10 Steps to great portraits with a pocket camera.

If you can just remember a few of these tips, your portraits will look much better.

1. Get in closer. This is the number 1 thing to do. If you want to get better pictures
of people, get as close as you can when you shoot.Zoom in closer, or move
closer physically. Try to frame the person up to get either a head and shoulders
shot, or waist up shot. If you want a full body shot, still get as close as you can. You will get a
better shot if you don’t have a lot of blank space around the subject.

If you are going to leave some space around them, don’t put them in the center of the shot. If they are looking left, leave a bit of space to the left, and visa versa.

2. Check background. Look through the viewfinder and look behind the person to
make sure that there is nothing coming out of their head, or something that
detracts from the shot. Bright colored objects also draw the viewers eyes away from the subject. Try to get the least distracting background that you can. Unless you are trying to get the shot of the person in front of something.

3. Use your flash. Think about what you want the shot to say to the observer. Look at
how the person is being lit by natural light. Most of the time you will benefit by using
your camera flash, even if you are outside in light. You will fill in dark shadows on their
face which will look better.

4. Don’t shoot in direct sunlight if you can help it. If you do, the light
is very harsh. It makes the subject squint if they are looking into it. Try to get into
the shade of a tree, or a passing cloud, anything to block direct sunlight.

5. Candid shots are often best. Many of my best shots were taken when the person was doing something else, and I caught a good expression or look.

6. Focus on the eyes. You want to have the subjects eyes in the
best focus. People looking at the shot will mostly look first at the eyes. Good sharp eyes can make or break the shot.

7. Zoom your optical zoom. Most lenses are best in the middle of the zoom range. Try
to zoom your lens to the middle of your zoom range. Best zoom range for portraits is in the 70 to 120mm range.Optical zoom only. Do not use your digital zoom.

8. Use spot metering if you have it. Your focus is on the face and eyes of the subject.
If your camera has a spot metering option, that will give you the best exposure for the
face. If you don’t, use your portrait setting , to get the best exposure and depth of field.

9. Get to eye level. If you are shooting a child, it looks best when you get down to their
eye level. Get them relaxed. That is why sometimes taking the shots when
they are not paying attention works best.

10. Use The portrait mode setting on your camera. This will give you the best aperture and shutter speed for portraits.

All of these tips will help make your portraits better. If you can do any of them it will
help. Try to think of a couple of them next time you are taking pictures of your family or
friends, you will get better results the more you think about these things. Good shooting.

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