By definition, a portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture or other artistic representation of a person in which the face and its expression predominate.
The intention of a photograph of this type should be (basically) to show the personality of the person represented but, besides not being easy, there is a certain tendency to always make the same type of images. We intend to change that and show how to make more original portraits.
Take an original portrait photo
Of course, the idea is always to make a photograph that can reflect the subject, his character, his way of being, his mood, etc., but we want to at least show you some little pills in the form of tips, tricks and recommendations that can make your portraits a little different from the usual.
- Opt for the square
Years ago, when large format cameras were king, the square format was more than commonplace. That look was lost when the 35mm standard went mainstream, but it has been brought back thanks to the popularity of Instagram and other social media.
So why not go for a square look for portraits? If you’re not sure about the framing, there are two options: get a little further away and take a lot of space around you, or conversely, get closer to the subject and crop if you’re afraid.
- High key ou low key
Que ce soit en high key ou en low key, cette technique est souvent très utile pour obtenir des portraits différents. Car prendre une photo de ce type mais avec une prédominance de tons sombres ou clairs n’est pas quelque chose d’habituel et, par conséquent, c’est original.
- Look for the emotion
A portrait does not have to be a formal image, in the style of those on the ID cards we all carry around.
Instead, it is highly recommended to try to reflect the emotions and/or unique moments of the person portrayed in order to achieve a unique photograph.
- Several people
A portrait does not necessarily involve a photo of one person, it can perfectly well be a photo with several people. If this is the case, you can use different compositions, for example by placing the people in a line, to obtain more original results.
- Add a touch of creativity
Parfois, refléter la personnalité du sujet n’est pas le plus important, mais nous voulons obtenir d’autres effets. C’est pourquoi il ne faut jamais oublier la créativité, qui peut faire gagner beaucoup d’importance à une image.
Par exemple, cette photographie dans laquelle, avec seulement quelques éléments ajoutés, vous pouvez créer une photo avec un message puissant.
- Don’t just focus on the face
It is said that “the face is the mirror of the soul”, but this does not mean that in a portrait it must always be the protagonist.
There may be other elements that we want to emphasize or, directly, let our creativity run free (as we said above) and blur the face directly.
- Highlight a particular detail
Just like the previous one, if the model has a special feature that you want to highlight and make him the protagonist, don’t be shy and make it stand out.
- Dare without fear
We said it about the square format and we repeat it: we should not be afraid to crop the photo, even if we cut out a part of the body of the person represented.
As long as we do it sensibly and with expressive intent, of course. Sometimes, even a photo in which we have directly omitted the eyes, can be very interesting.
