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23.08.12

Photography Monthly's tip week: Perfect portraits, tip 4

Photography Monthly portrait 4

Welcome to the fourth tip in our portrait themed week here at Photography Monthly.

Today’s tip is going to look at one of the most important elements of your portrait photography, the model:

Setting up your lighting, finding the right aperture and shutter speeds, is all very important, but it goes to pot if you don’t have the right model or you and your model don’t understand each other.

Tell your model exactly what you want from your shot so that each person knows their role and what they have to do to achieve the final image.

Make friends:

So firstly, respect is essential for a professional and smooth working environment. Listen to what your model says, they may have a lot of experience and good ideas to bring to the table, they’re not just a prop. Make sure they’re comfortable with the shoot setup and ask them for any suggestions.

Be relaxed:

Making your model feel at ease is also important, so offer for them to have their hair done, make-up for the women and talk them through their outfit if you’ve provided it. If they’re bringing their own try asking them to bring a few outfits to see what works best for your shoot.

Talk to them throughout the shoot; get them feeling relaxed and confident, you don’t want any stiff or forced poses. Keep encouraging them and their confidence should do all the rest.

These aren’t essential tips, as most models will already be at ease, but getting to know them through these ways and allowing them to get to know you will give you a better idea of what you can achieve in a shoot with that particular model.

Be professional:

Last but not least, always thank your model and possibly even arrange for another future shoot if you liked their style.

Upload your portrait images to our online gallery so we can see those confident models strutting their stuff.
 



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