Shooting portraits is absolutely enjoyable for photographers, whether you are shooting your friends, family or even stranger. Sometimes, this style of photographing can be difficult for amateurs as they always try to over-complicate their photoes. So here is my tips and techniques, which might help you get the best from your portrait.

Background

You should use a plain or simple background for your portraits. In other words, you can shoot better portraits if you have less distraction from your model. I understand that sometimes there’re immovable objects in the scene. So, if you can’t really move them away, then you could try using camera with a long lens and try to open the aperture a little wider to move them out of focus.

Exposure

You should be very familiar with the exposure modes of your camera. In the event of the dark or shady moment, you could use a spot meter-reading from the face of your model as it can help you get correct exposure on the model’s face, the most significant area of the image. You can also use reflector to make your model’s face brighter.

Composition

You should ensure about you use the right composition for your portraits. Sometimes, you model may look small if you shoot too high. On the other hand, your model may look tall if you shoot too low. The best advice I can give is you should not stick with any rules. Remember that creativity is the most important thing for portrait shooting.

Pose

No matter how nice your scene, background or composition is, your photo will never be good if your model doesn’t how to pose. Also, if your model starts to feel awkward or not comfortable with the pose, this will likely destroy your photo. So, your job as a photographer is to make your model more relaxed. Maybe, it is better to talk with your model more often as this will make her feel comfortable.

Colour

Like I mentioned in background, you shouldn’t include too much colour in your scene as it will distract the attention away from your model. Ensure that you use only few colours, maybe two or three, in the scene to make your shooting frame outstanding.

Lens

There’re many good lenses for portrait shooting but here I’d like to suggest two lenses, 24-105 mm lens and 70-200 mm lens. For the low-to-middle zoom range, the 24-105 mm lens is recommended because you can shoot with a wide angle and you can also make your model stand out by making background out of focus. The 70-200 mm lens, on the other hand, give you more options for long distance shooting and can provide a great depth of field to your photo.

Others

There’re some other tips for taking portraits. Before shooting, your image quality should be set at uncompressed or RAW. This will give larger size and allow you to work with your photo later with some computer programs such as Photoshop. Also, you should know your camera gears really well including functions in your camera and lens. Finally, you should be relaxed and have fun with your shooting. Remember that you will never shoot great photos unless you enjoy doing it.

For those of you who are new to digital camera, the task of choosing your desirable digital camera from tons of choices with wide variety of features could be extremely difficult. It’s maybe true that there are a number of brands, specifications and prices available for you to select. However, understanding some technical vocabulary would help you choose the best digital camera. Here are some technical terms that you should know before you start looking for your camera.

Pixels

Given the technology of digital camera, digital images nowadays consist of millions of very small squares. This is also known as pixels, which normally have their own colors. These tiny little squares are smoothly compiled into digital image like we normally see every day. Therefore, when this image is magnified using computer program, then you are able to see the actual appearance to pixels.

Normally, when we actually describe maximum resolution of pictures which digital camera can create, we use the word “megapixels” rather just pixel. The megapixels (or a million pixels) are probably the most important criteria for determining grades of camera and its price. Also, the bigger megapixels do not always mean superior picture quality. However, it would just mean larger size of image.

To identify how many megapixels your camera can produce, just multiply the amount of pixels in the horizontal line by that in the vertical line. For instance, the camera with the maximum resolution of 2000 by 1600 pixels is called 3.2 megapixel camera.

As mentioned earlier, the megapixels would determine the maximum image size that each camera could produce. So it’s important to bear in mind that, for example, 6.0 megapixels camera is not necessarily better than 5.0 megapixels camera. In fact, other feathers will also impact the performance of digital camera or even more significant than the megapixels. The greater megapixels camera would be important if you want to print out your images since it can create the larger prints.

CMOS and CCD Sensors

Generally, digital camera has a small sensor in order to capture image and then storing it in memory. Like megapixels, the sensors have various sizes ranging from 20 to 40 millimeters squared. Today, only two kinds of sensors will normally be used in digital camera, including CCD (Charged Couple Device) and CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). The CMOS sensors are generally used in less superior cameras which can create lower image quality. On the contrary, CCD sensors are normally found in more superior cameras with the more expensive price. However, CMOS sensors are not necessarily better than CCD sensors. This is the case when Digital SLR cameras are used.

Zoom – Optical and Digital

Although zoom functions are provided in every camera, it is still important to know the type of zoom offered. There are two kinds of zoom, optical zoom and digital zoom. Optical zoom is offered only on a film camera, in which the camera lens actually moves in order to create the magnification. On the other hand, digital zoom utilize circuitry to produce larger size of image. To compare between these two types of zoom, the optical zoom can generally create a better image than the digital zoom (see picture above). However, the price of optical zoom is much more expensive than digital zoom but if you really want a quality picture, then the optical zoom should be a good choice for you.

There are still more features to come. Please stay tune to the part two of the terminology you should know.

As you begin looking for the new camera, there should be something that you have to ask yourself. By way of asking those questions, the answers that you have could ultimately give you a potential odd for getting the right camera for you and make your decision quicker. The following list is the basic criteria that I usually use for buying new digital camera. As your shopping continues, you can modify this list to suit your own needs.

Budget

Of course, I put this as the first criterion as it is probably the first thing I will consider. In reality, there are tons of digital cameras out there in the market with the difference in terms of size, shape and quality. So, to narrow down the list, you should consider what kind of camera you can afford to pay, given the specific budget that you have.

Size

Nowadays, as manufacturers try to put some modern technologies to digital cameras, they are as a result getting smaller in every year. What is good about this technological advancement is that it allows you to have more convenience since you are able to take the camera anywhere. However, some, especially men, may not like the small camera since handling camera and shooting photo could be uncomfortable. So, I would say that tiny body, grips and buttons may not necessarily be a good thing for everyone.

Features

Features are probably the most important things to consider when buying a new digital camera. Obviously, Megapixels is the one that will determine the price level of each digital camera. It will give you the resolution of photo, i.e. how much sharpness your camera is able to create.

The zooming ability is also important to consider. To determine the importance of this ability, you may have to think what occasion you need to use zoom and how often you would use. For example, when you go to wedding ceremony, do you usually shoot many wedding shots of bride and groom when you are in the back to the church or you just take the landscape photo inside? If you often take pictures of people (i.e. portrait pictures) or any specific objects, you may need to have high zooming ability. I advise you to think about this carefully as more zooming ability means more money spent.

Also, you should consider the quality of image when you buy digital camera. This is relatively difficult to judge but you can gain some more ideas from salespersons in camera shops. So, I think it is good to talk with them and keep asking questions that you may have.

Everyday Use

As I previously mentioned, you should always consider what kind of activities and where you will use the camera. Different kinds of events (such as indoor, outdoor, sports actions, landscape, portrait) require different kinds of cameras, lens and accessories. So, be true to yourself and try to express this to salespersons in store so that they will be able to help you find the right camera.

Others

When you have a plan to buy the new camera, you should find the camera that really does it for you. It is important not to go out shopping the camera with a brand name or buy it just because someone recommends to you. If your hands always shake, you may need an image stabilizer on your camera or lens. Also, some cameras have a function that can reduce a red eye.

In closing, you should carefully consider all of these criteria and features with the price or budget you can afford. Again, remember that realizing what you actually need or look for will help you get the camera that is right for you.