People photography: composition tips for shooting any portrait style

jmeyer | Photography Tips | Portraits | 19/10/2012 16:26pm

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What are you looking at?

This simple-looking shot provided us with a compositional dilemma. Should we have our model looking at the Valentine’s Day gifts, or at the camera?

The obvious answer would have been to get her to look at the flowers to reinforce them as the image’s main point of interest. But actually, they’re not.

What we’re really photographing here is the girl’s excitement in receiving the flowers. We therefore need the flowers and her face to be joint focal points.

The flowers gain prominence by their striking colours and novelty value, but our subject’s face catches our attention because of the direct eye contact. This contact lets us share in her excitement.

To capture your subject’s direct eye contact, just call out their name, press the shutter button and your special moment is recorded forever!

PAGE 1: How to hold the camera
PAGE 2: Set up a home studio for people photography
PAGE 3: Direction of gaze
PAGE 4: What are you looking at?
PAGE 5: Find the right background for your people photography
PAGE 6: Using the sky as a background
PAGE 7: Composing light and dark elements