What is Portrait Photography?

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Portrait Photography

Portrait photography or portraiture is photography of a person or group of people that captures the personality of a subject by using effective lighting, backdrops, and poses. A portrait picture might be artistic, or it might be clinical, as part of a medical study. Frequently, portraits are commissioned for special occasions, such as weddings or school events. Portraits can serve many purposes, from usage on a personal Web site to display in the lobby of a business.


Photo Courtesy: Alessandro Bergamini

The main purpose of portrait photography is to capture the essence of the subject(s). Different people have different techniques for doing this, one of which is taking a picture while the subject is planning on smiling and then take another couple while they are recovering.  Or another way would be to tell a funny joke where they can't help but genuinely laugh and smile.  But probably the best way is just to catch them off guard by waiting for the right opportunity and snapping a picture right when they look at you not expecting a camera.


Photo Courtesy: Alessandro Bergamini

Close-up portraits usually have the subject's shoulders and head or less.  They are basically framed around the face.  These are the best to capture expressions and glamour shots. It is very important to have the light coming from a good angle for these.  If you want to accent wrinkles or small details you should have the light coming from the side or from the top.  If you want flattering pictures you should take these on a day that's cloudy so there is a lot of diffused light and therefore no shadows.


Photo Courtesy: Alessandro Bergamini

You will get the best results if the subject is brighter than the background so there is not much distraction.  For these you should use a wide aperture (low f/stop) to make the background out of focus and less of a distraction.  Professionals usually use a fixed telephoto lens that's 90 mm or a little higher for portraits for the reason that it de-emphasizes the subjects nose or any other unflattering feature because at that far away the nose or any other significant feature doesn't seem closer to the camera than the rest of the face.


Sources:
http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/portrait-photography/
https://www.facebook.com/alessandro.bergamini.733/photos?lst=1670929058%3A100006560142507%3A1492944824&source_ref=pb_friends_tl