Portrait Techniques

"Shoot Candidly"

This strategy is excellent in order to avoid a posed look in photographs. Rather than asking the subjects to pose, the photographer takes shots of the subjects doing what they love. This adds a more natural effect to the portraits, and it relaxes the subjects. Because they do not feel so much pressure to be in a specific pose, they are able to act freely and passionately. This is something I definitely want to do in my portraits. I want to take photographs of people doing things, not necessarily aware of the fact that I am shooting. This could create a great shot.

"Obscure Part of Your Subject"

This strategy is utilized when the photographer obscures parts of the subject's face or body. The photographer does this with anything from a blanket to a jacket. This strategy leaves part of the image up to interpretation for the viewer. It also adds excitement; there is something about mystery that makes the image animated. I definitely want to try to do this in my portraits. I have used this strategy before, and it worked very well. I would really like to do this on a subject who has very piercing eyes, for it would leave a nice effect on the viewer. 

"Play with Backgrounds"

This is when the photographer places the subjects into different contexts and backgrounds in order to alter the mood of the shot. The background can be extremely minimalistic; however, the background can also be busy. It all depends on what conveys the mood the photographer wishes to portray. I would definitely like to use this strategy in my portraits. I think that background can be used very strategically to illustrate something about the subject. The background can tell a story; it can convey messages. This would be very cool to experiment with in my portraits.