Tips for Creative Composition in Portrait Photography
One of the simplest ways of giving your portraits more impact is to vary the composition and poses you use. If you always have the person standing in the middle, your pictures are quickly going to be as predictable as another re-run of Last of the Summer Wine.
So ring the changes, starting with where you place your subject in the frame – don’t always have someone dead centre. Experiment a little, and find out what happens when you place them more to one side. Just a slight change can make a big difference to the equilibrium of the picture and a viewer’s experience of it.One of the best-known compositional rules is the rule of thirds, where you divide the picture up into nine squares. If you frame the shot so the person occupies 2/3 of the picture, it will be dynamic but still in balance. As you move them further to the side, so the sense of drama increases.
The same is true if you place them lower in the picture, with more space above them than would be normal. The important thing to remember is that when it comes to composition there are no rights and wrongs; it’s all subjective. If it looks good to you and has impact, go with it.
You can create more interest by changing your height in relation to the person. If you lie down and look up at them, or find an elevated area and look down at them, the effect will be completely different. With the first approach you will make them look tall, elongating the legs and the body; in the second approach, the head will be the most prominent thing, with the body and legs receding.
You might also consider a diagonal composition (typically the digital camera needs to be tipped 30 to 45 degrees from the horizontal). When done well it can really strengthen the appeal of an image.
Tagged with: Creative Composition • Creative Photography • Diagonal Composition • Equilibrium • Portrait Photography • Portraits • Rule Of Thirds
Filed under: Photography Tips
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