Portrait Photography Tips

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Smoothen the Skin

June 12th, 2011

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In this article, we will be using Portrait Professional 9.0 software to smoothen the skin. Portrait Professional 9.0 can be installed as a plug-in to Adobe Photoshop or it can be installed as a standalone software. I am going to assume that you have already installed Portrait Professional 9.0 as a plug-in to Adobe Photoshop.

Procedures

Click Start>All Programs>Adobe Photoshop>Adobe Photoshop CS3. Adobe Photoshop CS3 starts up

Click File>Open or press Ctrl + O. The Open File dialog box opens

Select the file that you want to edit and click the Open button. The image is open in Photoshop

Click Ctrl + J to duplicate the current layer
Click Filter>Anthropics>Portrait Professional. Portrait Professional Software starts up

Select the gender of your subject in the portrait. In our example, we will select Female
Click on the left corner of the left eye

Click on the right corner of the right eye

Click on the tip of the nose

Click on the left corner of the mouth

Click on the right corner of the mouth

A dialog box appears. Click the OK button

Adjust the outlines of the left eye and eyebrow. Press the spacebar when finished

Adjust the outlines of the right eye and eyebrow. Press the spacebar when finished

A dialog box appears. Click the Mouth Closed or Mouth Opened button depending on whether the subject’s mouth is open or close. In this case, we will click the “Mouth Closed” button

Adjust the outline for the nose and mouth. Press the spacebar when finished

Adjust the outline of the face. Press the spacebar when finished

A dialog box appears. Click the OK button.

Move the slider on the right until you get the effect that you want. Click the Next button after you have finished. Choose the Save and Close from the drop down menu

Click File>Save or press Ctrl + S to save the image

To get more information on Portrait Professional 9.0, click here

Touch Up Armpits

June 5th, 2011

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In this article, we will be discussing how to touch up the subject’s armpits using Adobe Photoshop CS3.

Procedures

Click Start>All Programs>Adobe Photoshop>Adobe Photoshop CS3. Adobe Photoshop CS3 starts up

Click File>Open or press Ctrl + O. The Open File dialog box opens

Select the file that you want to edit and click the Open button. The image is open in Photoshop

Click Layer>Duplicate or press Ctrl + J to duplicate the current layer
Drag the Zoom Slider to the right and increase the zoom percentage to 100%
Select the Patch Tool by clicking on it. Make sure that you select the source radio button

Select the armpit area that you want to touch up

Drag and select another area that is near the armpit

Repeat until the armpit area look natural
Click File>Save or press Ctrl + S to save the image

Removing Eye Bags

May 29th, 2011

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In this article, we will be discussing how to remove the subject’s eye bags in Adobe Photoshop CS3.

Procedures

Click Start>All Programs>Adobe Photoshop>Adobe Photoshop CS3. Adobe Photoshop CS3 starts up

Click File>Open or press Ctrl + O. The Open File dialog box opens

Select the file that you want to edit and click the Open button. The image is open in Photoshop

Press Ctrl + Shift + N. The New Layer Dialog Box opens.

Enter “Eyebags” into the Name edit box and then click the OK button
Drag the Zoom Slider to the right and increase the zoom percentage to 100%
Select the Healing Tool Brush control by clicking on it.
Press Ctrl and select the area just below the eyebag
Left-click and hold the button and then paint over eyebag

Click File>Save or press Ctrl + S to save the file.

Processing Raw Images

May 22nd, 2011

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In this article, we will be discussing how to use Adobe Bridge to view the raw images and Adobe Camera Raw to process the raw images. The main purpose of processing raw images are to correct the white balance, adjust the exposure and save the raw images into a suitable format for further processing.

Procedures

Click Start>All Programs>Adobe Photoshop>Adobe Bridge CS3. Adobe Bridge starts up

Browse to the folder where you keep the raw files that you want to process in the folder panel on the left
Double click the raw file that you want to process in the content panel in the middle. The Adobe Camera Raw starts up

The first thing to adjust is the white balance. Select the white balance eyedropper and click on a part of the image that should be medium tone gray. Try to select a point where the values of the RGB are close to one another.
If the white balance is not what you want or doesn’t look correct to you, manually adjust the Temperature and Tint slider to get the white balance that you want or looks correct to you
After adjusting the white balance, we will adjust the exposure of the portrait. There are a few sliders that we can use to adjust the exposure of the portrait. The Exposure slider brightens or darkens the highlights in the portrait. The Blacks slider darkens the shadows in the portrait. The Brightness slider brightens or darkens the middle tones in the portrait without affecting the brightest and darkness tones. The Contrast slider increase or decrease the contrast in your portrait. The Fill Light slider allows you to brighten dark areas in the portrait as though you are firing fill flash into your portrait. The Recovery slider allows you to recovery some clipped highlights and restoring some details so that the originally overexposed area will not be completely white. Adjust the sliders until the exposure of the portrait is what you want or looks correct to you.
Click the link to Camera Raw’s workflow at the bottom of the Camera Raw window

The Workflow Options dialog box open

If you are going to save the file as Photoshop file, select Adobe RGB (1998) or ColorMatch RGB or ProPhoto RGB as the colour space. If you are going to save the file as JPEG, select sRGB as the colour space
Make sure that the Resolution is 300 pixels/inch and then click the OK button to close the Workflow Options dialog box
Click the Save button at the bottom right of the Camera Raw window and the Save Options dialog box open

Click the Select Folder button to open the Browse Folder dialog box. Select the directory where you want to save the file and then click the OK button
If you want to save the file as Photoshop file, select .psd as the File Extension. If you want to save the file as JPEG, select .jpeg as the File Extension and select 10 for Quality. Click the Save button to save the file.
Click the Cancel button at the bottom right of the Camera Raw window to close the Camera Raw window

Raw or JPEG

May 15th, 2011

admin

In all the DSLR cameras and many high end consumer cameras, the user can choose to shoot in raw or JPEG format. What exactly is the difference between raw and JPEG format?

When you capture image in raw format, the camera will store all the data that is collected by the image sensors without doing any processing to the image at all. When you capture image in JPEG format, the camera will carry out some image processing on the data that is collected by the image sensors, discard most of the data and then store the data.

There are both advantages and disadvantages to shooting in raw format:

Advantages

Able to edit the image further without degrading the image due to the wider dynamic range
Able to recover some details in the highlight
Able to change the white balance of the image without degrading the quality of the image. This is especially useful when shooting in indoor with mixed lighting.
Raw editing is non-destructive. No alterations are made to the original raw file.

Disadvantages

Raw files require more storage than JPEG files because raw file is bigger in size than JPEG file
There are no industry standard formats for raw files. For example, Nikon version of raw file is nef while Canon version of raw file is crw or cr2. The versions between the raw file created with different camera with the same brand will also be different. It might be possible that some image processor do not support these formats in the future.

Personally, I am shooting in raw format because the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages of shooting in raw. In the next article, we will discuss how to process raw images.

How to Communicate with Subject

May 8th, 2011

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A portrait photographer has a unique challenge compared to other photographers because it is the only gene of photography where the photographer has to communicate with the subject during the process of shooting the portrait. Therefore a portrait photographer needs to be comfortable dealing with people and be able to communicate effectively with the subject.

To make things worse, many people are afraid to have their portrait taken. The reason for this fear is that most subjects are not comfortable with the way they look. They gloss over the imperfections (both real and perceived) of their bodies. A fearful subject is not conducive to the creation of a good portrait and it is the portrait photographer’s job to make the subject feel comfortable in front of the camera.

In order to gain your subject’s trust and make them feel comfortable, try the following steps:

Compliment Your Subject

Once you meet your subject, try to find something about them to compliment. The reason to do this is that a happy subject is a more secure, relaxed subject and when someone is relaxed, they will look better.

One important point to note is that you must be sincere in your compliment. If you cannot find anything about your subject to compliment, then don’t try to fake it because your subject will be able to feel it.

Remember Your Subject’s Name

Try to remember your subject’s name so that you can personalizes your relationship with them. This will help to gain their trust and make it more comfortable for them to work with you to create a good portrait.

Talk to Your Subject

Talk to your subject during the shoot. Speak clearly and don’t mumble. Tell them what your plan is for the portrait session and get them involved in the process of creating the portrait. When the subject knows what is planned for the portrait session, they will also be less fearful and they will look better.

Offer Your Subject Praise

Praise your subject often so that they are more confidence of themselves and less concern about the imperfections of their body. It also keeps them more engaged in the portrait session.

Tone of Voice

The tone of your voice when you are talking to your subject should be soft and engaging so that your subject will feel important and they are the centre of your attention.

Crack Jokes

It is ok to crack jokes to lighten up the atmosphere during the shoot. However, do not crack sexual jokes because you will make them uncomfortable off during the shoot.

Squatting and Sitting Poses

May 1st, 2011

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Squatting Poses

Try to avoid shooting the subject directly from the front if she is in a squatting pose. There are two main reasons for avoiding it. The first reason is that if the subject is a female that is wearing a tight short skirt, you would have outrage her modesty. The second reason is that the thigh and calf are being squeezed together and cause them to “mushroom” and appear bigger in size when the subject is squatting and it is quite unsightly.

The correct way to shoot a subject when she is in a squatting pose is to shoot her directly from the side. This will avoid outraging her modesty and shooting in an angle that makes the thigh and calf look bigger in size.

The portrait below shows a subject in a squatting pose. Notice that the subject is being shot directly from the side.

As I have mentioned in the previous article on posing the thighs and legs, the thighs should be separated slightly. If you really need to shoot the subject in a squatting pose from a more frontal angle, try to get the subject to separate the thighs by resting one knee on the floor while holding the other knee in a higher position. You can pose the subject’s hand to obstruct the crotch area to protect the subject’s modesty if necessary.

The portrait below here shows the subject in a squatting pose where one knee is higher than the other.

Sitting Poses

If the subject is seated on the floor, the thighs should also be separated if possible. If the subject is wearing a short skirt, ask her to bring one leg over the top of the other leg. If pants are worn instead, ask the subject to bring the foot that is farther away from the camera back towards their body, lifting their knees and separating their thighs.

The principle of keeping the thighs apart still applies when the subject is seated on the staircase. This can be achieved by bending the two legs and spreading them apart.

In the portrait below, the subject is seating on the staircase. Notice how the two legs are bended and spread apart.

If the subject is seated on a chair, get her to sit on the edge of the chair instead of leaning onto the back of the chair. This will make it easier for her to straighten her back and flatten her stomach.

Similar to the squatting pose, try to avoid shooting the subject directly from the front. Try to get the subject to turn her knees away from the camera so that the crotch area will be hidden from the camera and it will also help to make the subject’s leg appear longer.

Posing the Thighs and Legs

April 24th, 2011

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Thighs

In standing poses, there should always be a slight separation between the thighs. This can be accomplished by asking the subject to put one foot up on something, for example, a step or turning the body toward the shadow side of the frame and put his or her weight on the leg that is closest to the camera.

In the portrait below, the subject’s thigh is separated by putting one of her foot on a step

When the subject’s thighs are separated in any poses, you need to make sure that the crotch is not facing the camera directly. You can either pose the hand to obstruct the crotch area or move yourself and take the portrait at another angle instead.

In the portrait below, the subject uses her right hand to obstruct the crotch area

Legs

Legs will appear toned when the calf muscles are flexed and visible. By asking the subject to raise their heels, they will naturally flex their calf muscles and their legs will appear more shapely. One way to achieve this naturally is to ask the subjects to wear high heels shoes.

In standing poses, the weight should never be even distributed between the two legs. The leg that is supporting the body weight is called the support leg while the other leg is called the accent leg.

Try to get the subject to place her weight at the ball instead of at the heel of the supporting leg as this will give her better balance.

To reduce the work in posing the legs by half, concentrate on posing the accent leg once you have posed the support leg so that you only have to pose one leg instead of two.

There are many ways to pose the accent leg. One of the common ways to pose the accent leg is to get the subject to point the feet of the accent leg at the floor lightly as this will also naturally flex their calf muscle and make her leg appear longer, more shapely and more beautiful. Make sure that the toes are resting on the surface of the shoes and not sticking up or curling under due to nervousness.

In the portrait below, the subject point the feet of the accent (leg) leg at the floor lightly. Notice that the subject is wearing a pair of high heel shoe which flex her calf muscles and make her legs appear more shapely.

Another way to pose the accent leg includes crossing the accent leg in front of the supporting leg. One key point to note is that the subject’s thighs should be touching each other lightly only. If the thighs are squeezing each other tightly, it will cause the thighs to “mushroom” and appear bigger in size.

Other ways of posing the accent leg include lifting up the accent leg. If the accent leg is lifted up to the supporting leg’s knee height, it creates a cute image. If the accent leg is lifted up to the supporting leg’s calf height, it creates a more feminine image.

In the portrait below, the subject’s accent leg is lifted up to the supporting leg’s knee height. Notice the subject’s cute expression that is matching the cute image created by the pose.

Posing the Bustline and Waistline

April 17th, 2011

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Bustline

A portrait photographer can choose to either hide or enhance the bustline. It really depends on the subject. If the subject has a big bustline and is proud of it, you can try to enhance it in the portrait. If the subject do not have a big bustline or is not very comfortable about showing it, you can try to hide it in the portrait.

If you want to enhance the subject’s bustline, get the subject to wear a V-neck shirt that displays the cleavage clearly. If you want to hide the subject’s bustline, get the subject to wear clothing that covers up the cleavage.

For the bustline of a female subject, the size is determined by the appearance of the shadow in the cleavage area or the shadow cast underneath the bustline. To increase the shadow in the cleavage area, ask the subject to turn away from the main light. Conversely, to reduce the appearance of the bustline, reduce the shadow in the cleavage area by asking the subject to turn towards the main light.

Another way to enhance the bustline is to ask the subject to lean her upper body slightly forward while posing.

The portrait belows show how the subject’s bustline is enhanced when the subject leans her upper body slightly forward. Notice that the subject is wearing a V-neck shirt that displays the cleavage.

Another way to enhance the subject’s bustline is to pose the hand and place it near the chest so that it will lead the viewer’s eyes to the cleavage. Conversely, you can hide the subject’s bustline by posing the hand and place it such that it covers up the cleavage.

The portrait below show how the hand can be posed to enhance the bustline. Notice that the subject’s right hand is placed near the chest to lead the viewer’s eye to the bustline.

The portrait below shows how the hand can be posed to hide the bustline. Notice that the subject’s is placed across the chest to hide her bustline

Waistline

As I have mentioned in the previous article on posing the shoulders, arms and hands, by turning the shoulder at an angle to the camera, the subject will appear thinner. So the same logic applies here also. By turning the waist at an angle to the camera, the waistline will appear thinner also.

By turning the waist at an angle to the camera, the shoulders will follow suit and naturally turn at an angle to the camera. In fact, if the subject tried to turn the shoulder without turning the waist, she will feel very uncomfortable and distorted. Therefore, the subject should try to start the turn the body at the waist and the shoulder will follow naturally.

A common problem with the waistline is that the subject will naturally have a bulging stomach when they are relaxed. Try to remind them constantly to “suck in” their stomach.

Another common problem with the waistline occurs when the subject is seated and the folds of skin will appear. There are three ways to fix this problem. First, get the subject to straighten their back. This will stretch the area and flatten the stomach. The second solution is to wear clothing that is not too fitting. In the circumstances where the subject is wearing less clothing, for example, bikini, the third solution would be to pose the hand cover up the stomach area.

Posing the Shoulders, Arms and Hands

April 10th, 2011

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For novice portrait photographers, it is very important to learn how to pose the five areas of the body (face, neck, shoulders, arms and hands) well because if you cannot even pose this five areas of the body properly, there is no way you can pose the whole body properly.

Shoulder

The widest view of any person is when the person is squared off directly to the camera. By turning the shoulders at an angle to the camera, you make the subject appear thinner and almost all female subjects would like to look as thin as possible!

A subject’s shoulders form the compositional base for every head-and-shoulders pose. The line of the shoulders should not form a horizontal line through the frame. Instead, the line of the shoulders should form a diagonal line through the frame because a diagonal line makes the portrait more interesting and the subject will appear less rigid.

In the portrait below, the subject’s shoulders are turn at an angle to the camera and the line of the shoulders form a diagional line through the frame.

Arms

In general, the arms should be posed away from the body to define the waistline. When the arms are allowed to hang down to the side of the subject, the body isn’t define and it makes the body appear wider. When the elbows are away from the body, the waistline will appear smaller.

Any time weight is put onto the arms (by resting them on the back of a chair, the knee, etc), it should be placed on the elbow. If weight is placed on the forearm instead, it will cause the forearm to mushroom and appear larger in size.

If necessary, the arms can also be posed to hide problem areas such as the neck, waistline, or hips. For example, if the subject has a not-so-flat stomach, the arms can be placed around the stomach to cover it up.

In the portrait below, the subject places her right hand around the stomach to prevent the folds of skin at the stomach from appearing.

Hands

Place the body and arms where you want them, then find a place for the hands to rest or something for them to hold. If you place the hand on the face, remind the subject not to apply too much pressure onto the face. Instead, just place the hand lightly on the face instead.

The portrait below is an example where the subject place her hand lightly on the face

Having the subject hold something is a good way to pose the hands. So you may need to prepare some props before the shoot. Try not to leave the hands dangling. Instead, give them something to do even if it’s just one hand lightly grasping the other.

When male subjects have their hands in a fist, it should be a relaxed fist and female subjects should never have the hand in a complete fist. If a female subject is to rest her head on a closed hand, try to get her to extend her index finger straight along the face.