple Posing Techniques

Once you've worked out how you'll frame your subjects, you need to pay attention to the tiny posing details that make your portraits look professional. That's covered in the next section. You've already done quite a bit of work before you take a single shot. You've decided on a background, decided whether to take head or full body shots, and learned some basic portrait composition rules. Now it's time to dig into the details of posing.

These are not firm rules -- you should take several shots of your subject from each orientation to see which works best for that subject and setting.

When posing a subject, it's important for them to appear comfortable and natural. Unfortunately, minor things that are completely unnoticeable in real life will be glaringly obvious when caught in a portrait. Combine this with the fact that the camera is not 100-percent accurate, and you have quite a dilemma: how to make the subject appear natural while orchestrating every detail of their pose.

Eyes

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The best way to make your subject's eyes appear interested and lively is to engage their interest. Very few people are good enough actors to appear genuinely happy when they're nervous or preoccupied with being photographed. Even if your subject is smiling, no one will be fooled if their eyes aren't smiling too. As the photographer, you should do what you can to take the subject's mind off the photo shoot and onto a subject that interests and perhaps amuses them. Adults often warm to a conversation about hobbies, family, or other light topics. If you're photographing young children, keep a small selection of toys on hand. A toddler will give his best smile when laughing at the antics of a hand puppet or squeaking toy. You should also be sure that the iris of the eyes is bordered by the eyelids -- there should not be a white space between the iris and the upper or lower eyelid. If you're taking pictures under bright light, be sure the subject's pupils aren't too small or they'll appear beady-eyed in the final photograph. Likewise, if you're shooting in low light, be sure the pupils aren't too large or the subject will have a vacant look.

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Chin Height

Chin height is one area in which a subject's normal stance might not photograph well. Slight adjustments of a subject's chin height can drastically alter the impression of a portrait. A subject that naturally holds their chin slightly high looks haughty or bored. A lowered chin looks weak and portrays a lack of confidence. You may need to ask your subject to raise or lower his chin slightly to achieve a middle height, even though this may not be the subject's natural level.

Hands

The hands are one of the most difficult areas to pose, partially because they're closer to the camera than the subject's head. This can make them appear overly large and out of proportion. There are a few guidelines that make posing hands easier:

Mouth

As with the eyes, the mouth should be relaxed and smiling. Avoid false smiles -- they won't fool anyone and will appear stiff and forced. Instead, engaging your subject usually results in a natural smile. However, there are a few details you should watch out for. In normal conversation, these things are hardly noticeable. In a portrait, they're distracting:

Pose hands at an angle to the camera lens, rather than pointing them straight at the camera. Keep the outer edge of the hand toward the camera. This gives a strong line to the hands. Bend the wrist slightly, especially with female subjects. This appears more graceful than a solid line from the arm to the hand. Separate the fingers slightly so they appear distinct.

Moving On
Assignment #1

If you keep these details in mind as you pose your subjects, your portraits will look more professional.

Dry lips: Have your subject moisten her lips occasionally so they appear soft and natural. Gap between the lips: When people are relaxed, their lips often fall apart slightly. In a portrait, the teeth will show slightly, drawing attention away from the rest of the face.

In this lesson, you learned how to compose an interesting, dynamic portrait. You also learned some basic posing techniques to give your portraits a professional look. In Lesson 3, you'll learn how to find or create flattering lighting conditions. Before moving on, complete the assignment and quiz for this lesson. After that, head over to the Message Board to post questions and comments for your classmates and instructor. Take a series of head and body shots using the techniques explained in Lesson 2. Pay special attention to the posing tips for hands, eyes, chin height, and mouth. To complete the assignment: Profile Three-quarters Seven-eights 1. Take a minimum of three head shots, one each of the following: 1. Take a minimum of two body shots, one each of the following:

Full body shot Three-quarter length

Quiz: #1
A) B) A) B) E) A) B)

Question 1: True or False: In a profile head shot, you should see part of the other side of the face. Question 2: Which techniques can you use to make posing hands easier? (Check all that apply.) C) D) Pose hands at an angle to the camera lens. Hide the hands out of view of the camera. Bend the wrist slightly. Keep the outer edge of the hand toward the camera. Separate the fingers so they appear distinct. The golden mean The rule of thirds The Greek method The rule of fourths True False

Question 3: Which rules help you achieve dynamic composition? (Check all that apply.) C) D)

Find or Create Good Light

What Makes Good Portrait Light?

Photography is all about light. For portrait photographers, the skill of finding or creating excellent light is essential to making subjects look their best. This lesson covers lighting techniques and what to do when good light is hard to find. In Lesson 2, you learned how to compose a good portrait. Now we'll move on to creating lighting effects that flatter your subjects.

Good portrait light is any lighting that is flattering to your subject and portrays the effect you're trying to convey. Because a photograph is a two-dimensional approximation of three-dimensional reality, the type and direction of light is important. Correct lighting can create the impression of roundness and dimension in an otherwise flat image. Fortunately, there are techniques you can use to achieve flattering lighting effects for your portraits. There are four basic lights that professional portrait photographers use day in and day out. If you plan to take portraits professionally or even semiprofessionally, it may be worth it to you to purchase a basic lighting setup. You can get a set of four lights with stands and reflectors for a few hundred dollars. Used equipment can be had for much less. However, if your main goal is to take great photographs of family and friends, you can approximate a professional lighting setup with lights you already have.

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Key Light

The key light, or main light, is the primary source of light in your photograph. You can

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achieve many common lighting effects simply by moving the key light. For a paramount or glamour lighting setup, position the key light directly in front of the subject to emphasize high cheekbones. Rembrandt lighting is another dramatic lighting scheme that you achieve by moving the key light to the side of the subject, nearly perpendicular to the camera.

Broad and Short Lighting Fill Light

Powerful cameras with Broad and short lighting are two styles that produce very different effects. You create b advanced optics and controls. road lighting by positioning your subject's head in a three-quarters or seven-eighths pose. Then, direct your key light toward the side of the face closest to the camera. Broad lighting is often used to fill out a face that's too thin. Short lighting, on the other hand, thins a heavy face. To create short lighting, place the key light so that it highlights the side of the face furthest away from the camera. Experiment with both styles to see the dramatic difference you can achieve simply by moving your key light. The main purpose of the fill light is to fill in shadows created by the key light. It's typically three or four times weaker than your key light so as not to compete with the key light, and it's often diffused with a piece of frosted plastic or acetate to create a softer effect.

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Hair Light

A hair light is a small directional light that's usually positioned behind and above the subject. Its purpose is to bring out the highlights in the subject's hair, giving a more three-dimensional look to the hair.

Background Light Reflectors

The background light is rarely focused on the subject. Instead, you point it away from the subject toward a seamless background. The background reflects light back onto the subject. The main purpose of the background light is to separate the subject from the background and to eliminate unwanted shadows. It's also a lower-powered light that doesn't compete with the key light. A basic reflector is any surface that reflects light onto the subject or the background. Reflectors produce a very soft, diffused light that can fill in shadows or highlight certain features. Many professional reflectors are available; however, for home use, you can use a large sheet of light-colored paper or fabric or even a metal cookie sheet. Experiment with the items you have available to see which reflectors produce the most flattering light effects. Reflectors are covered in more detail at the end of this lesson. Now that you understand the basics of indoor lighting, read on to learn how to find and create flattering light outdoors.

Shooting Outdoors

You've learned how to sculpt light in a studio setting using a key light, fill lights, background lights, and hair lights. Now you'll learn how to recognize and modify natural light outdoors.

Taking portraits indoors is by far the easiest way to achieve good photographs. In a studio setting -- even if the studio is just your living room -- you can carefully control the lighting and environment. You have the luxury of taking your time, experimenting with various lighting effects, and taking several shots with different effects. Outdoor portraits can be very compelling because they show the subject in a natural setting that gives a sense of context to the photograph. When you shoot photographs outdoors, however, you have to contend with natural lighting circumstances that are entirely outside of your control. If a cloud drifts in front of the sun, there's not much you can do about it but wait.

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Natural lighting is generally the most flattering, and many professional photographers set up their studios to take advantage of a large window or skylights. To take advantage of natural outdoor light, you need to recognize how the available light will flatter your subject.

Shade

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Taking portraits in the shade is common because it produces a soft, diffuse light. A great place to pose your subjects in the shade is near a clearing of trees, where the branches block most of the overhead sunlight without casting shadows that obscure your subject. Sometimes you need to add artificial lights or reflectors to fill in areas of your subject's face that are in a shadow.

Direct Sun

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Taking photographs in direct sunlight can be tricky because direct sunlight tends to be harsher than diffused light in the shade. If the sun is directly overhead, your subject's eyes will appear sunken. You can mitigate this effect using a technique called subtractive lighting. Just as light-colored fabric or paper reflectors bounce light back onto the subject, you can subtract light from the scene by using a dark-colored reflector. Black tends to absorb light, so placing a sheet of black paper or fabric where it absorbs unwanted light eases some of the harshness caused by overhead sunlight.

Backlighting

Backlighting is another effect that uses direct sunlight. In a backlit portrait, the sun is behind the subject, highlighting its hair and the line of her head and shoulders. When taking a backlit portrait, it's essential to use a secondary fill light. Without a fill light, the bright sun silhouettes your subject. Reflectors are also very helpful in a backlit portrait because they reflect light onto your subject's face. You should place the reflector as close as possible to your subject without letting it appear in the image.

Light Quality: Strength, Direction, and Color

You've learned how to manipulate light both in a studio setting and outdoors. Next, you'll learn some key elements that make up flattering light. So far you've learned how to manipulate light. It's also important to understand the characteristics of light so you can arrange your own lighting schemes more effectively. Because taking photographs is essentially a study in light, you must learn to recognize three elements of light: strength, direction, and color.

Strength

Light strength is the easiest element to recognize, and it can have a dramatic effect on your photographs. Strong light, either from direct sunlight or artificial lights, illuminates your subject but can flatten their features. To counteract this, you should add secondary lights to create shadows that give the face depth. Lights that are too weak produce a photograph that's too dark. Ideally, you should use a mix of strong and weak lights that complement each other.

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Direction Color

Lighting direction is just as essential as light strength. Earlier in this lesson, you learned about short and broad lighting. These lighting effects use direction to drastically alter the image. Just by moving one light, you can make your subject's face appear heavier or thinner. To create a good mix of light, you should place your lights so that they intersect on your subject, balancing each other and the shadows created by the subject's features. A light placed on the right side of the subject will cast shadows on the left side. A light on the left of the subject fills in those shadows. Be careful to leave enough shadow to create depth and roundness. Color is the most difficult aspect of light to see because our eyes naturally correct colored light. Photographs do not, so a photographer must learn to see color variations in light. A photograph taken outdoors where the subject is posed under a tree may end up too green because the light filtering through the tree leaves adds a green or cyan cast to the image. Natural light at dusk is often very cool in color, which is very noticeable in a photograph. Light at dawn is typically very warm, which is flattering to most subjects. Practice observing the colors in natural light so that when you take photographs you'll be able to predict how the colors of light will show up in the final image. Now that you understand the vital characteristics of light, let's return to techniques that enable you to manipulate light to show your subjects at their best.

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Modifying Light with a Simple Reflector

Photography is all about showing reality; however, portrait photography requires a

delicate balance of reality and flattery. You want to show your subjects at their best while minimizing their flaws. One of the most important techniques you can use to create flattering portraits is careful lighting.

Reflectors are one of the simplest ways to modify light. You can purchase professional reflectors, or you can create your own (read on to find out how). The purpose of a reflector is to bounce light from a primary light source onto your subject. Any light-colored or reflective surface will do this. The trick is finding the right surface and positioning it correctly to achieve the effect you want. You could use a square of metal or glass or even a mirror as a reflector, but these surfaces are too reflective for most portraits. For a photographic reflector, you want something that bounces and diffuses light, but doesn't focus it.

Build Your Own

DSLR Digital Cameras

To build your own reflector, you need a piece of foam core (available at art and craft supply stores), two A-clamps (available at any hardware store), and a light stand. After you gather the materials, do the following:

Moving On

If you need the reflector positioned below your subject, you can prop the foam core on a stack of books until you achieve the proper angle.

1. Cut the foam core to 18 x 18 inches. This size is small enough to be maneuverable but large enough to reflect light across your subject. 2. Extend the legs on the light stand and raise the midsection to about 6 feet. Adjust the stand to whatever height you need. If you don't have a light stand, you can use any tall, stable stand. Floor lamps work well -- just be sure they're not lit. 3. Attach one A-clamp to the light stand to serve as a cross piece. 4. Using the second A-clamp, attach the foam core to the first A-clamp.

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Assignment #1

In this lesson, you learned how to create lighting effects in a studio setting, how to find flattering outdoor light, and how to build a simple reflector. Lesson 4 will explain how to choose appropriate camera settings so that your portraits turn out great. Before moving on, complete the assignment and quiz for this lesson, and then stop by the Message Board to see what your classmates and instructor are up to. See you there.

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Quiz: #1
A)

Take a pair of portraits with identical lighting except for the position of the key light. For the first portrait, use a broad lighting scheme. For the second, use a short lighting scheme. Compare the two portraits and note the differences in the apparent weight of the subject's face. Question 1: What are some basic types of light used in portrait photography? (Check all that apply.) Key light

B) E) A) B) A) B)

C) D)

Question 2: True or False: You must have a secondary fill light when taking backlit photographs. True False Heat Strength Color

Effect light Fill light Top light

Background light

Question 3: What are the three elements of light that you should consider? (Check all that apply.) C) D) Direction

Select Appropriate Camera Settings

Select the Shooting Mode

The automatic settings on today's digital cameras do a reasonably good job capturing images; however, you can greatly improve your photos by adjusting some settings manually. This lesson focuses on shooting modes, aperture, ISO settings, and more.

Basic digital cameras -- also referred to as point-and-shoot models -- take reasonably good photographs. However, if you're serious about taking great portraits, you should move up to a DSLR (digital single lens reflex) model. SLR is a term used with film cameras and is a system of lenses and mirrors that show the photographer exactly the image that will be recorded on film. Digital point-and-shoot cameras show a close approximation of the actual image through a viewfinder. DSLR cameras also show you the exact image to be recorded and give you a lot more control over the details than a simple point-and-shoot digital camera. Those details are discussed throughout this lesson.

The first thing you'll find when working with a DSLR camera is that it has several shooting modes available. If you leave it on auto or program mode, it acts just like a point-and-shoot camera. You'll get reasonably good photographs without a lot of fuss. However, if you're taking specialized photographs, you should learn to use the proper mode with preset aperture and shutter speeds that work well for most photographs of a given type. Most DSLR cameras come with portrait, landscape, sunset, and night view modes. However, just because the camera has a preset portrait mode, don't feel as if you have to stick to the preset values when you're taking portraits. The shooting mode is just a starting point.

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Now that you understand the basics of your camera's built-in shooting modes, read on to learn how to select the appropriate aperture for your photograph.

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Select the Appropriate Aperture

Your camera's built-in shooting modes give you a starting point for various types of photographs; however, it's essential to learn how to select the best aperture setting for the image you want. The shutter speed controls how much time light has to reach the image sensor. You'll learn about shutter speeds later in this lesson.

Aperture refers to the size of the diaphragm in the lens. The diaphragm size is important because it controls the amount of light allowed to hit the image sensor in a given amount of time. Changes in the aperture level are called f-stops, which effectively double or halve the amount of light allowed to reach the sensor. The shutter speed automatically adjusts to changes in aperture. A higher aperture setting closes the diaphragm, allowing less light to reach the sensor. The shutter speed adjusts, slowing down to allow more time for the light to reach the sensor. What does all this mean for your photographs? Aperture settings affect the depth of field of your images. A high aperture setting, such as f/22, maximizes the amount of the image that's in sharp focus but slows down your shutter speed. A slow shutter speed can result in blurred images if your subject moves, a slight breeze blows their hair, or if your hand shakes slightly. A tripod is essential equipment for shooting at high aperture/slow shutter speeds. On the other hand, a very low aperture setting results in a fast shutter speed but a very narrow depth of field. This means that only the very center of your photograph will be in sharp focus. For portraits, this is sometimes desirable. An image in which the face is in sharp focus but the rest of the image is hazy can give a romantic, idealized impression. However, it can also look out of focus, depending on other factors such as lighting, pose, and setting.

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Select the Focal Length

Now that you understand aperture, read on to learn how to select the ideal focal length for your portraits.

Controlling aperture settings is one of the main advantages of a DSLR camera. Focal length and the ability to use specialized lenses is another. There are a wide variety of lenses available for DSLR cameras. The most common starter lens is a zoom lens that covers a range of focal lengths from wide-angle to telephoto and has a variable aperture. Both extremes have their place in portrait photography, as do the middle ranges. The focal length determines how much of the scene is captured in the photograph.

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Wide-Angle

In most cases, if you have an SLR film camera, the lenses you bought for it will work with a DSLR camera too. Check your camera's documentation to be sure.

In portrait photography, a wide-angle focal length has two main uses: indoor scenes and group portraits. For indoor scenes, a wide-angle lens (or the wide-angle setting on a variable zoom lens) captures more of the room than a midrange focal length. The difference between a photograph shot with a wide-angle lens and one shot with a midrange lens is similar to the difference between watching a movie in widescreen mode and the same movie in standard mode. You see more detail on the edges. Wide-angle lenses are also useful for large group portraits. The shorter focal length enables you to fit more people into the frame without your subjects looking as if they're being shoved together.

Midrange

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Telephoto

Midrange focal lengths are useful for smaller groups and individual portraits in which getting a large scene into the frame isn't a concern. Telephoto lenses aren't used often in portrait photography; however, they do have their uses for outdoor portraits. If your composition calls for the subject to be posed in a rugged area where it would be difficult to set up your equipment, a telephoto lens gives you the flexibility of shooting pictures from more amenable ground. Action portraits, where the subject is photographed while mountain climbing, jet skiing, kayaking, or snowboarding, also call for a telephoto lens.

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Select ISO Settings

Once you've selected your aperture and focal length, you need to consider which ISO setting to use. Read on to learn more.

Your camera's ISO setting is a measure of how sensitive it is to light. Aperture and shutter speed control how much light reaches the light sensor in your camera. The ISO setting controls how sensitive that sensor is -- how much light it records. Higher ISO settings record more light; however, they can also record more noise, resulting in grainy or noisy images. Why would you use a higher ISO setting? There are two main purposes to a higher ISO setting: low light and creative techniques.

Low Light

In low-light situations, due to low natural light or intentionally low studio lighting, your camera needs to record more light to produce a clear image. You can either change the aperture and shutter speed, which will change the depth of field, or raise the ISO setting so that more of the light that reaches the sensor is recorded. Without raising the ISO setting, the image will simply be too dark. Newer DSLR cameras have

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Creative Techniques

improved the quality of images produced at higher ISO settings so even the highest ISO settings are useful in low light situations. Sometimes a little noise can be a good thing. If your intention is to create an image that looks antique, the noise produced at very high ISO settings contribute to that effect once you convert the image to black and white. It's often worth taking a few shots at a high ISO setting just to see what you can do with them in an image editor, such as Adobe Photoshop. The images might not turn into anything great, but you haven't lost anything by taking the shots. Increasing your camera's ISO setting is one way to increase the amount of light in your photograph. Adding a flash is another way; however, it can produce unwanted side effects. The next section covers tips for using a flash. Digital Camera Batteries

To Flash or Not to Flash

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Your point-and-shoot digital camera probably has a flash, so you're familiar with what it does. It adds light when you're taking photographs in low light. However, with pointand-shoot digital cameras, you often have little or no control over when the flash goes off. It's set to go off any time the available light dips below a preset level. Like many other things with DSLR cameras, you have complete control over whether or not the flash is used. You can also control: Most entry-level DSLR cameras have a built-in flash. It's usually sufficient for adding light to low-light situations and for filling in shadows; however, it doesn't give you as much flexibility as an external flash. Built-in flash units are generally less powerful than external units, which means you have to get a lot closer to your subject for the flash to illuminate the scene. External flash units often have a swivel feature that enables you to bounce the flash off the ceiling or a bounce card. This softens the light, eliminating the shadows caused by harsher, direct flash lighting. The type of flash When the flash goes off The direction the flash is pointed

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Your DSLR camera has a maximum synch speed, which is the fastest shutter speed you can use with the flash and still get a complete image. If you try to shoot at a higher speed, you end up with the lower half of the image blacked out because the shutter began to close before the flash went off. You can also set the synch mode so that the flash fires at the beginning of the exposure or at the end. Rear synch, which fires the flash at the end of the exposure, is most useful for fast-moving subjects. In the end, whether you use a flash to increase the light in your photograph or increase your ISO setting is a matter of choice. Take a few shots using both techniques to determine which technique produces the effect you want. Now that you know some of the advantages and disadvantages to using a flash, how to select the ideal ISO, aperture, shooting mode, and focal length for your photograph, read on to get some tips on controlling red eye, choosing a focus point, and more.

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Control Red Eye, Focus Point Selection, and More

Controlling Red Eye

You've learned a lot about your camera in this lesson, so we'll wrap things up by dishing out a few last-minute tips. Red eye is caused when a flash is too close to the camera lens while an image is captured, as is the case with a built-in flash. Most digital cameras -- DSLR and pointand-shoot -- come with a red-eye correction feature built in. The best way to control red eye is to prevent it by using an external flash, bouncing the flash off the ceiling or a bounce card, or increasing your ISO setting to record more available light. You can also reduce the effect of red eye in an image editor after the fact.

Selecting a Focus Point

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When you take a photograph, you choose a focal point -- usually your subject -- and accept that other parts of the image will be slightly out of focus. Your camera does some of this for you automatically when it evaluates the light in the image and chooses an exposure level.

DSLR cameras use a variety of methods to determine the optimal exposure based on the light levels in the scene you're photographing. Evaluative, or honeycomb, metering divides the image into a number of segments and then averages the light meter readings from each of them. This gives the best overall exposure. Centerweighted metering works the same way, except that segments in the center of the frame are weighted more heavily than those at the edges. This gives you a more accurate light reading in the center of the image. Higher-end cameras include a spotmetering option that enables you to choose a spot within the frame to take a light meter reading and determine optimal exposure.

In Summary Moving On
Assignment #1

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There are far more settings and options available on your DSLR camera than can be covered adequately in this course. The best way to learn what you and your camera can do is to get out and take some portraits. Experiment with various settings and combinations and see what happens. Then, import your images into an image editor like Photoshop and experiment further with color correction, balance, and special effects. Congratulations -- you've completed this course and learned a lot about taking great portraits. Before moving on, complete the assignment for this lesson and then take the quiz, which helps reinforce what you learned. You also have a great resource in the form of the Message Board where you can interact with your fellow students and your instructor. See you there.

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Quiz: #1
A) B) A) B) A) B) C) D) C) D) C) D)

Take a series of three to five portraits using your camera's range of apertures. Compare the differences in the final images. Do the images look the way you expect them to? What are the most noticeable differences between the image taken at the lowest aperture and the one taken at the highest aperture? Question 1: What's an f-stop?

Question 2: For an action portrait in which the subject is snowboarding, which type of lens should you use? Question 3: What's the primary cause of red eye? Direct overhead lighting Incorrect light metering A shallow depth of field Telephoto Midrange DSLR Wide-angle

The maximum amount of light the camera can record Changes in the aperture level Changes in the focal length Changes in the ISO setting

A flash that's too close to the camera lens

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