.

The Room

As long as the room is large enough to set up the areas detailed below and allows enough space between the subject and you (up to 12 feet), has a window or enough space for lighting then you are good to go.  If the room is painted a dark colour then you should paint the walls in a white matte to reflect shadows and fill areas of low light easily.

Lighting

Use cheap white draw blinds on the windows as they allow more light into the room but also act as a diffuser and soften the light, dont underestimate natural light if you have a room where the windows is large enough to fill the space with pleanty of light.  Experiment with different types and wattages of bulbs.  Finding the correct place for the lights will give a nice balance of light and avoind shadows on the subject.  Halogen lamps are a great way of getting to grips with the basics of how to position and use lights for the best effect and many come with adjustable stems and so are easy to reposition and adjust.

Keep the lighting as simple as possible when you start to shoot your portraits. Position the main light at a 45 degree angle from the camera position and slightly above the model’s eye line. Pay close attention to the model’s eyes and check that there are no shadows, also check the chin and nose for similar issues. A white reflector can be used on the opposite side of the model to the main light to bounce some light back in and soften any shadows. The model should always face the main light (no matter how many lights you subsequently add) as this will yeild the best effect.

Background and Props

Don’t use too many props in your photos as this will look cluttered and messy. A chair is often all that is needed for portrait shots and this can be turned around for the model to lean on and ‘pose’.  Try to keep patterns on background to a minimum as these will draw the attention away from the subject and will look confused.  The subtle patterns you see below are commonly used and offer all the backdrop you need for great portraits;

Credit: www.portraitpro.net/

The Subject

The main thing is to make the subject feel at ease, if they are nervous then you will not get great photos.  Start off taking photos of family and friends as even if you are both a bit uneasy at first it will not be too much of an issue and probably make you both laugh anyway (great for a photo!).  As your confidence grows you can move on and get the hang of positioning your subject and know what poses will work.  You will also feel more at ease taking portrait shot of friends of friends and so on.

Experiment with different angles and techniques, if you can get the subject to stay completely still for a couple of seconds you could try an HDR portrait!

Look at the subject in both colour and black and white as quite often an average shot taken in colour will be an excellent shot in black and white.

The Camera

You dont need a massively expensive camera for portrait shots.  One with continuous shoot capability will be a massive advantage as you can catch more images of a ‘moment’ than with a single shot camera.  Make sure you have a large capacity memory card for the camera as you dont want to have to stop the session to upload the photos onto your PC and then carry on (unless you fancy a cup of tea of course!).

If you have them, experiment with different lenses.  If you don’t have different lenses then play around with angles, distance and depth of field etc.

A tripod is a nice addition as this will decrease camera shake (although there should be plenty enough light to allow fast shutter speeds) but not essential when starting out.

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