Portrait photography, more commonly known as portraiture, is an art form aimed at capturing the character of a single individual or group of individuals by employing effective poses, backgrounds, and lighting. Portraits are intended to be viewed and enjoyed for many years, as opposed to a single photograph that is created quickly and with a quick camera. A portrait photo can be very clinical or highly artistic.
Portrait photography is done by professionals or amateurs using a range of methods, including studio photography or outdoor photography. portrait photography is one of the fastest growing fields in photography, as it allows photographers to capture life’s precious moments without having to wait for a special event to take place. Portrait photographs can be of exceptional quality and are particularly popular for use as birthday or anniversary gifts, although they are also used for general photography.
In addition to capturing the subject, portraits also need to contain appropriate background elements. Professional photographers work hard to ensure the finished portrait photo is complete and includes all necessary elements. The portrait photo should include background scenery, landmark figures, candles, flowers and the like. The background of the photo may also include props. Depending on the style of the photographer and the purpose of the image, different methods of post-production may be employed.
Some photographers will use studio lighting in their portraits, while others will not. The level of quality in a studio lighting depends on the desired effect desired from the photograph. For example, a wedding photo would require studio lighting that mimic natural sunlight, rather than artificial light. Photographers who do portraits will have a preference between shutter speed, film speed, aperture, and lighting. Certain portrait photography techniques such as flash prone photography may also require studio lighting in order to create a balanced and realistic image.
When trying to decide what is the best portrait lighting style, you must consider the size and shape of your subject. Portrait photographs taken with full lighting control will tend to look more professional than those taken with minimum lighting control. As well, a subject with strong shadows will look even better lit, as the shadow regions will stand out more compared to the rest of the face.
Photographers with natural light photography portraits will often use a studio lighting style that consists of reflectors. These reflectors are placed in the frame at various angles so that the subject is illuminated. This technique produces soft, subtle shadows and is usually best for indoor photography portraits. Photographers who wish to obtain more color variation may choose to use non-reflective studio lighting.
Another method used by professional photographers to create a great portrait photography is to work in an area that has natural light. Natural light can be the key to great portrait photography because it creates soft mood lighting that is perfect for capturing facial features and other fine facial details. Some photographers prefer to photograph outdoors while others like to photograph indoor scenes indoors. In either case, the choice is completely up to the individual photographer and what is best for the photograph.
The last method discussed here is called split lighting. Split lighting is another technique that is becoming quite popular with portrait photographers. It consists of two different lighting patterns that are placed at various angles. The main lighting pattern is often set at 45 degrees and the secondary pattern is set at different angles depending upon the size of the subject being photographed. This technique results in soft images, because the subject is lit from both the front and the back. It also creates images with soft colors, which is another desired effect for most portrait photography images.