Portrait photos are not difficult to take but do take some practice and skills.
This article will try to get you to take better portrait photos by providing some easy tips and techniques.
Gestures The gestures of the model you are taking portrait shots of must be authentic.
Unauthentic gestures will make the photos very fake and "canned".
You do not want this at all.
To get good gestures you must be sure that the model is relaxed and comfortable with you.
This is not that difficult with adults but with children it can be harder.
To get children more relaxed give them some candy, a coloring book, or a Barney stuffed animal.
If it's a young adult then give them Dark Wing Duck videos and their childhood memories will come back and they'll instantly relate to you.
Positioning You want to position the models body in an interesting yet realistic way.
You don't want crazy poses but something that is nice and pleasing to look at.
The best way to get better at posing models is to look at the model as a silhouette.
How would you take their picture if they were void of any details and one solid color.
This will get you to see the lines and shapes of their body and take better pictures of them.
Sometimes the best way to take pictures of people is when they don't realize you're taking pictures of them.
Talk to them and get them laughing and then shoot the photo.
That will be the most authentic.