I believe that everyone in their own way is unique and interesting. My passion is to bring out those qualities at the moment the shutter is clicked. My philosophy is, the person in front of the camera is always more important than who's behind it. I use my education, experience, and artistry to make a photograph that can be cherished for a lifetime. ViewBug community member fotofitz shares his passion with us and his top tips:
1. Passion
Several years ago I participated in a 100 Strangers project. The goal of the project is to approach 100 strangers and ask to take their photo and also learn a few facts about their life. During this project I developed a passion for photographing people. I love to photograph people, and that love cause me to study portrait photography for hours. I would find opportunities to photograph someone every chance I got. A passion for photographing people, I believe this is essential for a successful portrait.
2. Establish a connection
Before any portrait session, I spend time getting to know the person in advance. I spend time before, during and after the shoot, just talking to them about all kinds of topics. I try to find out something about them before the shoot so that I have something to start with. For people who arenât used to being in front of the camera, itâs the photographerâs job to get your subject relaxed and comfortable. Talking to them about what they are interested relaxes them. Once they are relaxed and comfortable, thatâs when the session actually starts. They shots before then are just warm up.
3. Begin with the end in mind
This is a quote I heard from Frederick Van Johnson; âThis week in photographyâ. Essentially, it means to have an idea of the end result of the portrait session. Whether itâs a headshot or a fashion shoot, I go into each session with some idea of what Iâm looking for. I include the subject or client as well. I start with asking if there is anything in my portfolio that caught their eye or another photo they might have seen. The answer I love to hear is that âitâs up to me.â I use Pinterest a lot for inspiration, I create boards of images I want to shoot. When I donât have any good ideas, I review my Pinterest boards for inspiration.
4. Be prepared
This is closely tied to tip #3 because, if you start with the end in mind, it helps you organize the shoot. You donât want your client sitting there while you fumble with setting up your lights. I get to the location early, get a basic setup done and make adjust as needed when the shoot starts. One tool that I use on almost every shoot is a Light Meter. It made my shoots go so much faster. There was a bit of a learning curve, but once you get use to it, itâs hard to shoot without it.
5. Use the right lens
I always want my subjects to look their best. When shooting portraits, I use the 85MM 1.8, 100MM 2.8 or the 70-200 2.8. Longer lenses are used when you want to compress your subject and therefore look more flattering, especially for close ups.
6. Focus on the eyes
For a portrait photographer, the eyes are very important. If the eyes arenât sharp, then in my opinion, the image is useless. Years ago I was really frustrated because the eyes in my images were soft and I didnât know why. My shutter speed was fast enough, I had the lighting I wanted, but for some reason, I just couldnât nail the focus like I wanted. One day I started using a tripod, and wow, that made all the difference. Now the eyes in my work is consistency sharp since I started using a tripod. Also, I use one focus point right on the eye and if the subject is in an angle, then itâs the closes eye to the camera.
7. Correct white balance
In portrait photography, the subjects skin tonality is very important. I rarely use auto white balance and I never use it in the studio. Before each shoot, I use a 18% gray card to set a custom white balance in my camera. There are several options of white balance cards, disks or filters. When Iâm shooting for a client, I go a step further in my post processing by using ColorChecker Passport system. If your looking to be more accurate, I highly recommend the ColorChecker Passport.
