Tips for taking informal photos

**mks70** · 05-09-2004, 08:42 AM

All to often, when people try to take a portrait, they try to fake a studio portrait with the person staring straight ahead, with a big “say cheese” smile. Informal portraits can be just as beautiful [or more beautiful, in my opinion] and they also can reflect the subject’s personality more than a blue-canvas background.

A note on the “say cheese:” the “eese” sound makes it look like you are smiling. If you want a giggle, ask you kids to say “French fries,” “purple rabbit,” “fat cat” or any other random word[s.]

You can shoot portraits anywhere: just make sure it is an uncluttered area and there aren’t people walking through the background or other distractions. If the person is old enough, let them pick the location. Maybe they have a favorite area in the park or really love the beach. The setting can help put the subject at ease while reflecting their personality. [With small children, this can be especially important; try places they know & love: their sandbox, near their pile of stuffed animals, on their bed…] I prefer taking outdoor portraits because the lighting is better and I don’t need a flash. If it is indoors, I try to shoot near a window and use that as my light source.

Lighting is very important with portraits. Remember that “photography” means “writing with light.” Soft light from behind the subject can cast a warm glow around them & be very pleasing. Light coming from the front can cause people to squint and deminish details. Light coming from the side will exaggerate texture- wrinkles, bumps, anything like that- it can be used very effectively to show age. When shooting outdoors, ideally, I shoot at dawn and dusk. The light is softer then & there are shadows. But, if all that you can do is noon in August- try shooting under a tree & let the branches & leaves diffuse the light.

Some guest speakers are going to write some information about baby photos & toddler photos, but here are some age specific hints:

Babies and toddlers: a scene where they are comfortable is really important. It can also help to have games or toys to keep them interested while you are adjusting your camera. Say their name & they will look at you. Also, if the flash seems to bother them, it is probably best to shoot outdoors w/o a flash. Finally, soothing music can help.

Kids: to keep their interest, I try to give them something to do. Use a setting where they can climb on a fence or otherwise interact with the props. I also try to keep the session short: 10 to 20 minutes maximum.

Teens: Sigh. I find it easiest to use a long lens [like 200mm] so that you can stand back a ways and not be right “in their face” with a camera. Also, if they are being very grumpy about clothes, I try to compromise and say “we’ll take some with the baseball cap & some without the cap.” I have always found that it helps to say “just humor me [or humor your mother] and let me take 5 shots and then you can leave.”

Adults: Some adults are very self conscious, too. To relax adults, I usually let them choose the setting & then give them something to do with their hands. Hold a book, sip from a dainty teacup, arrange flowers: whatever fits their personality.

A note on skin tone: Photographing people with fair skin is mostly the same thing as photographing a person with a darker skin tone. The main difference is that with fair people, you work with shadow- the shadow in the hollow of their cheek, the shadow under their chin… with darker skin tones, it is more like working with highlights: the highlight on the cheek bone above the hollow, the highlight on the tip of the nose… you can cheat a bit: powder will reduce shine [in effect: add hollows]; and oil will add shine [highlights.]

Glasses: be very aware that flashes will reflect off of glasses. But, glasses are part of the person’s personality. I try to take portraits of people with glasses outside without a flash. Also, before you take the photo, make sure the rim of their glasses doesn’t cut their eyes in half.

Group portraits: [more than 1 person] These are tricky. To aid in the flow of the photo, I often ask the people to touch each other in some way. Maybe it is arms around each other or maybe it is the people slightly “overlapping.” Also, it helps is everyone is wearing the same color. I usually ask that everyone wear “mint green” [or whatever] and then each person picks out a shirt colored mint green that fits their personality. For example: the father might pick a mint green “button down” while the mother wears a mint green polo shirt and their son wears a mint green tee-shirt.

Clothing: Anything works, but for portraits, I plan to have the subject wearing a classic, subdued garment. A denim shirt and kauki pants would be hard to date, but an off-the-shoulder sweatshirt and leg warmers scream “Flashdance” and “circa 1982.”

Soft focus: A lot of people like to soften their portraits by diffusing them. You can buy filters that diffuse the light. I prefer to tightly stretch a nude-colored knee-high nylon tightly over my lens and secure it with a rubber band. It works with all skin tones and just softens the photo. For a surreal, dreamlike effect, you can smear petroleum jelly on a clear or protective filter. It makes little “wispies” on the photo- don’t do this directly on your lens.