People have been the theme of several prize-winning photographs from time to time. However, portrait photography is not as simple as clicking a button on the camera; instead it is about bringing one person or a group of persons come alive in a picture by depicting them in their splendour.

A good portrait photograph attains a non-conventional look by freezing the subject from an exclusive camera angle and in a mood that is representative of the subject. However, typical family or single person portraits are also clicked and they are popular for family albums.

The most important thing in a portrait photograph is the close up, and the face of the subject must come out sharply in it. This can be attained by tuning camera settings to blur the person’s background so that his or her face receives the maximum focus. This task of focussing the face becomes simpler with a camera having a wide aperture. However, in some portraits where the person needs to be seen as part of the background, especially in photographs taken out in the open, a standard aperture serves the objective better.

Without sufficient light available to shoot, photographers find it hard to take a good image. However, by following some basic photography guidelines, a good portrait photograph can be obtained. If the subject is made to sit near a window in a posture in which the sun’s rays fall only partly on the face, then the image normally ends up looking quite good. To ensure that the other side does not appear dark, a reflective medium such as a white sheet can be employed. However, portrait photography is best done in studios as lights can be regulated there.

The last but perhaps the most significant feature of portrait photography is to ensure that the subject feels at home. If the subject doesn’t feel comfortable while being shot and doesn’t pose naturally, then even the highest quality camera and lighting technology will fail to do justice to the portrait.

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