Portrait Photography Techniques: Why Isn’t the Photo Portrait Coming Out?

Everyone can just take a picture, but not the fact that the picture will turn out beautiful. Beginning photographers are worried about why a photographic portrait does not work. There are many factors affecting getting a good shot.

What Influences Good Portrait Photography?

As the photo model usually serve friends or relatives. When setting up the camera for a long time, they get a little worried, thinking about how well the picture will turn out. Amateur photographers often notice that sometimes people who have been photographed by chance are more beautiful than with a serious approach, when the results do not coincide with what the model wanted to show.

What Affects the Result of a Self-Portrait?

  • background;
  • light;
  • ability to work with a model;
  • her/his psychological attitude.

Before starting filming, it is recommended to talk to the model, get his/her location so that she is ready to pose. It is important to present that he/she should not just take a pose, looking into the lens. Her task is precisely to behave like a fashion model. These are different concepts.

First, the model is mentally prepared for shooting. When setting up the equipment, it is better to tell her what the photographer is doing with the light and the camera at the moment. Perhaps it will not be interesting to her, but this way the photographer will distract her from her worries, which leads to not entirely successful shots. If the model started asking additional questions, the photographer won, because her positive attitude will be reflected in the pictures.

Posing Rules for Portrait Photography

The equipment is ready, and the photographer has achieved the location of the model… You shouldn’t start taking pictures right away, you first need to find a suitable pose. And she needs to be watched. It’s great if the model has repeatedly posed in front of the camera lens of a professional photographer. You can read more about posing in my article poses for a photo shoot.

The basic rules for posing are as follows:

  1. Bending the fingers. For girls, they should be straight and elegant in the picture. Men, on the other hand, should be photographed with slightly bent palms, as if in his hand was a stone.
  2. Feet. If they are located at different heights, in the picture the model will turn out to be statelier and more monumental.
  3. The position of the legs. The visible lumen is admissible for male models, women practice this carefully. It is better that their position is crosswise or such that this gap is covered.
  4. Hips. If a girl is plump, she should be photographed so that her hips are turned towards the camera, so the model looks more slender and graceful.
  5. Head. Its slope indicates willpower, especially if on the opposite side the arm is bent at the elbow and rested on the side. Thrown back shows the model’s playful mood associated with flirting.
  6. Hands. The elongated ones indicate excessive tension, the slightly bent ones indicate a certain calmness.
  7. Shoulders. Their location at different heights is recommended. The pose with shoulders at the same level is more suitable for men.
  8. Elbows, wrists and knees. Their bends should look relaxed.

If you follow these simple rules, even a friend or girlfriend can turn out on the frame like a professional fashion model. By prompting the model to take a pose, she will maximally correspond to the desired result. If you help the model, she will be pleased with both the pictures and the photographer. If you want to know more about how to take photos properly, you can check out the article on how to get good in photos.

Scroll to Top