Portrait and Headshot Photography tips from Rory Lewis

“Described by the British Film Institute as one of the most versatile English actors of his generation, David Morrissey is noted for the meticulous preparation and research he undertakes for his roles – you may have seen him in the hit BBC drama series, Sherwood,” Rory explains.

“I captured David’s portrait for a new project entitled Selah, drawing inspiration from the Old Master painters such as Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Titian and Ribera. I have attempted to masterfully recreate the light, atmosphere and tones of classical portrait paintings.

“I like to call this position the hero shot; positioning the subject side on, looking across their shoulder. I am positioned slightly lower, thus making David look tall and prominent.”

Studio lighting can seem daunting if you have never tried it before, but as Rory explains, “It’s not nearly as scary as most people think. To my mind, it’s all about keeping things simple. Most of my portrait sittings are like this one, using just one or two lights. Here, I used two Profoto B10 heads, with two Small Octa Softboxes.

“One was behind at 220 degrees right, and the other was in front of David, again to the right at 140 degrees. I also used a Manfrotto 1×1 Skylight Rapid to the left to tone down the shadows.”

David was captured at 1/100 sec, f/7.1, ISO 100. “I never deviate from either f/5.6 or 7.1 in my portraits, using the medium format Hasselblad X1D II 50C camera,” adds Rory. “These apertures deliver great depth and detail.”

Rory Lewis’s top portrait photography tips:

1. Find compelling subjects – “You are nothing without a compelling subject. Try creating a theme or project. This could be a member of the family who has a story to tell, or someone in your community.”
2. Be inspired by fine art – “My style is influenced by Renaissance portraiture and ‘chiaroscuro’ – a technique which uses strong tonal contrasts between light and dark to model three-dimensional forms.” See our top fine art portrait photography tips
3. Keep lighting simple – “As mentioned, most of my portrait sittings utilise just one or two lights. Try this simple set-up yourself – position one flash head with a shoot-through umbrella at a 45° angle to the model, at about six feet high. This creates a strong, hard, direct light from the side and above. I guarantee this will create vivid results.”

Rory Lewis won the Portrait of Britain award for four years in a row and is a National Portrait Gallery BAME artist. He also runs courses and mentorship programmes.

See more of Rory’s work on his website and Instagram.

Fashion and Editorial Portrait Photography tips from Gigi Umbrasaite

Luke Clark

“This shot of Luke Clark was taken in Greenwich, London, on a sunny day that had intermittent, crazy downpours. We ended up in a pub for shelter until the showers passed over. While we were sitting and waiting, I noticed the light coming through the window right next to our table and just decided to snap some portraits.

“I was shooting on an 85mm lens, so I needed to be far back from Luke, but just the end of the table was enough distance to frame him for a portrait. With enough light coming in and some shadows from being indoors, I decided to turn this shot black & white to give it a little more of a cinematic feel.

“I made minor adjustments to the exposure in Lightroom followed by minimal skin retouching (dodge and burn) to lighten up shadows under Luke’s eyes, nose and lips in Photoshop.”

Kateryna Zub

“This shot of Kateryna Zub was taken in Hyde Park, London. It was a gloomy day, but in this case, it was working well for us as it added to the mood. As always, I look for interesting backgrounds that will complement my subject. I spotted reed sweet-grass that was already dry and a golden colour that beautifully matched Kateryna’s hair, giving us lovely, earthy tones.

“I framed some of the grass just in front of my lens to add interest and create more depth. This also gave the appearance of a location of fields in the countryside; not the heart of London.

“I used Lightroom to apply a small amount of colour correction and tweaked the shadows and exposure. This was followed by some minor skin retouching in Photoshop. Kateryna’s skin didn’t needed much; minimal dodge and burn was enough to lift the shadows.”

Pelle Frederiksen

“This portrait of Pelle Frederiksen was taken in the Lancaster Gate area of Hyde Park in London. It was a bright, sunny day so the light was harsh which meant we had to find some shade. I spotted a beautiful tree that was covered in white blossom that I thought would be nice to include in the portrait. I wanted to capture some of the light peeking through the tree, so we decided to do a shot lying down on a bed of grass and white blossom that had fallen off the tree.

“I also made use of the shadow from Pelle’s hand that dropped right across his face helping to block the sun and keep his eyes open. This took quite a few attempts but I think we nailed the shot. I made minimal Lightroom exposure and colour correction followed by Photoshop dodge and burn. I like to keep my natural light portraits with as minimal editing as possible, always making sure my shots are 99% spot on when I take them.”

Gigi Umbrasaite’s top portrait photography tips:

1. Cloudy mode: This is my favourite top tip to achieve warmer tones, especially shooting in England with weather being so unpredictable and often grey. By selecting the Cloudy White Balance mode on your camera, you can warm up your images and make your model look livelier and more youthful.
2. Diffuse the light: As I mainly shoot outdoors, I find shooting on sunny days to be a little tricky without getting strong shadows, burnt-out highlights and squinty eyes. Always look for some shade and light bounce. In bright situations I like to look for lighter-coloured backgrounds so images can still look nice and bright but without the harsh light. If you have a spare hand or an assistant, you can always use a portable diffuser/reflector.
3. Be precise and intentional: Treat your natural light portrait session like a film camera, where every shot counts. Take your time to compose your shot and make sure the lighting is just right before pressing the shutter. As soon as you get the shot, move from that pose, location or change the outfit for the next shot. This way you minimise your shutter count and speed up your time on set. Working in this way will also save you time later so you don’t need to go through thousands of images. Quality over quantity.

Gigi is a Lithuanian fashion and portrait photographer based in Brighton. She grew up in a family of photographers and started shooting from an early age. After finishing school in Lithuania, Gigi moved to study in England where her photography career took off. Now Gigi is working with magazines, fashion and commercial brands, and modelling agencies all over the world. She is also a member of the the UK Portraits team, part of Shooters. See www.gg-photo.com or @ggphotographyofficial

Fashion and Beauty Portrait Photography tips from Jade Keshia Gordon

WMNS

“This (below) was taken on a shoot for a fashion campaign for the spring/summer collection of clothes brand WMNS WEAR,’ recalls Jade. The theme of the campaign was ‘Euphoria’.

“The model, Lay, was placed close to a white wall in the studio. The wall was lit by two, colour-adjustable RGB LED panel lights placed at 45 degrees on either side of the model, which were set to bright purple. A white spotlight was then projected onto the model from the front and slightly to the left of the model.

“The effect of this was to create a strong, hard purple shadow in a white circle on the background. Jade took this shot using an EF 8-15mm f/4 L Fisheye on a Canon EOS R5, via the RF adapter, and used an exposure of 1/125sec at f/4 at ISO 320. Because she was shooting so close to the model, this made the placement of the spotlight quite tricky. We needed it to be as close to the front of the model as possible but without getting my shadow in the shot too.”

Jade Keshia Gordon’s top portrait photography tips:

1. Experiment with spotlights – The use of a spotlight has created a visually striking image, enhanced by the use of coloured background lights which created the coloured shadow. “Spotlights like this one are expensive but you can get a similar effect with a digital or slide projector,” Jade advises. “They won’t be as bright but you can shoot at a higher ISO to compensate.”
2. Try using a wide-angle lens – “Some people think you have to shoot portraits with short telephoto lenses but wIde-angles are very common in fashion photography. They’re great for when you want to accentuate the shape and style of a garment. I shot this using the 24-70mm lens too, but it didn’t have the same vibe as with the fisheye.”
3. Use colour creatively – “Colourful backgrounds can really make a portrait ‘pop’ but you need to take care to ensure that they complement the subject’s skin tone and clothing rather than clashing with them. Use coloured walls or dedicated colour backdrops, or colour a white or grey wall using gels over your lights, or RGB LED lights with variable colours.”

Jade Keshia Gordon is a London-based fashion and beauty photographer who has shot for the likes of Nike and Canon. Her work has appeared in magazines including Forbes and Elle.

See more of Jade’s work on her website and Instagram.

Model portrait photography tips from Darren Boyd

Athena

As I composed this portrait of Athena, I aimed to capture her strength and femininity. Using a low angle, I created a sense of height and power while still highlighting her natural beauty. To make Athena stand out even more, I utilised the power of bokeh to separate her from the background and draw the viewer’s attention to her. Using my trusty Nikon Z6 camera and 85mm f/1.2 lens, I captured every detail of Athena’s features, resulting in a stunning image that perfectly showcases her beauty and strength as a model. To enhance the shot, I used a single octagon softbox to create a soft, flattering light highlighting Athena’s left side.

Additionally, I carefully positioned her so that the sun backlit her body, adding depth and dimension to the image. This portrait is a true testament to the power of thoughtful lighting, composition, and creative photography techniques. I am incredibly proud of the result and thrilled to have captured Athena’s full range of beauty and strength in a single shot.

Stephen Manas

“In a London car park, I captured the essence of Stephen Manas, an actor from the Emmy-winning Apple TV series Ted Lasso, through a commissioned headshot that’s breathtaking. Using only natural light, I accentuated the contours of Manas’ face, creating a striking separation from the background with my Nikon 85mm f/1.8 lens and a powerful depth of field. But it was in post-processing with Affinity Photo on my trusty iPad Pro where I worked my magic.

“The eyes are the windows to the soul, and in Manas’ piercing gaze, I found a profoundly intimate and meaningful connection. I captured Manas’ unique essence in a captivating and unforgettable portrait by drawing the viewer in with his engaging stare. The final image is a testament to the power of photography to capture not just the subject’s likeness but also the very essence of their being. It’s a striking and dramatic portrait that leaves a lasting impression on anyone who beholds it.”

Massay

“As I arrived for my planned photoshoot with Courtney Massay, a talented male model, I was excited to capture his unique personality in the urban environment of Liverpool Street, London. As a photographer who loves to push the boundaries and create innovative and creative shots, I was determined to find a way to showcase Massay’s bold and confident vibe.

“We started the shoot with Massay sitting on the steps, and I immediately saw the opportunity to use the metal railings as a framing device. I wanted to create a gritty, urban feel reflecting his edgy and masculine style. As we continued the shoot, I played with different angles and perspectives to find the perfect shot to capture Massay’s unique energy and personality.

“Finally, the moment arrived, and I snapped the shot that would become the centrepiece of the shoot. The framing was perfect, with the metal railings adding an edgy and urban vibe that perfectly complemented Massay’s personality. The image captured his raw vitality and bold confidence, creating a powerful and unforgettable portrait that genuinely reflected his spirit. I was thrilled with the result and proud to have captured the essence of this dynamic and inspiring male model.”

Darren Boyd’s top portrait photography tips

1. It’s in the eyes: Capturing details of the eyes is crucial in portrait photography. Use a wide aperture for a shallow depth of field and ensure the eyes are in sharp focus.
2. Experiment: Don’t be afraid to shoot at different angles. Experimenting with angles can create a unique perspective and add variety to your portraits.
3. Natural framing: Experiment with framing. Use objects in the environment to create a natural frame around your subject. This can add depth and draw attention to the subject. Try different aspect ratios for added visual interest.

Darren is an award-winning photographer based in London and Hampshire, specialising in hyper-realistic portraits that make a connective impact. Darren works with actors and models to create stunning and impactful imagery. To see more of his work, visit www.boydvisuals.com or @boydvisuals

Commercial Portrait Photography tips from Sam Nash

Ballerina

“This shot of dancer Kate Byrne was achieved using the Rotolight AEOS 2 in an indoor abandoned shaft studio which had multiple floors and shooting locations within it. The model was framed neatly within the bricks which I lit up with an orange filter chosen from the 2,500 digital filters that were available.

“At times, the colours chosen are purely aesthetic to match the wardrobe, as well as the ambience of the shoot. I set up another AEOS 2, set to 40% power, inside the new Rotolight P90 parabolic soft dome placed six feet from Kate to give a beautiful key light on her. I used a Sony Alpha 1 camera with a 50mm F1.2 GM lens.”

Kesha

“Kesha appeared in James Bond’s last outing, No Time to Die. This shot was achieved using just one Rotolight NEO 3. It was shot outdoors in an alley.

“Using continuous LED lighting was essential, as this shot was taken in the evening. A perfectly lit shot controls the shadows in the portrait, making a shot like this more visually interesting and dynamic. The chosen location set the mood and the model’s pose was strategic – it could have been more mundane had the model looked directly into the camera. I used a Sony A1 camera with a 50mm F1.2 GM lens.”

Black dress

“This shot, of model Katia Valerievna, was achieved using one Rotolight NEO 3, positioned 45 degrees from the model, during London Fashion Week.

“The NEO 3 was set at about 36% output. Time was of the essence, so I had to move quickly between shots as there were many people on location. By placing my model on the steps, it gave a 3D sense of depth to my subject, and it allowed the contrasting colours between the model’s dress and the environment to really pop and achieve a dusky, romantic feel to the image.

I used a Sony Alpha 1 camera with a 50mm F1.2 GM lens.”

Sam’s top portrait photography tips:

1. Choosing locations – With outdoor shooting the choice of location is vital, but I rarely pre-plan as I find my creativity is heightened by exploring locations during a shoot. But do have a clear concept of the ambiance and general atmosphere that you want.
2. Use LED lighting – The source of light is key in creating a successful portrait image. It sets the tone and mood. For me, continuous LED lights make the most sense with modern cameras. My Rotolight NEO and AEOS lights are powerful and the 16.7 million colours allow me to light my subject in various unique ways.
3. Compose carefully – Perfecting your composition is the single most important skill in capturing the perfect portrait. Learn to master lines, depth, shapes, framing, and point of view; all help relay the message of the photograph. It is also what makes your image pop. Remove as many elements in a scene as you can to avoid clutter in picture. This keeps the shot simple so nothing distracts from your subject.

Sam Nash is a London-based portrait photographer who started out shooting events before progressing to commercial photography – shooting ad campaigns for magazines, retail, and lifestyle shoots. He now focuses solely on portrait and fashion photography as he found his true passion lies there.

See more of Sam’s work on his website and Instagram.

Creative portrait photography guidance from Therese Asplund

Empowered

“I wanted to create an image that portrayed the feeling of confidence and beauty you sometimes feel just by putting on a red lipstick. By using a red backdrop lit with two Elinchrom ONE strobes with red gels attached and no light on the model, I created a wonderful silhouette to play with. The mouth area was lit by an Elinchrom FIVE with an optical snoot.

“To create shape, I used a dress with a lot of volume in the skirt, and paper plates to build the headpiece. Posing the hands and the fingers were very important to create the right character and I tried a lot of variations before I got the result I was after. The image is shot with Nikon Z 9 and a Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. The model is Alice Vestman and I did the styling.”

Fisheye

“I love to create images with a lot of humour and play with words when giving them a title. This is Alice and her pet fish, Mr Raj. The idea for the image came from Alice complaining about how easy it was for her friends, who had cats, dogs, and horses, to get nice images with their pets. I love a challenge and came up with this idea so she could have an unforgettable portrait with her pet.

“The blue colour theme comes from the fish and the styling is inspired by the waves of the ocean and acrobatic swimmers. The lighting is one Elinchrom ELC1000 in a clam light set-up, centred up high, with a white reflective screen under to lift the shadows. The image is shot with a Nikon Z 9 and a Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. The model is Alice Vestman and I did the styling.

Safe from the Waves

“During the Covid lockdown, I set myself a challenge to create the same fine art portraits that I normally shoot in the studio, but under water, using my studio flashes to capture the same painterly light. I struggled a lot with the lighting because as soon as it hit the surface of the water it spread in all directions, which made it hard to avoid too much light on the background.

“This was pretty much the only good image I got from my first session despite shooting for three hours. What finally did the trick was using a backlight as my main light and one gentle fill light to lift the shadows just a little bit. For the main light I used an Elinchrom ELB1200 to get maximum power and to be able to shoot with a small aperture to block out the ambient light. The fill is an Elinchrom ELB500. The story is that no matter how busy, scary, and loud the world is around us, under the surface everything is calm, comforting, and quiet.”

Therese Asplund’s top portrait photography tips:

1. Be prepared: Have a plan set before the model arrives. This will get you off to a great start and saves the model waiting around. Test the light and ensure you have the right settings on your camera. If you can, use yourself or an assistant to stand in and test the lighting. That way you can tweak it without any pressure to ensure the shoot runs smoothly.
2. Focus all your attention on the model: This is especially important when shooting people that are not used to being in front of the camera. It is crucial that you make them feel safe and comfortable and for that they often need your full attention. Give direction, be encouraging and make sure to have a lot of eye contact.
3. Light, light, light!: Photography means painting with light and to get a great portrait you need to understand how different kinds of light affect the character of the face. Whether you shoot with natural or artificial light always choose it with care. Sometimes shifting your position, or the model’s, by just a few inches gives you a whole new light with a completely different feel.

Therese is an award-winning Swedish portrait photographer who loves working with people. Whether she is in the studio shooting portraits, out doing commercial work, or working on one of her own art projects, it is always with the same passion and dedication. She is also an ambassador for Nikon and Elinchrom. To see more of her work, visit www.thereseasplund.com and on Instagram @photographerthereseasplund

Tips for portraits of influential people from Peter Searle

Ncuti Gatwa

This lift at the BFI, London, was the perfect location for this portrait shoot with actor Ncuti Gatwa because the red contrasted nicely with the daylight coming in through a glass entrance lobby which was supplemented by a huge backlit panel of strip lights. Fortuitously the setting is in keeping with his forthcoming role as the new Doctor Who.

I shot Ncuti with a Fujifilm GFX 50S camera and 63mm lens. Settings were 1/100sec at f/2.8, ISO 160.

Runyararo Mapfumo

“Runyararo is the director of the hugely successful Netflix show, Sex Education. For this portrait I placed her in the shade under an overhang of concrete architecture. Soft light bounced off buildings behind my back

I shot Runyaro with a Fujifilm GFX 50S camera and 45mm lens. Settings were 1/500sec at f/8, ISO 160.”

Prya Kansara

“Prya’s TV credits include Bridgerton and Polite Society. I photographed her at BFI, London. With the table at just the right distance from the large windows in the BFI, she is exposed perfectly, but so are the warm illumination of the bar lights.

“I shot Prya with a Fujifilm GFX 50S camera and 45mm lens. The settings were 1/30sec (on a tripod) at f/2.8, ISO 320.”

Peter Searle’s top portrait photography tips:

1. Use indirect light – Look for directional indirect daylight. Avoid direct sunlight. The light should preferably be at your back and hitting the subject approximately horizontally, or at least not a high angle, which creates shadows under the eyes. A good example of this kind of light is sunlight bouncing off a white wall. The wall becomes a giant soft box behind your back.
2. Choose the background – Find a background that has that kind of light falling on it and which most interests you or suits the subject. I personally like geometrical shapes and the texture of concrete but I also look out for warm tungsten-lit backgrounds to contrast with cooler daylight temperatures or vice versa.
3. Balancing exposure – Balance the exposure on the subject and on the background by moving the subject towards the oncoming light or away from it. For example, imagine a subject standing just inside a garage door; the further in you go with your subject, the brighter the back of the garage will be.

Peter Searle makes portraits of some of the most influential people in British society: Prime Ministers, CEOs, opera stars and generals. He is London-based but shoots all over the world, and has work in the permanent collection of The National Portrait Gallery. Although Peter uses flash sometimes, here are his tips for working with available light.

See more of Peter’s work on his website and Instagram.

Street Portrait tips from Robert Huggins

Couple in Hackney

“I asked this couple to move in to the light slightly, and thought this was an ideal background. You can’t move around people too much or they get bored, but I sometimes ask subjects to adjust their hands. I shot this on a Leica SL. There was minimal editing apart from a square crop, which I like for this kind of portrait.”

Couple in cafe

“Most of my photos are of interesting-looking strangers or intriguing situations. The background and setting are crucial, and I work all this out before asking the person for a shot. This couple were embracing in a cafe as I passed, which caught my eye, so I asked them to recreate this for the shot. It turned out the guy had just declared his love for the first time!

“My work is more about informal portraits of people rather than street candids, but I don’t want to have to re-arrange the shot at a later date. I like the spontaneity of the moment. I find people are generous with their time, but only for about three or four shots, and then they lose interest – so I have to work fast. This was shot on my Leica SL2 and a 35mm Summicron lens.”

Hackney market

“I explained to this burka-clad lady that I really liked her eyes. I wanted to make sure that as a Muslim woman, she was okay with being photographed, and she also phoned her husband to check (sometimes very orthodox Muslim people are fine about being photographed, sometimes not).

“Then I asked her to move against this background, as it was a busy market with lots of distractions. There is often humour in my images, and I liked the rug she was holding – an interesting juxtapositon. The light was very bright that day so I had to do more editing than usual. Again, shot on the SL2 with 35mm lens.”

Robert Huggins’ top portrait photography tips:

1. Subject first – Don’t get hung up on equipment or getting a technically perfect shot. My photography is much more about the subject, not the gear, but I like the idea of having a high- precision tool, which is why I use the Leica SL2. The Summicron 35mm lens is perfect for my work.
2. Work fast – I adjust the aperture, but otherwise am happy to shoot in automatic modes. I need to work fast and don’t have time to adjust lots of settings.
3. Editing – I keep editing to the minimum – one of the great things about the SL2 is it seems to make framing easier. As well as cropping, I might also push the colours and highlights and contrast etc in Lightroom.
4. Suck it up – You should get used to rejection if strangers refuse to be shot – don’t take it personally. It’s like asking people out when you are a teenager! I tell people about my Instagram page rather than giving them my card, as they can see what my work’s about.

Robert Huggins is a roving street portrait photographer living in north-east London. He focuses on impromptu street portraits, particularly around the East End. Robert’s images have been published widely and appear in several editions of Portrait of Britain and Portrait of Humanity. See Instagram @rafhuggins

See more of Robert’s work on his Instagram.

Check out our guide to Street Photography.

Child Portraits by Iwona Podlasińska

Adam, 2017

“I asked my son Adam, who was just three then, to look at the cakes through the glass, which he only did for three seconds – enough for me to get the shots.

“The portrait was taken entirely in the natural ambient light of the bakery, with light also coming in from the case. At the time, I was shooting with the Sony A7, using an 85mm f/1.4. Editing involved removing a distracting price tag from the bottom left of the image and then just doing the usual tweaks in Lightroom to boost contrast etc.”

Adam on the bed

“Adam was seven when I took this portrait (below). I was preparing for a photo shoot and wanted to test some new ideas. So I brought an album for him to look at, and a desk lamp. I didn’t give him any instructions other than to lie down (Adam is very relaxed in front of the camera if he is comfortable).

“The lamp was not enough to light up Adam’s face, and the only window in the room was behind him on the right, so I added a small LED video light in front of him. I used a warm setting, around 3000K. The image was shot on a Sony A7 III with a 50mm f/1.4 lens. The Lightroom edits involved some exposure corrections and colour grading to emphasise the lovely colour harmony.”

Jan, Kraków Market

“This shows my older son Jan, who was four then, feeding pigeons on the square. Like most of my images of my kids, the shot wasn’t planned. As Jan fed the pigeons, it started to rain, and it was quite technically challenging because I was shooting with a manual 85mm f/1.4 lens on a Sony A7.

“Everything came through sharp, however. The light was entirely natural and I edited the image in Lightroom and Photoshop – I cropped the original image from the right and added a part of another image on the left to improve the composition (initially, the frame would end right behind the pigeon’s wings on the left). Then I also colour graded the image to get that orange-blue complementary harmony.”

Iwona Podlasińska’s top portrait photography tips:

1. The light comes first – Look for attractive light first, and then think about how to get your subject in that light.
2. Don’t force it with kids – Never force children to pose. Let them play and be themselves – you will get better, more natural-looking poses this way, and the kids won’t hate you and your camera!
3. Don’t rely on editing – Pay attention to the background. Shallow depth of field can help with background distractions but if necessary, look for another location – Photoshop is still not great when it comes to blurring-out backgrounds in a convincing way.

Based in Kielce, Poland, Iwona Podlasińska specialises in child portraits and is an expert in colour grading. She’s in high demand, despite only starting out in 2013, and travels around the world teaching, as well as creating online tutorials. Her latest book, Dreamy Childhood Portraits, was published in 2021.

See more of Iwona’s work on her website and Instagram.

Get started with portrait photography here.

Need more portrait photography advice? Check these out:

• Best cameras for portrait photography
• How to take portraits on a smartphone
• The best lenses for portrait photography
• Better portraits on a budget
• How to Shoot Portrait Photos at Home
• How to take really beautiful fashion portraits

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The post Best portrait tips from the pros appeared first on Amateur Photographer.

If you’re out to shoot portraits, picking the right lens is even more important than picking the right camera. After all, you’re dealing with human subjects. A tree doesn’t mind if you take an unflattering picture of it; a wild animal won’t refuse to hire you again if you make it look silly. People, on the other hand… well, let’s just say it pays to get the shoot right first time.

With so many lenses out there, and so many different camera systems to use them with, narrowing down the best lenses for portrait photography has been a tough beat. This list is well populated – we’ve tried to stick to sensibly priced lenses that most people will realistically be able to buy and use, though a few premium options are included for those blessed with cash…

…for others less so, we have a dedicated guide to the best budget portrait lenses.

How to choose the best lenses for portrait photography

Before we get into our selections, let’s take a quick look at what makes for a good portrait lens, and how to go about choosing one that’s right for you. When people talk about portrait lenses, two topics generally come up – focal length and depth of field. Let’s deal with each one in turn…

Focal length

Conventional wisdom dictates that the best lens for portraiture is a short telephoto, with a focal length around 85mm, and not exceeding 135mm. A large maximum aperture is also generally deemed a must, to the point where lenses that fulfil all these criteria are often referred to as ‘portrait lenses’. For producing well-balanced, head-and-shoulders shots with a nice blurred background, this is indeed the correct setup. No one is going to argue if you show up to a portrait shoot with an 85mm f/1.4.

However, portrait photography is not as simple as this, and it’s worth thinking creatively about your options. For instance, you can use a wider perspective to capture images of couples or groups, or just introduce a bit of environmental context to an image. For this, consider a 50mm lens or even a 35mm; you could opt to go wider still with a 24mm.

While this is not the conventional way to flatter a subject, it can result in striking images that really stand out from the crowd. Once you understand how different optics will affect your images, an exciting world of portraiture opens up before you.

Depth of field

Once again, conventional wisdom teaches us that most lenses are not at their sharpest when used wide open (i.e. at their maximum aperture). However, for portraiture this tends not to be a problem.

Introducing a little softness into an image can be quite flattering. For this, you need to be able to throw the background out of focus to put all the viewer’s attention on the main subject. This is not too difficult. All you need is a large aperture, which generally means a prime lens, not a zoom. Zooms aren’t much use to us in portraiture anyway since your subject will be following your directions (hopefully), so you can simply move closer if you need to.

It’s also worth nothing that using too wide an aperture can result in a depth of field that’s overly razor-thin. After all, you don’t want one eye in focus and the other one not. This is where those longer focal-length lenses mentioned earlier can come in handy; as well as providing a more flattering view of a subject, they also make it easier to separate away the background with a smaller aperture.

Bokeh

Another important quality is the actual appearance of the background blur. In this guide, you’ll see a lot of references to the concept of ‘bokeh’. It broadly refers to how the aesthetic quality of blur differs between lenses; though the meaning itself has become a little blurred over the years. Ideally, you want it silky smooth.

Some specialised lenses are constructed to create bokeh with a distinctive look, often referred to as ‘swirly’ or ‘soap-bubble’ bokeh. While these aren’t the most technically sophisticated lenses, they do create images with a real identity to them. Lomography and Lensbaby are some of the most well-known names in this field.

For many photographers, the first step towards better portraits is likely to be an inexpensive 50mm f/1.8. Once your ambitions and budget expand further, though, there’s a whole host of lenses to try.

The best lenses for portrait photography: our quick list

If you want to cut to the chase, here is a quick rundown of the lenses we’ve recommended for portrait shooters, along with links to get them at a fantastic price…

Top telephoto lenses for portraits:

• Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM – buy now
• Sigma 56mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary – buy now
• Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art – buy now
• Fujifilm XF 90mm f/2 R LM WR – buy now
• Sigma 135mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art – buy now
• Nikon Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.8 S – buy now
• Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 – buy now
• Panasonic Leica DG Nocticron 42.5mm f/1.2 ASPH OIS – buy now
• Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 G Master – buy now
• Pentax smc DA 55mm f/1.4 SDM – buy now
• Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8 – buy now

Standout portrait lenses with apodisation:

• Sony FE 100mm f/2.8 STF G Master OSS – buy now
• Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM DS – buy now
• Fujifilm XF 56mm f/1.2 R APD – buy now

Finest wideangle portrait lenses:

• Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 12mm f/1.4 Asph – buy now
• Fujifilm XF 16mm f/1.4 R WR – buy now
• Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art – buy now
• Nikon Nikkor Z 24mm f/1.8 S – buy now
• Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 G Master – buy now

Best standard portrait lenses:

• OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 25mm f/1.2 Pro – buy now
• Nikon AF-S Nikkor 58mm f/1.4G – buy now
• Samyang AF 50mm f/1.4 FE II – buy now
• Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art – buy now
• Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 G Master – buy now

Ultimate specialist portrait lenses for bokeh:

• Lensbaby Velvet 56mm f/1.6 – buy now
• Lomography Petzval 80.5mm f/1.9 Mark II – buy now USA / buy now UK

The best telephoto lenses for portraits

While we have been encouraging readers to think differently about their approach to portraiture, there is a reason that short telephoto lenses around the 85-100mm focal length will invariably be recommended for portrait shooting. For one, a short telephoto focal length will compress your subject’s features without distorting them, resulting in a flattering image of a well-proportioned face. You can get quite close to your subject without worrying about distorting their features. For two, a telephoto lens is ideal for throwing out the background of your images, meaning you can get that buttery-smooth bokeh effect that is so popular in portraiture.

As such, this is the first category we’re going to focus on in our guide. Here are our favourite telephoto portrait lenses for a range of camera systems.

Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM

At a glance:

• Canon EF-mount
• New price: $1,599 / £1,719
• Used price: from $1,075 /£975

Canon users who want the very best need look no further, because this image-stabilised fast prime is an absolute masterpiece. Indeed we think it’s one of the finest EF-mount primes the firm has ever made, with its accurate autofocus, great handling and built-in optical image stabilisation counting as compelling reasons to choose it ahead of the pricier EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM.

Meanwhile, its gorgeous rendition of blurred backgrounds and very low levels of chromatic aberration mark it out from cheaper options. For DSLR users on a tighter budget, the EF 85mm f/1.8 USM is still a worthy alternative at $499/£489.

Read our Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM review. 

Sigma 56mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary

At a glance:

• Canon EF-M, Micro Four Thirds, Sony E, Fujifilm X and L-mounts
• New price: $479 / £419

Users of APS-C mirrorless models could be forgiven for feeling ignored by third-party makers, who are falling over themselves to make full-frame lenses instead. But at least Sigma has been paying attention, with a trio of affordable f/1.4 primes that are available in Canon EF-M, Micro Four Thirds, Sony E and L mounts, and now X-Mount.

While the 16mm and 30mm certainly have their uses for people pictures, it’s the 56mm f/1.4 DC DN that we like the most. Offering an 85mm equivalent view on APS-C cameras, and 112mm on MFT, it’s a nicely compact optic that focuses rapidly and delivers excellent images.

Read our Sigma 56mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary review.

Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art

At a glance:

• Sony FE, L-Mount
• New price: $1,039 / £979
• Used price: $860-1020 / £690-850

Sigma has built up a strong reputation for the excellence of its Art line of lenses, with perhaps the biggest criticism that could be levelled against its DSLR designs being that they became excessively large and heavy. But the firm appears to have re-aligned its priorities with its burgeoning DG DN line for E and L-mount full-frame mirrorless, producing equally superb optics while drastically reducing the size and weight.

This fabulous lens is a case in point, with a combination of remarkable optical performance even at f/1.4 and excellent usability. Highlights include quick autofocus, weather-sealed construction and an aperture ring that can be de-clicked for video.

Read our Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN | Art review.

Fujifilm XF 90mm f/2 R LM WR

At a glance:

• Fujifilm X-Mount
• New price: $949 / £949
• Used price: $464-525 / £419-600

Fujifilm is arguably the only company that’s treated the APS-C format as being entirely worthwhile in its own right, rather than just a stepping-stone to full frame. It’s made several fine portrait lenses for its X system, including the budget XF 50mm f/2 R WR (new $449/£429, used $365/£289) and the fine XF 56mm f/1.2 R (new $999/£849, used $550-570/£470-480).

However, the one that really blew us away was the XF 90mm f2 R LM WR, which does the job of a 135mm lens on full frame. Photographers will love its ability to create distinct separation between subjects and background, while the rendition of out-of-focus areas is delightful for portraits.

Read our Fujifilm XF 90mm F2 R LM WR review.

Sigma 135mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art

At a glance:

• Canon EF, Nikon F, L, Sony FE-Mount
• New price: $1,399 / £1,199
• Used price: $604-1,080 / £865-890

While many photographers immediately think in terms of using 85mm lenses for portraits, it’s important not to overlook the charms of longer focal lengths. Switch to 135mm and you can shoot from slightly further back for an even more flattering perspective, which can be particularly useful when working outdoors.

Sigma’s 135mm f/1.8 was originally made for Canon, Nikon and Sigma DSLRs, but is also available for the mirrorless L and Sony E mounts. This monster of a lens offers outrageous sharpness coupled with dreamy bokeh, and is almost immune to chromatic aberration. It’s a fabulous optic that provides a look few other lenses can match.

Read our Sigma 135mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art review.

Nikon Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.8 S

At a glance:

• Nikon Z-Mount
• New price: $697 / £709
• Used price: $539-660 / £519-660

Like most of Nikon’s other S-series primes for its full-frame mirrorless cameras, this 85mm short telephoto employs an f/1.8 aperture to make it lighter and more affordable than an f/1.4 lens of the same focal length could be. But this doesn’t mean it compromises on the build quality or optics.

Detail rendition is impressive, even on the demanding high-resolution Z7 and Z7 II, and the bokeh is very pleasing on the eye. Focusing is brisk and particularly effective for portraiture when used with Eye Detection AF. The lens is also fully sealed against dust and moisture ingress, making it a great all-around package.

If you want the best of the best, Nikon does have an upmarket Z-mount option in the form of the Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.2 S, an utterly superb lens that earned the full five stars in our review. However, with a price tag of $2,796 / £2,999, it’s likely going to be out of reach for most users.

Read our Nikon Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.8 S review.

Sony FE 85mm f/1.8

At a glance:

• Sony FE-Mount
• New price: $598 / £499
• Used price: $440-475 / £309-430

Sony users have a lot of choice when it comes to portrait lenses, ranging from the £299 Samyang AF 75mm f/1.8 FE through to the practically flawless but pricey FE 135mm f/1.8 GM. But one of our favourites lies towards the affordable end of the scale.

The firm’s FE 85mm f/1.8 is a relatively compact lens that’s arguably a much better match to Sony’s small Alpha 7 series cameras than its FE 85mm f/1.4 ZA stablemate, being less than half the weight. Crucially, it also delivers extremely pleasing images. It’s a great choice for both full-frame and APS-C users.

Panasonic Leica DG Nocticron 42.5mm f/1.2 ASPH OIS

At a glance:

• Micro Four Thirds mount
• New price: $1,198 / £1,149
• Used price: $674-794 / £620-680

A standout gem of the Micro Four Thirds system, this is one of the fastest lenses to feature optical image stabilisation. With such a large aperture this may sound redundant, but it helps with getting sharp images in low light and is great for video shooting, too.

Image quality is everything we’d expect given the Leica badge, with superb sharpness across the frame even at f/1.2, and minimal chromatic aberration. If this optic is too pricey, the OM System M.Zuiko Digital 45mm f/1.8 $400/£299) is a lovely little lens that provides a great combination of sharpness and background blur.

Read our Panasonic Leica DG Nocticron 42.5mm f/1.2 ASPH OIS review.

Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 G Master

At a glance:

• Sony FE-Mount
• New price: $2,098 / £1,599
• Used price: $1,700 – 1,775 / £1,149 -1,200

Over the past decade, Sony has revolutionised the camera market, jumping from a bit-part player to one of the leading high-end brands in the process. But if anything, its progress as a lens maker over this time has been even more striking, with its premium G Master lenses being at least a match for the finest produced by any of its rivals. In January 2023, Sony confirmed development of the highly-anticipated FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS telephoto lens.

Indeed, if you’re after a short-telephoto prime, they simply don’t come much better than the FE 135mm f/1.8 GM. With its combination of reliable autofocus, supreme sharpness and gorgeous bokeh, it’s likely to appeal strongly to portrait and wedding photographers.

Read our Sony FE 135mm f/1.8 GM review.

Pentax smc DA 55mm f/1.4 SDM

At a glance:

• Pentax K-Mount
• New price: $635 / £719
• Used price: $450-500 / £470-490

While neither Canon nor Nikon have ever shown much enthusiasm for making APS-C-specific primes, there’s a decent range available for Pentax users. This one is designed to be used as a portrait lens on APS-C DSLRs, offering a classic 85mm equivalent view. Its large aperture, weather-sealed construction and silent focusing go some way to explaining its relatively high retail price.

Optically, it’s well-suited to its job, with a flattering slight softness wide open and gorgeous bokeh. Full-frame Pentax users, meanwhile, have the unique smc FA 77mm f/1.8 Limited to play with. It was pricey at launch and available now used at around $543/£549, but it’s a beautifully-built lens and includes an old-fashioned mechanical aperture ring.

Read our Pentax smc DA 55mm f/1.4 SDM review.

Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8

At a glance:

• Sony FE-Mount
• New price: $1,749 / £1,252
• Used price $839-990 / £614-1,000

At first sight, this lens may look perplexing, given that it only offers an f/2.8 aperture for almost the same price as Sony’s superb FE 135mm f/1.8 GM. But typically for Zeiss, it’s the sheer optical quality that stands out, with sensational sharpness and no hint of colour fringing thanks to its apochromatic design. Out-of-focus backgrounds are blurred-away beautifully, too.

In terms of specification it ticks all the boxes, with weather-sealed construction and optical image stabilisation, while photographers who like to pack light will appreciate its relatively low weight. Overall, I can’t imagine anybody being disappointed by this lens: it’s absolutely outstanding.

Read our Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8 review. 

The best portrait lenses with apodisation

A small selection of specialist lenses use a principle known as apodisation to deliver particularly smooth background blur. Essentially, this places a radially graduated neutral density filter within the lens to smooth away the edges of out-of-focus blur circles. While often fairly subtle, it’s an effect that some portrait photographers prize greatly. The catch is that such specialised lenses tend to be pricey.

Sony FE 100mm f/2.8 STF G Master OSS

At a glance:

• Sony FE-Mount
• Price: $1,498 / £1,399

Sony’s specialist portrait lens is the spiritual successor to the legendary Minolta-designed, Alpha-mount 135mm f/2.8 STF. The initials STF stand for Smooth Trans Focus, and unusually, there’s no conventional version of this lens. Sony has implemented a uniquely strong apodisation effect that delivers lovely bokeh at large apertures, but this comes at the cost of light transmission, which is just T5.6 at f/2.8.

A switch around the barrel engages a close-up mode which offers one-quarter life-size magnification, and optical stabilisation is built in. As usual for a G Master lens, high-end features include a de-clickable aperture ring and weather-sealed construction.

Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM DS

At a glance:

• Canon RF mount
• Used price: $2,899 / £3,499
• Used $2,649 / £3,149

Even the conventional version of Canon’s super-fast RF-mount 85mm is an expensive, statement optic that will set you back $2,599/£3,059. But the DS option, for Defocus Smoothing, goes a step further. It employs the same 13-element, 9-group design and 9-bladed circular aperture, but employs a special coating on two internal elements to fade the edges of blur circles.

The result is an outstanding portrait lens that delivers beautifully smooth bokeh. While many readers will find the price to be prohibitive, it’s possible to hire one for a special occasion at a reasonable cost.

Fujifilm XF 56mm f/1.2 R APD

At a glance:

• Fujifilm X-Mount
• New price: $999 / £918
• Used price $849-875 / £660-716

Fujifilm’s XF 56mm f/1.2 R ($999/£849) is much-loved by X-system owners, with this lens providing the same angle of view and ability to blur backgrounds as an 85mm f/1.8 on full frame. As its name suggests, the APD version adds an apodisation filter within the optics to smooth the bokeh when shooting at large apertures.

As this inevitably reduces the light transmission, the aperture ring has both f-stop and t-stop markings, with the difference between the two indicating the effect of the filter at each setting. This varies from a stop wide open to half a stop at f/2, and no effect at f/5.6.

Read our Fujifilm XF 56mm F1.2 R WR review

4.5 out of 5 stars

The best wideangle portrait photography lenses

While wideangle isn’t most people’s first thought when it comes to portraiture, exploring this perspective is a great way to capture images that feel a little different to the norm. Rather than focusing on making a subject as attractive as possible, wide-angle portraits tend to be all about character and humour. Here are the lenses we recommend if you want to give wideangle portraiture a try.

Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 12mm f/1.4 Asph

At a glance:

• Micro Four Thirds mount
• New price: $1,198 / £1,099
• Used price: $780-820/£750-780

Micro Four Thirds users interested in shooting wideangle portraits with shallow depth of field should consider this compact, lightweight optic. It provides the angle of view and depth of field control equivalent to a full-frame 24mm f/2.8, so won’t deliver especially blurred backgrounds, but as we’d expect from a Leica-badged lens, there’s very little to complain about in terms of image quality.

The weather-sealed barrel also includes an aperture ring, but this only works on Panasonic cameras, and not OM System/Olympus. If the price is too steep, OM System makes the lovely little M.Zuiko Digital ED 12mm f/2 that costs around $800/£700 new and $388-440 / £289-304 used.

Read our Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 12mm f/1.4 Asph review.

Fujifilm XF 16mm f/1.4 R WR

At a glance:

• Fujifilm X-Mount
• New price: $999 / £929
• Used price: $625-688 / £400-590

Fujifilm offers the most complete lens range of any APS-C sensor system, and this weather-sealed large-aperture prime is a case in point. It provides an angle of view equivalent to 24mm on full frame, while delivering a similar degree of out-of-focus blur to an f/2 optic.

Users needn’t worry about shooting it wide open, thanks to its excellent sharpness at large apertures, which is complemented by smooth and attractive bokeh. It boasts weather-resistant construction for outdoor use and employs an aperture ring that clicks at one-third stop intervals. The only slight drawback is that autofocus isn’t the quickest.

Read our full review Fujifilm XF 16mm f/1.4 R WR

Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art

At a glance:

• Canon EF, Nikon F-Mount
• New price: $649 / £699
• Used price: $525-579 / £430-470

For full-frame DSLR users, this stunning optic in Sigma’s Art lineup provides a vastly more affordable alternative to Canon and Nikon’s own large-aperture 24mm lenses. Yet it does so while giving up very little in terms of optical quality, with the main downside being that it isn’t weather-sealed.

Its desirable features include an ultrasonic-type motor for fast, silent autofocus and a nine-bladed aperture for attractive bokeh. It’s not just the sharpness that’s impressive, but the overall look of the images, including the smooth, attractive rendition of out-of-focus regions. Quite simply, it produces lovely pictures with the minimum of fuss.

Read our Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art review.

Nikon Nikkor Z 24mm f/1.8 S

At a glance:

• Nikon Z-mount
• New price: $997 / £1,009
• Used price: $730-760 / £725-766

The advent of full-frame mirrorless systems has allowed camera manufacturers to re-evaluate their lens lineups, and Nikon has unusually created a set of f/1.8 primes that provide the premium image quality more usually associated with f/1.4 optics. The Nikkor Z 24mm f/1.8 S is an exemplar of this approach.

While it’s surprisingly large for a f/1.8 lens – Sony’s 24mm f/1.4 is smaller and lighter – it still delivers superb images, while being notably more affordable than larger-aperture designs. It provides smooth, silent autofocus and its large manual focus ring can be customised via the camera menu to adjust aperture, exposure compensation or sensitivity.

Read our Nikon Nikkor Z 24mm f/1.8 S review.

Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 G Master

At a glance:

• Sony FE-Mount
• New price: $1,398 / £1,259
• Used price: $1,049-1,109 / £869-929

Sony has been making full-frame mirrorless cameras for longer than anybody else, and this means that it can offer a significantly more extensive lens lineup, including a strong selection of premium fast primes.

While some of its early designs were disproportionately large for its small Alpha 7 bodies, its recent G Master optics provide a wonderfully balanced package of impressive sharpness and lovely bokeh in a compact design.

This lens is arguably the finest 24mm prime you can buy, with superb image quality combined with excellent usability, including an aperture ring that’s switchable between clicked and clickless operation and extensive weather-sealing.

See our Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM sample gallery.

The best standard lenses for portrait photography

Standard lenses (meaning lenses around the 50mm focal length, with some wiggle room either side) are an excellent choice for creating environmental portraits that give a little context to your subject. As a 50mm lens provides a similar field of view to the human eye, images taken around this focal length tend to look quite naturalistic. Plus, while there are plenty of expensive standard primes, there are also quite a few cheap ones, so this is a good place to start if you’re looking to shoot portraits on a budget.

OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 25mm f/1.2 Pro

At a glance:

• Micro Four Thirds mount
• New price: $1,200 / £1,099
• Used price: $700-750 / £580-650

While Micro Four Thirds isn’t the most logical choice of system for shooting with shallow depth of field, this weather-sealed large-aperture prime is the best option for users looking for a 50mm equivalent lens that can isolate subjects from their backgrounds. Like Olympus’s 17mm and 45mm f/1.2 Pro-series optics, it’s designed to deliver ‘feathered’ bokeh by slight under-correction of spherical aberration.

In practice it produces lovely-looking images, with backgrounds dissolving away into a beautiful blur. MFT shooters looking for a smaller, more affordable, option should consider the weather-sealed Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 24mm f/1.4 ASPH Mark II version ($648/£569).

Read our Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 25mm f/1.2 Pro review.

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 58mm f/1.4G

At a glance:

• Nikon F-Mount
• New price: $1,597 / £1,689
• Used price: $769-899 / £594-800

This is a rare example of an optic that has all the hallmarks of a classic portrait lens, including a flattering softness wide open and gorgeous bokeh, but with a longer-than-usual standard focal length. This design approach makes it something of a niche lens, but so does the price. If you understand exactly what it’s for, though, this lens will reward you with really stunning images.

It’s well-suited to shooting couples, or portraits that include more of the subject’s surroundings. Naturally Nikon also offers more mainstream alternatives: for more conventional head-and-shoulders shots like the  AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G which sells for $477/£489 new or used $264-314/£244-269.

Samyang AF 50mm f/1.4 FE II

At a glance:

• Sony FE-mount
• New price: $589 / £599
• Used price:  $479-574 / £444-520

Samyang was the first third-party maker to produce lenses for Sony’s full-frame mirrorless E-Mount cameras, and the AF 50mm f/1.4 FE was the first with autofocus, and as a result it wasn’t the quickest for AF. Luckily Samyang has improved on this with the second generation released five years later, the Samyang AF 50mm f/1.4 FE II.

The new lens is a completely new design, with additional features, impressive levels of sharpness, silent and accurate autofocus, and a weather resistant build. It’s also smaller and lighter than many rival lenses, and delivers smooth background blur. Plus it delivers high levels of sharpness even when shooting with the aperture wide open.

Read our Samyang AF 50mm f/1.4 FE II review.

Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art

At a glance:

• Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony A, Sigma mount
• New price: $799 / £649
• Used price: $560-580 / £434-454

If any lens counts as a modern classic, this is it. Building on the foundations laid by the earlier 35mm f/1.4, it cemented Sigma’s status as a top-tier lens maker and established its Art lineup as a true premium brand.

Compared to traditional DSLR 50mm f/1.4 designs, it’s large, heavy and expensive, but this allowed the firm to use a more complex optical design that does a far better job of suppressing spherical and chromatic aberrations. Indeed, its ability to produce sharp, clean images at large apertures won it our product of the year award in 2015.

Read our Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art review.

Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 G Master

At a glance:

• Sony FE-mount
• New price: $1,998 / £2,099
• Used price: $1,719-1,889 / £1,699-1,889

One of the great advantages of mirrorless cameras is the way they make ultra-large-aperture lenses entirely practical to use. The increased freedom in optical design allows much sharper lenses to be constructed, while on-sensor phase detection delivers vastly more reliable autofocus.

Canon, Nikon and Sony have all recently produced 50mm f/1.2 optics, but Sony’s manages to be the smallest, lightest and least expensive. It delivers a giddying combination of impressive sharpness and lovely bokeh, backed up by rapid, reliable and silent autofocus. It’s a pleasure to shoot with too, thanks to its comprehensive control set.

Read our Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 G Master review.

The best specialist lenses for bokeh in portrait photography

In this guide, naturally we’ve concentrated on conventional autofocus lenses. But some photographers like to experiment with alternatives that eschew the usual approach of minimising optical aberrations in favour of delivering a more characterful result.

Two names in particular stand out here: Lensbaby and Lomography. Both make delightfully quirky manual-focus designs that you’ll either love or hate.

Lensbaby Velvet 56mm f/1.6

At a glance:

• Available in Canon RF, Canon EF, Fujfilm X, L-Mount, Micro Four Thirds, Nikon Z, Nikon F, Pentax K and Sony E mounts
• New prices: $360 black, $550 silver /£489 black, £599 silver.
• Special edition $650, Nikon F, Canon EF

This portrait lens for APS-C cameras offers an aperture of f/1.6 for shallow depth of field and defocused backgrounds. It employs a 4-element, 3-group optical formula which the firm says delivers ‘tack-sharp detail layered underneath edge-to-edge velvety glow’ (technically a textbook description of under-corrected spherical aberration).

A minimum focus distance of just 12cm allows it to do double-duty for close-ups, with half life-size magnification. The lens is available in all DSLR and mirrorless mounts, and there’s an 85mm f/1.8 version for full-frame cameras, too.

Lomography Petzval 80.5mm f/1.9 Mark II

At a glance:

• Canon EF, Nikon F mounts
• New price: $449-549/£339-449 depending on finish

Taking its inspiration from a 19th-century optical design, this short telephoto portrait lens is defined by its relatively small region of central sharpness and characteristic ‘swirly bokeh’. The original version employed a rack-and-pinion focusing system and drop-in aperture stops, but this MkII design boasts a conventional focusing helicoid and aperture diaphragm, making it much more practical to use.

It’s available finished in black aluminium, black brass or retro satin brass, and in Canon EF or Nikon F mount. The Bokeh Control Art version of this lens, again in Canon EF and Nikon F, costs from $469/£549. You can get this lens from Lomography direct: USA store and UK store.

Related reading:

• Best cameras for portrait photography you can buy
• Portrait tips from the pros
• Best budget portrait lenses
• How to take better portraits on a budget

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The post The best lenses for portrait photography appeared first on Amateur Photographer.

Selecting the right lens for your portraits is crucial. A lens that’s too wide or too long can dramatically affect the outcome. For example, using a wideangle lens (like 24mm) makes near objects appear larger and distant objects appear smaller so this is why a wideangle lens used for close-up portraits can distort facial features, making noses look larger and ears smaller. On the other hand, a very long lens (like 200mm) can compress features too much, resulting in facial features lacking depth and dimensionality.

The key is to match your lens to the portrait type – full-body, headshots, or environmental. Typically, on a location portrait shoot I’m aiming to get a mix of all of them so I frequently change lenses as I work. 

NIKON D4S · f/5.6 · 1/100s · 24mm · ISO1600

Which focal length?

Choosing the wrong focal length can make your subjects uncomfortable with how they look in the photos, so understanding the impact your choice makes is essential. Full-body portraits often benefit from a 35mm to 50mm lens, offering a balance between subject and background. Headshots are best captured with 85mm to 135mm lenses, which provide flattering perspectives without distorting facial features.

ILCE-9 · f/8 · 1/160s · 35mm · ISO400

Different portrait genres call for specific focal lengths to achieve desired effects. For environmental portraits, where the background context is important, a 35mm to 50mm lens works well, providing a wider field of view to include surroundings without distorting the subject. For traditional headshots, an 85mm to 135mm lens is ideal as it flatters the face and isolates the subject from the background and creates a nice, creamy bokeh effect.

For more creative portraits, like fashion or editorial shots, you might experiment with lenses ranging from 24mm to 70mm. The wide end can add a dramatic flair and capture more environment, while the longer end maintains subject focus. Knowing which focal length to use can help you create portraits that match the intended style and mood.

NIKON D4S · f/5.6 · 1/500s · 35mm · ISO200

Composition and perspective

Understanding focal length is an important skill because it significantly affects your composition. Wideangle lenses (24mm to 35mm) capture more of the scene, making them great for environmental portraits or group shots. However, you’ll need to work harder on your composition and be aware that these lenses can distort edges, making subjects near the frame’s border appear stretched or skewed.

Standard lenses (50mm) offer a natural perspective, similar to what the human eye sees, making them versatile for various types of portraits. Telephoto lenses (85mm to 200mm and beyond) reduce the field of view, compress the background and bring subjects closer, providing a flattering, focused look perfect for headshots and close-ups.  

The focal length plays a big part in how subjects are captured within the scene.

Perspective changes with focal length: wider lenses exaggerate distances, making backgrounds seem further away, while longer lenses compress the scene, making background elements appear closer. This compression is often flattering for portraits, providing a more natural and pleasing look. 

Have a look at the three images above of the boy and the bridge and study how the focal length dramatically affects the size and balance of elements in the scene.  

Kate’s top tips for choosing the right focal length for your portraits

• Know Your Genre: Match your focal length to the portrait style – environmental, headshot, or full-body.
• Avoid Distortion: Use 85mm or longer for close-up portraits to avoid facial distortion and be aware of shooting headshots on a wideangle lens or placing people on the edge of the frame. 
• Context Matters: Use 24mm to 50mm for environmental portraits to include background elements. Or move your feet and shoot from further away on longer lenses.
• Background Blur: Choose longer focal lengths (85mm+) for creamy bokeh and subject isolation from background.
• Natural Perspective: A 50mm lens provides a natural view similar to the human eye.
• Depth of Field: Take the time to understand the relationship between focal length, aperture and distance to subject with depth of field – there are many great apps that help.
• Versatility: Use a zoom lens (24-70mm or 70-200mm) for flexibility in framing and composition, but don’t get lazy – still use your feet to get the desired result. 
• Prime Quality: Opt for prime lenses for superior sharpness, wide maximum apertures and low-light scenarios.
• Compression: Use telephoto lenses (85mm+) to compress the scene (bring the background towards the subject) and flatter facial features (but beware of overly compressed features for headshots at 150mm +).
• Subject Size: For larger subjects or groups, use a shorter focal length like 35mm to fit everyone in the frame.

ILCE-9M2 · f/2 · 1/200s · 135mm · ISO100

The fab four: Kate’s favourite portrait lenses

24-70mm f/2.8

The 24-70mm f/2.8 is a wonderfully versatile zoom lens, perfect for portrait photography and indeed many other genres. It offers the flexibility to shoot wide environmental portraits or tight headshots. Its constant f/2.8 aperture provides great low-light performance and beautiful background blur at longer focal lengths. In tight spaces there will be some distortion at the 24mm end but that’s acceptable as long as your subject isn’t on the edge of the frame.

50mm f/1.4

The 50mm f/1.4 lens is a useful portrait prime providing a natural perspective similar to the human eye. Its wide aperture can deliver stunning bokeh and softly blurred backgrounds while performing well in low light. Remember to move your feet to allow for wider compositions. For more budget-friendly options consider 50mm f/1.8 lenses.

85mm f/1.4

The 85mm f/1.4 lens is a portrait classic, known for its flattering perspective that minimises facial distortion. Its wide f/1.4 aperture delivers wonderful subject isolation and beautiful, creamy bokeh, making it perfect for headshots and close-ups – but it can also be used for lovely environmental shots
if you have the room. Again, the f/1.8 alternatives are fantastic for lower budgets. 

135mm f/1.8

The 135mm f/1.8 lens excels when you have room to manoeuvre, and I love using it in architectural locations because it doesn’t distort the perspective. However, it is also stunning in ‘messier’ environments because the wide f/1.8 aperture gives lovely separation and exceptional background blur.

Have a look at our buying guides for the best lenses for portrait photography and the best cameras for portrait photography.

ILCE-9M2 · f/9 · 1/200s · 85mm · ISO500

Zoom vs prime lenses

Prime lenses have a fixed focal length, offering superior image quality and wider apertures, which can create beautiful background blur (bokeh) and perform better in low light. Common prime lenses for portraits include 50mm, 85mm, and 135mm.

Zoom lenses, on the other hand, provide versatility with a range of focal lengths in one lens, like a 24-70mm or 70-200mm. This flexibility is handy for photographers who need to quickly adjust framing without changing lenses. Better- quality zooms can have a constant maximum aperture whilst a variable-aperture lens changes its aperture as you zoom in and out, meaning that the maximum aperture changes depending on the focal length you set. Zoom lenses often have narrower maximum apertures compared to primes, potentially affecting depth of field and low-light performance. Both types have their merits, and the choice depends on your specific needs, shooting style and budget. Some portraits benefit from the photographer being close to their subject for interaction and direction. Equally this could be uncomfortable in more intimate scenarios like couple portraits. 

ILCE-9M2 · f/1.6 · 1/500s · 85mm · ISO80

ILCE-9M2 · f/1.6 · 1/4000s · 85mm · ISO125

I love working with an 85mm lens both indoors and outdoors. On location you have the flexibility of being able to create beautiful headshots as well as full-body environmental portraits and everything in between. I like using longer focal lengths in meadowy locations such as these scenes, because it softens the grass and isolates the subject.

Focal length and depth of field

Depth of field is also affected by focal length. Longer lenses (telephotos) generally offer a shallower depth of field at the same aperture, helping to blur out distracting backgrounds and keep the focus on the subject. This control over depth of field allows photographers to emphasise the subject and create visually appealing images. Word of warning – if you are photographing groups of people then be sure to think about whether everyone is on the same focal plane or if you need to narrow your aperture to give you some additional focus. Equally, if you want to achieve a more ‘studio’ feel with everything in focus then you will need to really narrow your aperture to at least f/9 on any lens that is 85mm or longer.

I hope that by utilising these tips, you’ll be able to choose the right focal length for various portrait situations, ensuring your photos are always flattering, beautiful and impactful.

ILCE-9M2 · f/2.8 · 1/500s · 135mm · ISO200

Why it works

The 70-200mm f/2.8 is an incredibly versatile lens for a wedding, particularly for large venues or churches. It is very good for the couple portraits which are often a key part of a photographer’s ‘style’. I always reassure my couples that I will shoot the session on ‘long’ lenses to ensure that they have some personal space. I often use the compression and blur capability of the 70-200mm as shown here, by finding some background and foreground interest and placing them in between the two. You need quite a big distance between these elements – in this image there is probably at least 8 metres. The softness of the rest of the image is further enhanced by the f/2.8 aperture, so it is important to keep the couple on the same focal plane – easily achieved by asking them to face each other – parallel to the camera.

ILCE-9M2 · f/2.8 · 1/1600s · 155mm · ISO1000

Kate Kirkman

Kate has run her photography business since 2010 (www.katehopewellsmith.com) and along with her cinematographer husband, Brent, represents Sony as a European Imaging Ambassador and works closely with Rotolight and Profoto. 

Together, Kate and Brent are directors of wedding brand byLumiere (www.bylumiere.co.uk), commercial content brand Create (www.createhub.uk) and MUSE, a luxury boudoir business (www.museboudoir.co.uk). @katehopewellsmith, @bylumiere, @createwestcountry,@muse_boudoir_uk

Related reading:

• Best budget portrait lenses
• Best portrait tips from the pros
• Top tips for fine art portrait photography

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The post How to choose the best focal length for portraits (to improve your photography) appeared first on Amateur Photographer.

That question can be answered definitively by observing one good portrait photograph and comparing it with any selfie you care to select from the millions on social media. Selfies are artistically something less than self-portraits.

Taking photos of people is a great way to expand your photography skills, particularly as people are everywhere, and generally  enjoy looking at photos of themselves. Everyone’s a winner – if you do it well!

You need just two things to get started in portrait photography: a camera, and a subject. The subject will usually be another person, but could be your sweet self, or even pets such as cats and dogs.

What is portrait photography?

Whether you’re taking a photo of one person, or a group of people, portrait photography is defined as capturing something of the character of a subject . It can also include pets and other animals. A good portrait should reveal something of the identity, or even an attitude in the person photographed.

We’ll take you through what makes a good portrait, and the different types of portrait photography.

What makes a great portrait photo?

• Framing and composition
• Fun – enjoy it!
• Focus – on the eyes!
• Light and location
• The subject
• Candid moments

We’ll cover these topics in more detail, plus some accessories that can help you along the way.

Framing (and composition)

The “rule of thirds” is a great alternative to shooting the subject in the centre of the frame. Look out for distractions in the background, and move around till you have found the most pleasing framing. Work with the subject to try different positions, and see which works best.

Have Fun!

Capture the subject’s character, emotion, or a moment in time and you’ll have captured something great, or even true to who the person is, be they serious or silly. It’s important to enjoy photography – if you have fun while doing it, then natural spontaneity and presence in the moment will make for some great portrait photography.

FOCUS – on the eyes!

It’s natural to look at someone’s eyes when talking to someone, and it’s the same with portraits. We are drawn to the eyes. It’s important – make that essential – to get the subject’s eyes in focus.

It is disconcerting to see photos of people with eyes out of focus. With very shallow focus, it’s possible that only one eye will be in focus, but this can still give a pleasing image.

Light (and location)

Light can make a huge difference to how a photo turns out, and can literally make or break a shot. Have great light, and you’re likely to get a great shot, but have bad lighting, and you’ll struggle to produce a good result.

We’ll mention lighting several times when we’re talking about portrait photography, as it’s so important to the process, and this is where a reflector, LED lighting, or flash/studio lighting can really help to produce impressive shots.

Your location for the photoshoot also plays a big part in this, as some places have great lighting, and some don’t. It’s an optional tool to be aware of.

If you’re planning on using natural lighting, then have a look at our guide to capturing stunning portraits in natural light.

The subject – People

A great place to start is with friends and family, but if you don’t yet have the confidence to try this, then start with yourself with self-portraits (details below). Practice different camera setups, different lenses (if you have them), different lighting and locations.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the portrait is the person in the photo – it’s your job to capture them.

Working with people and capturing their essence can be difficult, as some people freeze as soon as a camera is pointed at them. This is where your relationship with the subject(s) matters. The more relaxed you are, and able to create a relaxed environment, then the more your subject will feel able to be themselves. Sometimes adding music can help with this.

If you’re able to capture them in a flattering pose, or in an image that makes them look better than anyone else has made them look, then they’ll come away loving your photographs. If working with a model, then don’t forget to complete a model release form. Trust us, it will save any potential issues further down the line, and means that you have the rights needed to use the image.

What about bokeh and backgrounds?

Note in all of the above, we haven’t mentioned the B word? Bokeh… because yes, bokeh and background blur can help you create a portrait that pops out from the image – but it isn’t everything. It’s certainly often utilised in portrait photography, while  other genres have other priorities for their backgrounds.

However, if you do want to play with background blur, then using a lens with the aperture set wide “open” will help here, with f/1.8 giving a more blurred background than f/2.8 or f/4 would. If you’re looking for a starting point on the kind of lens you might need for portrait photography, have a look at our guide to portrait lenses.

What about editing? Colour or black and white?

Colour, or black and white? You decide. Whether you produce colour or black-and-white images will be up to you, and the look you want to give. We’ve got a guide to black-and-white portrait photography here.

Editing is another thing – this can turn a 30-minute shoot, into a 3-hour shoot, particularly if you need to edit every photo, and one of the reasons why people always talk about getting it right in-camera. We discuss editing in more detail below.

Candid portraits vs posed portraits

There’s nothing wrong with posing for a photo, but capturing spontaneous and unposed candid moments is another way of approaching portrait photography that can really elevate your portraits and say something about your subject’s personality. A good way to do this is by photographing your subject in a place they’re comfortable in or with props that mean something to them.

What are the main types of portrait photography?

There are a number of different types of portrait photography, and whilst they aren’t hard and fast rules, it can be useful to find out more about the different types, particularly if any of them appeal to you more than others, as then you can go on to learn more about them, and improve your photography skills in each area.

1. Traditional Style Portrait

The traditional portrait or “headshot” is predominantly shot in a studio where you have complete control over the lighting and backgrounds, with studio flash you can use smaller apertures, get more of the subject in focus and produce beautifully crisp, sharp and detailed photos.

You will then need to edit the images to remove any blemishes or spots, depending on the planned use of the image. If you’re shooting for fashion or portraits of models, then each person may have different needs and expectations of how much editing or retouching they want to happen to the image.

If you’re not a fan of editing and want to capture subjects “warts and all” then make sure you let them know beforehand. Follow this link if you’re wanting to know more about how to take beautiful portraits (and edit them).

2. Lifestyle / natural / environmental portraits

Capturing the subject in their own natural environment, living their life – this could be genuine or posed to portray a certain “lifestyle” and can give an image more character and interest than simply using a blank background. However, one of the biggest challenges of shooting in the subject’s natural environment, particularly outdoors, or indoors, is relying on either the sun (which may not show up or might be too harsh) as a light source or the ambient lighting in a room.

This is where a few simple accessories can come in, and be particularly useful to add in some additional lighting, whether that’s a small reflector or LED lighting. You may need to be flexible, and be prepared to work with potentially distracting backgrounds, or move around until you’ve found the best location or the best lighting conditions. If you’re happy to travel, this can be a fun way to explore your local area, and find new places to photograph.

3. Group portraits – Family/group/couples/friends

Want to know what makes a group portrait? As soon as you’ve got more than one person in the shot, you’re now taking a group portrait. You’ll find that couples, families, colleagues and groups of friends love being in photos together. Some may naturally get together and position themselves in a natural form, but most likely you’ll need to guide them to ensure they position themselves in the best possible manner.

In many ways, many of the guides to taking great portraits also applies to group portraits, but instead of simply keeping one pair of eyes in focus, you now need to keep all subjects in focus, and for this, you may need to adjust the aperture to f/4 or more. It’s also a good idea to take multiple shots, just so you can make sure no one is blinking.

Read our guide to shooting family portraits here.

4. Event portraits and event photography

Events can be fun, but can also be hard work. If you’re relying on additional lighting, such as a flashgun, make sure your battery is fully charged, and the same is true for your camera. Make sure you have spare batteries. If you’re photographing people at an event, whether that’s a party or an awards ceremony, you often have one chance to get the shot. You won’t be able to stop an awards ceremony and ask people to wait while you change your battery!

You’ll also need to be aware of the lighting conditions, and bring additional lighting just in case. In this shot, photographing people at an “after party” following an event, the lighting was mixed, but good enough to give good images of people. In other venues, the lighting could have been too dark to shoot without the use of flash or LED lighting.

See our guide to events photography.

5. Self-Portrait or “Selfie” portraits

If you’re shy in front of the camera, and not too keen when other people try and take photographs of you, then why not take some self-portraits, so you are in control of the full process?

Set up your camera on a tripod, and if your camera lets you remotely control it, then you can start taking photos of yourself. Alternatively, you could use the camera’s self-timer feature, or use a remote-release cable.

However, one of the best ways to do this, is to use the camera’s remote-control app, connecting to the camera’s Wi-Fi, and then you can see yourself on your smartphone while you take the photo(s). This way you’ll be able to find your best angle, your best look, and find the best lighting for the shot.

You’ll find some self-portrait inspiration from Barbara Farkas who used self-portraits to raise environmental issues.

6. Festivals and music portraits

Festivals are a wonderful place to take photos of people – there are often plenty of characters, and many people put a great deal of effort into fancy dress, they’re also often quite happy to have their photos taken. If you enjoy this type of photography and can produce lots of great photos, you may even find this is a potential area for work.

Another type of portrait photography you can practise at festivals is live music photography, along with band photography, with band members making for great photography subjects. Expect challenging lighting conditions (indoors or when the sun sets), plus lots of potential distractions from the subjects, whether that’s microphone stands, other people or random objects in the background.

If music photography is your “gig” then have a look at our guide to music photography.

7. Documentary Photography

This is a fantastic way to meet people in your community or your neighbourhood. You could start a project documenting your neighbourhood, community projects, or even just your neighbours. There have been several projects like this, during lockdown for example, and it’s a fantastic way of building community, as well as including people who might not normally have portraits taken of themselves.

Documentary photography, due to its core purpose being to document something, has a lot in common with photojournalism or news photography and you can use  to it to highlight a current issue, or bring to light some of the unseen parts of the world. If it’s something newsworthy, then it could end up in the news.

You could also combine it with Street Photography (more on this below), and simply capture the people and events that are happening around you. If you take your camera with you everywhere you go, you never know what you might capture.

You’ll find some documentary portrait inspiration from Alicia Vera’s photo story on loss and coping with her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

8. Wedding Portraits

Wedding photography is a potential money earner with many photographers specialising in wedding photography. This type of photography can be a great place to create some beautiful-looking images, but with it comes the pressure of having to get it right the first time.

There are no do-overs with wedding photography. If you’re the primary photographer, it’s your job to get it right on the day, with no room for mistakes or problems with camera equipment.

If you’re a guest at a wedding, it can be a fun place to take some candid portraits, and casual shots, as long as you don’t get in the way of the main photographer!

9. Street Portrait Photography

If you enjoy people-watching and live in a relatively populated area, then this could be a great photography genre for you, and it almost goes without saying that Street Photography is about people.

Take your camera with you everywhere you go, and you might just catch a beautiful moment between two people, or an interesting character or person on the street. We’ve got lots of great tips on street photography, including a guide on what you need to know regarding the law and street photography.

10. Editorial Photography

Editorial photography is photography used to support the text in a newspaper, book or magazine, be it in print or online. As such, it overlaps with practically every photography genre.

After picking your genre: fashion photography, lifestyle stock images and photojournalism are three big areas in editorial photography, doing some research on publications and the type of portraits they publish as well as creating a portfolio of editorial portraiture is a good place to start.

11. Pet portrait Photography

For millions of people around the world, no family is complete without a cat, dog or other pets. We lavish fortunes on our beloved pets, as well as our affections, so it’s only understandable that we’d want to photograph them too.

Whether you’re planning on photographing your own pet or someone else’s, check out our guide to photographing pets to find out more on how to get great shots.

Taking portraits with your smartphone

Smartphones can be particularly good for capturing candid portraits of friends and family that happen with no notice. But you can also treat your smartphone just like any other camera and set out with a dedicated portrait session in mind. For those who haven’t got portrait gear already, it’s a good way to give the genre a go without picking up specialist equipment.

Most modern smartphones today have some kind of portrait mode, which is designed to mimic the effects of shooting with a wide-aperture lens. The results from these modes, powered by clever AI and algorithms, have become ever more impressive. A lot of smartphones also have full manual modes, which is useful too. Most high-end smartphones also include short telephoto lenses, giving you a close approximation to shooting with something like a classic 50mm or 85mm optic.

Have a look at the best smartphones for portrait photography, and how to take amazing portraits on a smartphone.

But wait, there are more portrait photography types… click these links to find out more:

• Fine Art Portrait Photography
• How to take better Pet portrait photography
• Surreal portrait photography

The AP Improve Your Photography Series – in partnership with MPB – is designed to take you from the beginnings of photography, introduce different shooting skills and styles, and teach you how to grow as a photographer, so you can enjoy producing amazing photography (and video), to take you to the next level, whether that’s making money or simply mastering your art form.

Find the latest Improve Your Photography articles here.

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The post Complete guide to Portrait photography and portrait types appeared first on Amateur Photographer.

In this article, Helen draws on her twenty years of experience in the family photography business to offer tips and techniques to capture engaging portraits of children and elevate your photography.

What Would You Want to Remember?

I always use this question as a starting point for my family photography. What would I want in a picture from my childhood, and what do the subjects of my photos want to remember?

Canon EOS R5 · f/1.4 · 1/80s · 50mm · ISO100

The key elements tend to be ‘who is in the family, and what are their relationships,’ so a group shot is always important, but also images that show relationships between family members. Seeing how we laugh is a lovely thing to remember.

What do people look like? Portrait photographs record a likeness and build a story over time of changing and growing up. A beautiful headshot is a lovely thing to have.

What are the stories of this point in their lives? What do the children love to do? Where do they love to go? What makes them laugh and jump for joy?

Take these as your starting point, and you can’t go wrong.

How to take group shots

Canon EOS R5 · f/4.5 · 1/500s · 24mm · ISO200

I always prioritize a group shot when photographing families. I like to do these first, as I find children are most likely to sit still at the beginning of a session. I’ll find something for people to sit on, like a fallen tree with a beautiful background, or I’ll ask adults to pick up younger children. Then I’ll take an eyes-to-the-camera shot before waiting to see what develops. It’s often the shots taken a few minutes later, when everyone relaxes and begins to interact, that really tell a story.

If you are placing a family on a sofa or bench, try to vary the heights, perhaps have younger children standing or sitting on the armrests. You want to create variety in your image with different heights and shapes. Think in terms of triangles for a visually compelling composition.

Take a Portrait

Canon EOS R · f/2 · 1/500s · 35mm · ISO1000

A headshot portrait will always be popular with parents, and over time they build up a beautiful document of how a child grows. If I’m taking these indoors, I’ll head to the window. I’ll position myself with my back to the window and have the subject look towards the light for beautiful catchlights in the eyes.

If I’m outside, then I find a patch of overhead shade and have the subject look out towards the light.

Using a telephoto lens, such as an 85mm, compresses perspective for a flattering headshot, and I like to use a shallow depth of field, such as f/2 or f/1.2, to blur the background and really concentrate attention on my subject’s eyes. Try using the widest aperture your lens has available and see how that separates your subject from their surroundings.

Canon EOS R · f/2.2 · 1/3200s · 85mm · ISO500

Tell Stories

Telling stories with our cameras is a joy. Images that will bring back memories for our subjects and remind them of people, places, and the activities they loved to do. My Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 is my favourite storytelling lens, as I can get nice and close and fit multiple subjects in the frame.

Find out what the children’s favourite activities are and photograph those. The kids will have a brilliant time, and these images will be so powerful in the future.

Canon EOS-1D X Mark II · f/3.5 · 1/1250s · 24mm · ISO400

Incorporating the environment into the pictures can add storytelling elements – a beautiful landscape near the family home or even the squidgy sofa everyone sits on for Friday evening movie nights. These elements all have a place in our pictures.

The Challenges of Photographing Children

Engaging young children is crucial. With little ones, it’s important to make things fun and keep activities going. If you want to get a shot of little ones together, then make it into an activity, perhaps the log you sit on is a train or a bus. Get them to whisper secrets to each other for conspiratorial smiles or tell a joke to provoke a belly laugh. Try to avoid asking young children to smile or say “cheese” as this often results in forced expressions.

Canon EOS-1D X Mark II · f/4 · 1/500s · 35mm · ISO400

Empower teenagers by giving older children a say in how they are portrayed in their pictures. Teenagers have such a sense of self and style and will appreciate being given a role in the planning. This approach ensures they will enjoy the process and love the pictures. Find out hobbies and interests in advance so you can plan your images and encourage games and activities that will involve interaction and laughter. 

Traditional tabletop games like Jenga and cards often work very well with teenagers, as they will forget the camera in the heat of the moment. Engaging parents in the game too ensures a wide range of emotions and interactions, capturing the essence of family fun. Music and sports also work incredibly well, and it’s a joy to record these activities for them to look back on in the future.

Working Around Naps and Snacks

The importance of sleep and a good meal is never more noticeable than when photographing people. If a baby has missed a nap or blood sugar is running low, then bad tempers often follow. I recommend photographing children early in the day when they are well-rested and have just had breakfast. 

Canon EOS-1D X Mark II · f/2.8 · 1/100s · 35mm · ISO800

Keep some snacks in the bag and stick to normal routines where naps are involved. It’s much better to have a break and a cup of tea while a little one sleeps and continue when they have woken up than miss a nap and risk a meltdown. Always carry wipes because snacks are messy, and retouching biscuit crumbs takes an unexpectedly long time.

Choosing the Right Equipment

While it’s true that the best camera is the one you have with you, opting for a dedicated camera over a smartphone greatly enhances the quality of your images, and having control over your settings opens up a world of opportunities.

I shoot with a Canon EOS R5 and a variety of RF lenses, but there are myriad brilliant options out there to fit your style and budget.

I would recommend a fast prime lens for photographing children indoors, and the ‘nifty fifty‘ is a great place to start. For Canon R series users, then Canon’s RF 50mm f/1.8 STM is an inexpensive way to try shooting with a fixed focal length and a fast aperture, while the Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM is the most beautiful lens I’ve ever used.

Canon EOS R · f/3.5 · 1/320s · 35mm · ISO1000

I find the Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 MACRO IS STM lens is my go-to for indoor pictures, combined with either a 50mm or an 85mm for portraits and longer shots. If you enjoy the convenience of a zoom, then a 24-70mm f/2.8 is a great place to start, and if the children you are photographing love sport and you need a bit more reach, then the 70-200mm is a very flexible focal range (although usually too long when working indoors unless it’s a very big space).

Lens choice is very personal, so try a few different options and see what works for you. There are a lot of great options for hiring lenses, or perhaps swap with a friend or camera club colleague for a weekend so you can shoot with something new which is a brilliant way to enhance creativity.

See our guide to the best portrait lenses for different camera makes.

Start Outdoors

Photographing children is unpredictable as they don’t sit still, and photographing children indoors can be a challenge, so when you are starting in this genre, head outdoors. Having more light means you have greater flexibility on shutter speed to capture movement (and I’d advise a shutter speed of 1/1000 sec or above to freeze movement on running and jumping children). Push your ISO up if needs be, modern cameras are incredibly good in low light.

Canon EOS-1D X Mark II · f/5.6 · 1/320s · 35mm · ISO100

Playgrounds can be a great place to photograph children, as everyone has a fun time. Avoid photographing strangers by altering your angle, photographing up from a low angle, will usually give you sky as a backdrop and means you can avoid other park users.

A wider aperture with a blurred background also helps in busy areas to ensure your images are free of distractions. Do be aware some parks require a permit for professional photography.

Look to See What the Light Is Doing

Avoid harsh overhead light when photographing children outdoors and head towards the shade. You can often move the action without your subjects noticing if you kick the football into the shade or suggest hunting for the Gruffalo under the trees. Make everything a game to ensure consistent fun.

Canon EOS R5 · f/16 · 1/800s · 24mm · ISO100

Early morning and evening light is softer as the sun is lower in the sky, so get everyone out and about early to make the most of empty parks and low sunshine. Evening light is beautiful, but children are often tired later in the day making it a harder time for a family photo shoot.

Indoors, be mindful of downlighters, which are ubiquitous in modern houses. These create a very directional light from above which causes shadows under the eyes. Where possible, switch them off and use window light instead.

What to Wear?

I’m often asked what clients should wear for their family photos, and this does depend on the family. Matching outfits can look smart and classical, whereas other families prefer to mix and match to highlight individuality.

I always try to avoid clothes with words on, as these are always distracting. We naturally read the words before looking at the subjects, and when children are moving, you rarely get a whole word visible. If you are photographing a lot of people together, then avoid too many clashing patterns, as these can be very distracting when viewed together. Stripes, spots, florals, and graphic shapes together can overwhelm an image.

I always suggest plain colours in neutral tones, but I love a child in a Spiderman costume too. Reflect the personalities of your subjects, and you can’t go wrong.

Experiment with Settings

Canon EOS R5 · f/10 · 1/20s · 35mm · ISO100

One of the joys of photographing children is the opportunity to experiment with creative photography. I love to study sports photographers for their creative use of movement in their images.

Try a longer shutter speed and panning your camera to capture a feeling of movement in your images – this works particularly well with children running in the park, riding their bikes, or playing on the swings.

Canon EOS R5 · f/9 · 1/10s · 35mm · ISO1250

Use a fast shutter speed to freeze the frame of a child in play, leaping in the air, or playing with water on a hot summer day. Aperture gives you a myriad of creative possibilities, from a very small aperture such as f8 to get everyone in a large group shot in focus or to have front-to-back sharpness on an image with depth and layers, or a wide aperture to blur your background and create a compelling portrait.

Mix Up Your Angles

When photographing little ones, get down to their level for compelling eye contact and successful communication. I spend a lot of time on the ground when photographing young children, and a pair of waterproof trousers is a great investment to make life more comfortable. If I’m photographing babies, I’ll often place them on their parents’ beds to raise them up for a better angle. This often brings them closer to the window light too, and if you have a white duvet or blanket, this will act as a reflector, popping additional light into their faces. Always have parents close by in case a little one rolls; safety is always the number one priority when photographing babies and children.

Canon EOS R5 · f/1.6 · 1/1000s · 50mm · ISO320

Get in the Frame

If you are photographing your own family, then make sure to get in the frame yourself.

There’s always one family member who is always behind the camera, and your children will want to know you were there too. Get in the frame, use a self-timer, take a selfie, or hire a professional to photograph your family (and give you some tips along the way). Being in the frame is something you and your family will never regret.

Print Your Photos

Once we have taken all these wonderful images, make sure to print your photos. Back up your images on the cloud or an external hard drive and print them off. Frame them on the wall, Sellotape them on the fridge. Have them up and about for you and your family to enjoy. If your children have shown an interest in photography, then print and frame their images too. I vividly remember the first time my dad helped me print one of my holiday pictures 18 inches across and hung it in the dining room. That confidence boost encouraged my love for photography and my future career.

Canon EOS-1D X Mark II · f/4.5 · 1/1000s · 35mm · ISO500

Most Importantly, Have Fun

Photographing children and families is the most fun we can have with a camera. The images we take will have huge value to the people in the pictures as the years go by. Enjoy it, play, experiment, and have fun. The more you do it, the better you will get, and the more fabulous memories you will be able to record for the people you love.

Related reading:

• Family photography ideas to try today
• Best Online Photo Printing – Signed, sealed, delivered, they’re yours
• Complete guide to portrait photography

Follow AP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

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What is boudoir photography?

Unlike the cheesy glamour photos that once dominated lads’ mags (and AP), boudoir photography is more romantic and is aimed mainly at a female audience. The vast majority of boudoir shoots are commissioned by the subjects, often as part of a bridal photography package, a landmark birthday, or as a gift for a partner. Many women choose a boudoir shoot as a confidence boost after having children, getting divorced or losing weight.

Boudoir photography is generally shot in a bedroom setting – hence the name – and is sensual and sexy without being explicit. The subject’s modesty is generally covered by lingerie or bedding, and artful posing.

Most successful boudoir photographers are women, for obvious reasons, so male photographers hoping to succeed in this genre should consider a female assistant to help out with lighting, hair and make-up, posing and costume changes, but most importantly for the subject’s reassurance.

Boudoir vs Glamour Photography

Boudoir is about photographing women in a natural setting, whilst artistically capturing their natural beauty. On the other hand, glamour photography is normally associated with specific body types, high-end makeovers, magazines and heavily retouched photos. Ultimately, good boudoir photography should bring out the beauty of the subject no matter their body type.

Getting Started with Boudoir Photography

We teamed up with Brighton-based photographer Emma Joanne for a boudoir shoot at the Hotel Pelirocco, to learn how to succeed in this challenging genre.

Boudoir Photography – Look for interesting locations

‘When I’m choosing locations I tend to go for themed hotels where the decor is different in each room, and where you can style the client to complement the theme. This offers a much greater variety of pictures and fires my imagination,’ says Emma.

‘One of the things I like about Hotel Pelirocco is that the rooms are like sets. There are lots of props and details to play with, like ornate dressing tables. I find that with anyone, whether they’re a seasoned model or not, if you give them something to do it looks far more natural and takes away the whole idea that they’re being photographed.’

Before you even so much as remove the lens cap, the model will need make-up and hair done, ideally by a professional, so that she looks her best. For this shoot Emma brought along Stacie Smith, who she has worked with before. Our model, Angel, will be familiar to regular readers – she has been on our cover before.

Meanwhile, you first need to clear the set.

‘Go around the room and remove anything incongruous that you will curse about later if you see it in the background,’ says Emma. ‘This includes kettles and cups, luggage stands, and even the TV – if it is on a stand and can be moved safely.’

The model should have brought along a selection of lingerie in different colours and styles. If you haven’t already worked out in advance which colours complement the décor of your room, now is the time.

Boudoir Photography – Lighting the set

Next you need to light the set. Our hotel rooms have large picture windows that fill the rooms with daylight, but in many cases will be behind the model. While this creates a nice rim light you’ll need strong frontal lighting to balance with the light behind. For this shoot Emma used Rotolight AEOS and NEO 2 LED lights, which she prefers over flash heads.

‘You need to work quickly with boudoir,’ explains Emma. ‘You can’t keep the model waiting while you fiddle with the lights or you’ll lose the energy of the shoot. With these continuous lights you can see how the light is falling, and balance it with the ambient light by eye. You can even change the colour balance. They have a flash mode as well if I ever need the extra power.’

During the shoot

When your subject is ready to start the shoot, ease in slowly. You should have a list of at least a few poses you want to try first.

‘Professional models will help suggest poses,’ says Emma. ‘but with ladies who haven’t done this before you’ll need to direct them. You must make them feel comfortable, offer lots of encouragement and help them to enjoy the session.

Watch for reflections of the lights in mirrors and pictures, and if shooting with a wide-angle keep the model in the middle of the frame to avoid distorting them.

Take plenty of breaks and once you feel you have exhausted one part of the room move on to another. ‘If you’re going to be selling images to your clients you want them to have as much variety as possible,’ advises Emma. In our first room alone Emma used the dressing table, the bed, the chaise longue and a screen as props.

Emma has a final piece of advice for anyone interested in trying this genre of photography: ‘One thing about boudoir is that there is a lot of expectation, and depending how good your pictures are you can either boost someone’s confidence entirely, or do the complete opposite and destroy it.’

11 tips for successful Boudoir Photography

1 – Location

Hotels are great locations to shoot boudoir, but look for somewhere that gives you more creative options than just white walls and linen.

2 – De-clutter

The first thing to do before you introduce the model is de-clutter the room. Hide the kettle and cups, and avoid the TV in shot.

3 – Clothing

Make sure the model has a collection of different lingerie in a variety of styles/colours so that you can pick outfits to complement the room décor.

4 – Hair/make-up

Good make-up is vital for successful boudoir photography. If possible hire a professional, or ask a friend who is skilled in this area.

5 – Props

Use props such as a phone, hairbrush or lipstick. Giving them something to do helps provide a distraction for your model and helps them forget they’re being photographed.

6 – Lighting

I prefer constant LED lights, like the Rotolight, because I can adjust the brightness by eye and see exactly where the shadows fall before pressing the shutter. It means I can work more quickly and not keep the model waiting.

For further inspiration read our guide on how the direction of lighting affects your portraits.

7 – Start off slow

If you’re working with someone inexperienced start them off in a dressing gown – something sexy but not too exposed to start with. You can reveal more as their confidence grows.

8 – Communicate

Offer lots of encouragement and praise during the shoot to boost their confidence, as it can be intimidating.

9 – Be open

Although you should come to the shoot with some ideas already, don’t rigidly work to a checklist. Keep your mind open to your environment and let that give you ideas you may not have thought of.

10 – Inspiration

Look at existing boudoir photography online for ideas. Save images that inspire you to a Pinterest board, or make an album on your phone so you can refer to it during the shoot if you get stuck for ideas.

11 – Primes

I always favour prime lenses, such as my 50mm f/1.4 or 85mm f/1.4 as the shallow depth of field they offer gives a much more creative look. Have a look at our guide to the best 50mm prime lenses.

Top Boudoir Photography Posing Tips

Have an assistant

It’s useful to have someone on hand to look out for unflattering creases, hairs out of place and other things you may not spot. They can also help adjust, move or hold the lighting. If you’re a male photographer the assistant should be female – perhaps the make-up artist, so they can also apply touch ups if needed

Standing poses

You always want a bend on the leg nearest the camera as it creates a nice curve and elongates the leg. The weight should be on the back leg, because if you put your weight on the inside leg it will thicken that hip and we want to make it look as slender as possible. Turn the bent knee away from the camera. Shoot from low down with a wide-angle lens to make the legs look longer. If you shoot from head height they’ll look stumpy.

Bend it

In boudoir the model should overemphasise every pose, so remind her regularly to keep her chin up, shoulders back and tummy in, because it pushes out the bust and creates a more sexy and elegant pose. Basically whatever can bend needs to bend – you don’t want to see any limbs looking lifeless.

Seated models

With any model, whatever their size, when you’re seating them it’s best to ask them to put just the edge of their bum on the seat, and edge as far forward as possible with their weight on just their rear buttock, rather than having them rest their entire weight on both buttocks, which is going to look very unflattering.

Lying on the bed

When shooting on a bed the model is going to be lying flat – either on her front or her back – which means that her body is going to relax into the bed. You need to watch for any creases going on, which you can iron out with a change of position. With bigger ladies this will take more work to conceal.

Concealment

If your model has a part of their body that they are self-conscious about (such as their legs or tummy) try getting them to hold a carefully placed cushion, pillow, towel or bed-sheet in front of them to conceal it. Alternatively shoot from an angle that doesn’t show that part of her body.

How to choose the best camera and lens for boudoir photography

As a general rule of thumb what works for portrait photography will be suitable for boudoir too. Most photographers use a full-frame camera but don’t dismiss MFT or crop sensor, as with a good lens they would be more than adequate to capture excellent images.

Read more about the best cameras for portraits and the best lenses for portraits to find the best kit for your boudoir photography.

Emma’s favourite kit for boudoir photography:

• Nikon D700 | 50mm f/1.4 | 85mm f/1.8 | 24-70mm f/2.8 – www.nikon.co.uk
• Rotolight AEOS | Rotolight NEO 2 lights – www.rotolight.com

See our latest Rotolight reviews:

• Rotolight NEO 3 and AEOS 2 Review
• Rotolight AEOS 2 PRO Hands-On Review
• Rotolight NEO 3 PRO Hands-on Review

Watch our behind the scenes video on this boudoir shoot:

With thanks to…

Photographer: Emma Joanne – www.shotgunweddings.co
Model: Angel White – www.angelwhite.net
Hair and make-up: Stacie Smith – www.stacie-laura-smith.uk
and the Hotel Pelirocco, Brighton UK – www.hotelpelirocco.co.uk

All photos © Emma Joanne

Further reading:

• Maternity photography – your complete guide
• Lighting tips for maternity photography
• The do’s and don’ts of working with models
• Complete guide to portrait photography
• How to shoot like a fashion photographer

Follow AP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

The post Boudoir photography – the complete guide appeared first on Amateur Photographer.

Trevor and Faye Yerbury, top fine art photographers, share their expert advise on how to get started with fine art photography. 

Tips for fine art portrait photography

Define your idea

What do you want your portraits to be about – to present an emotion, mood, or feeling? Consider what your portraits will represent, and know your subject well. Research the themes and take a look at the work of other artists. Do not restrict yourself to photography only: painting, sculpture and literature can serve as inspiration or present an idea. Think about how colours, or the absence of them, can enhance your message.

Create a mood board and gather your inspirations. Also try sketching out your composition or posing to aid you during your shoot.

Find out more about what fine art photography is and how to find ideas or concepts for your fine art project.

Check model references

Trevor and Faye Yerbury say, “Models can be found online via various model pages, but check their references for reliability and punctuality so you will not be disappointed on the day of the shoot. Models, whether male or female, should be made to feel comfortable and relaxed in your company. If you are a male photographer, having a wife, partner, or hair/make-up artist on the shoot is helpful.”

You should also consider whether you need just one person to model, or two or more to put across your ideas.

Think carefully about your model selection and check references. Credit: Faye Yerbury

Get to know your model

“Spend some time with your subject and find out why he/she wants the portrait taken. This knowledge will allow you to generate ideas. As a portrait photographer, you get to spend time with people you have never met, and this can be an invaluable educational experience.”

Likewise, if you are working with two or more models, allowing them to spend time getting to know each other as well as you, will help them feel more comfortable before the shoot.

Natasha J Bella shares her dos and don’ts of working with models here.

Lighting for fine art portrait photography

Lighting can be kept simple; or try using it to manipulate the image to create harsh contrasts, for example.

“In our studio, we work mainly with one large softbox and a gold reflector, or a beauty dish and reflector. These simple setups provide great starting points and allow us to concentrate on our subjects. On location, we work exclusively with natural light.”

A simple one-light setup is a great starting point. Credit: Trevor Yerbury

Use a bespoke background

The background of a photograph will influence the look of a photograph. Simple, solid colour backgrounds can help emphasise a person’s features. Black is a popular colour to create an illusion of depth, but also try other neutral colours or backgrounds with texture and patterns. What you decide to use should be influenced by the concept behind your photography to assert the message.

This still applies when working on location, outside of a studio! The key thing here is try to avoid distractions.

Trevor and Faye said, “For studio work we commission our own backgrounds. We design each of them ourselves. We have never understood the point of having a background that several other people might own. On location we look for several things in a background: texture, solidity, distressed architecture, sand, or anything else that we can place a figure in front of. Our standards are high, though, so many are found but few are used.”

Consider clothing, hair, make-up and props

As with your background, consider the ‘look’ of the model. From their clothing and make-up through to props, poses and expressions – these are factors that can make or break the narrative you are trying to put across. Use make-up and clothing to inspire your viewer to weave a story of the character you are creating.

Carefully plan your shoots down to every detail Credit: Trevor Yerbury

Get creative with different techniques

Experiment with different creative techniques, such as intentional camera movement, multiple exposure, digital manipulation and bokeh.

Create a portfolio

Before creating your photos, consider if they will work alone, or as part of a series. Once you have your images compile them into a portfolio that you can share online or to others in person.

Tracy Calder also shares her guide to creating a successful portfolio here. For tips on how to make the best of your online portfolio, have a look at our selection of the best website builder for photographers and our tips on how to use social media as a photographer

Don’t overdo it

Consider how you edit your image in post-production, whether the image is in colour, black and white, sepia and so on. But don’t overdo it, as Trevor and Faye warn, ‘We see plenty of images where the post-production has been overdone. Often skin has been softened so much that it has no texture left and can look like plastic. Too much sharpening is also a common mistake, leaving a white line around the blacks in an image.’

Check out our picks of the best photo editing software in 2024 and if you’re shooting your fine art portraits on your smartphone, have a look at our guide to editing your photos with Snapseed.

Fine art self-portraits

What is self-portrait photography?

In self-portrait photography, you are both the photographer and the subject of the photo. There’s a reason why it is such a popular genre. Fine art self-portraits allow photographers to try new things, take some time for self-reflection and express their personality.

What is the difference between a self-portrait and a selfie?

Many people take selfies, but a self-portrait generally goes beyond just documenting a moment and is crafted with more care and intent. There is more focus on the artistic vision behind it and how that is used to tell a story.

What do you need to take an artistic self-portrait?

• Concept: Think about what the idea behind this self-portrait is; what do you wish to highlight about yourself?
• Equipment: All you need these days is to set up your smartphone with a self-timer. Digital cameras (including Y2K cameras) and film cameras work as well, especially when trying to achieve a certain look. A tripod will be a useful addition. As well as keep your camera stabilized, it frees you up to get the focus right and compose your shot exactly as you want it.
• Props: Your choice of props can be a great way to express the artistic vision behind your self-portrait.

Looking for more inspiration? See some examples of fine art portraits here:

Barbara Farkas: highlighting environmental issues through self-portraiture

Photo credit: Barbara Farkas

Pauline Petit’s surreal portraits

Photo credit: Pauline Petit

Alicia Vera photo story: On loss and coping with mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis

Photo credit: Alicia Vera.

Aliz Kovacs-Zoldi: how plant collecting became my photo project

Reward, from the series The Journey Within. Photo credit: Aliz Kovacs-Zoldi

• Falmouth students share diverse techniques in Gweles exhibition
• UWE students share first exhibition post-pandemic
• Westminster graduates demonstrate resilience in degree show
• AP readers’ share their powerful portrait project

Image: Gyorgy Englert, from the project Prologue to a Tango. As seen in University of Westminster graduate degree show 2022.

Fine Art and Portrait Competitions

There are a number of competitions you can enter to share your fine art portraits:

• Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize
• Fine Art Photography Awards
• EISA Maestro Photo Contest
• Lens Culture Art Photography Awards

Look up more competitions here.

Trevor and Faye Yerbury

Trevor and Faye Yerbury have won awards for portraiture, classical nudes, wedding and avant-garde work. Faye uses a Fujifilm X-T1 with 16mm-55m and 56mm prime lenses. Trevor also enjoys shooting film with a Hasselblad and 150mm lens. www.yerburystudio.com.

See more advice for portrait photography below:

• Beginners guide to Portrait photography – How to get started
• How to take amazing portraits on a smartphone
• Top tips for black and white portrait photography
• Best portrait photography advice from the pros
• Fine art nude photography tips from professionals

Looking for portrait photography camera equipment for your fine art portraits?:

• Best cameras for portraits and portrait photography
• The best lenses for portrait photography

Follow AP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

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Peter has built a reputation as one of Europe’s finest portrait photographers and cites his main influences as the late Peter Lindbergh and fellow Rotolight ‘Master of Light’ Greg Gorman.

To help creatively light his portraits, Peter regularly deploys a range of Rotolight LED lights, all of which have High Speed Sync (HSS) flash capabilities. For his studio work, he tends to rely on either the Anova PRO 2 or the AEOS units. In order to supplement natural light for his location shoots Peter will tend to turn to the NEO 2 unit, which has the benefit of being lightweight, easy to carry and yet flexible in both light and HSS flash capabilities. Yet Peter tends to only deploy flash for his commercial work, relying on combinations of ambient light and Rotolights for his other work.

Peter’s go-to camera system is Nikon, with his black and white work primarily shot on a Nikon D5 DSLR. His occasional colour fashion work is usually shot on a Nikon D810 camera. He estimates that ‘about 89%’ of his pictures are shot with a Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom lens, which he uses ‘only with open apertures, so f/2.8 or f/3.2’, and he tends to shoot at ISO values from 640 up to around 3200.

• See the best Nikon DSLRs

Getting it right in-camera

Peter explains: ‘I try to shoot as perfectly as possible in-camera. I try to create and give myself, and the model, a space in which the light is perfect. I try to create a light setting in which if she gets two steps in front of me, two steps back, if she turns right or left… it’s fine. That allows me to have the confidence that if she stays in my space I don’t have to work on my pictures later on because the light in all this part of the square is good enough for my final picture.’

During shoots, he directs his subjects and reveals he sometimes shoots up to 150 images in just a two-minute period. He says, ‘I never look at the back of my camera; I just shoot. I trust that my camera is doing what it has to do and that my focus is where it has to be. I rely 100% on the quality of my camera. I trust my camera more than my eyes that it is sharp and it’s always the case.’

Discussing his shooting approach of RAW+JPEG, Peter reveals, ‘The JPEG in my camera is monochrome, so with RAW+JPEG the JPEG is always monochrome. In the Nikon, I can go on to the monochrome setting and what I do is I have a very soft contrast, almost no contrast. The contrast setting in the Nikon could be from zero to -5 to +5 and mine is on -1. I don’t want any contrast. In post-production, I can add contrast or more sharpness to my picture but I cannot delete it if it is already there. So, I shoot very soft.’

He adds, ‘More or less the only things I do in post-production are crop the frame, straighten the frame and then I add contrast or light or both or clarity, what’s needed to give the picture exactly the look I want to see. But I do all that in the JPEG. I only convert the raw file to black & white if my JPEG is so rotten – the whites are gone or the blacks are gone, whatever – that I can’t use it any more. Then I try to bring down the raw [file] to the level where I need it and then convert it to black & white.’

Peter deploys combinations of the Anova PRO 2, NEO 2 and AEOS Rotolights for his shoots, sometimes to fill in backlit subjects from the front or side and often as rim lights. He sometimes even ‘over-lights’ set-ups to darken the background and concentrate attention on the subject’s face.

How to use rim & fill lights on a black & white portrait

1. Without Rotolights

The studio Peter was working in has large windows, with walls in between, giving him large amounts of ambient light coming into his shooting set-up. This image shows what the model looks like purely shot with ambient light, without the use of any additional lighting from his Rotolight set-up. He later deployed two Rotolights to add in both rim lighting from the side and fill lighting to the front left for eliminating shadows that might be caused by the walls between the windows.

2. Head and shoulders portrait

With two Rotolight Anova PRO 2 lights in place for rim and fill lighting Peter shot the model looking to the left. Peter explains, ‘I try to use the Rotolights to mix the lights. You can see that there is not too much difference between the shots without and with light because it’s always my main concern that you don’t initially see that there was additional light to the ambient light. That’s part of my style.’ The settings were Nikon D5 and focal length was 160mm, 1/800sec at f/2.8; ISO 1000.

3. Head and body, seated portrait

This head-on portrait again uses rim lighting to the left of the model and fill lighting from an Anova PRO 2 to the front left. As with many of Peter’s portraits the idea is to set up the lighting and be happy with it for the duration of the shoot without adjusting it regularly. He reveals, ‘Rotolights are really easy to work with and it doesn’t give you this artificial look of ash and so on.’ The shooting settings were Nikon D5 and focal length 170mm, 1/800sec at f/2.8; ISO 1000.

4. Body length portrait

This longer-length body portrait demonstrates Peter’s subtle mix of ambient and artificial light. He reveals, ‘If you see the full set, my main light was from the window and between the windows there are walls. I used one light to give a rim light from the back, so it’s not too dark, and the other one was positioned where shadows might hit her because she was moving back and forth – that acted like a fill light to extend the window light.’ Shooting settings were Nikon D5 and focal length 150mm, 1/1600sec, f/2.8; ISO 1000.

‘Over-lighting’ a location portrait

The lighting set-up

Peter Müller explains, ‘What we have here is the famous German photographer Katrin Schöning and you can see the Rotolight Anova PRO 2 in shot. She asked me to take a picture of her. What you see is the set-up where I need this one Rotolight to light. It’s not totally in front of her, more from the left side. You can see all this ugly ambient light, pictures on the wall and there’s another car out – it was shot in the garage of a vintage car dealer.’

‘Over-lighting’ technique

Peter reveals, ‘I shot this frame through the open car door. I put the Anova PRO 2 on 63% but I normally wouldn’t need that light to be that bright. I put it that bright so I could then turn my camera to a lower speed or a higher speed to get only her face lit and all the surroundings as dark as possible. I used that technique because I don’t want to see all of this crap – the frames, other cars and ugly walls. It’s a technique I often use; I highlight the subject with more light than I need so that all of the ambient light around gets darker. The reason why we put the Rotolight on 63% is that it was a good combination for still seeing a little bit of the car. If I’d put it on 100% you wouldn’t see any of the car. I just wanted to keep the information that she might be in a car and that it was shot through a window.’

How to use fill-in lights on a strongly backlit scene

NIKON D750 · f/2 · 1/640s · 50mm · ISO400

Peter Müller says, ‘In the top left-hand corner this ball of light is a 2000W HMI light and then you see the window light. The sun is out and the HMI light goes on her shoulder and into the top of her hair. So this is where all these reflections in the picture come from. To go against all of this light I used three Rotolights – two Anova PRO 2s and one NEO 2. I just wanted a flat light, so I put one on one metre, the second was on 120 and the next one was on 140 like they were square, very close together. She was more or less looking in one Anova but on a face level. The second one was beside her on a similar level but a little higher and more to the right. The last one was more or less on her hair level. All these lights were set on 100%.’

He adds, ‘It’s a combination of ambient light, Rotolights and other lights. I wanted this harsh rim light on her and to see the smoke of her cigarette. As you can imagine with 2000 watts going against your camera it had lots of flare in it. I needed more light from the front so I could work a little bit against this HMI. Even so, I had to use Lightroom to bring a little bit more light to her body. The point is if I have light situations like this I always try to get a compromise. I underlit her body on purpose to enable me to highlight it a bit more in Lightroom, but then I had a good combination of the front and the back information.’

Peter’s top tips for stunning black & white portraits

Know your camera well

The moment anyone is in front of my camera they are the most important person in my life; not my wife, not my son, no one else. To make you feel that you are the most important person means that you have 100% of my concentration and attention. If, after every second shot, you’re looking at the back of your camera to find out if the model’s eye is sharp or whatever you can imagine that the model doesn’t trust you and will think, ‘Does the guy know what he’s doing? He’s always checking the camera’. Most people don’t even talk to the models; they just look at the camera. The model doesn’t know if it’s good, bad or that you like what they’re doing. So, know and trust your camera. It should be an extension of your eye and your arm, nothing more.

Get the light right

Try to put the effort in so that you have the right light for the way you want to shoot the portrait – then you don’t have to adjust light during the session. Create one lighting set-up in which you believe that you can have a left shot, a right shot, you have the shadows where you want them etc. Make sure you’re not, after every second shot, going back to adjust the light. What you should do is, in the beginning, place the model, your assistant or your make-up artist in the set and play around a little bit at the time when it’s not important. The other person knows it’s not a shooting session yet; I’m testing and finding out the best light. If you really want to shoot well, trust the light and don’t change it.

Peter’s kit list for stunning black and white portraits:

• Anova PRO 2 An LED light and High-Speed Sync (HSS) flash unit that combines continuous light with HSS wireless flash. It offers a 10,7000m lux output at 3 feet with a 72W power consumption.
• AEOS Offers both powerful constant LED illumination and HSS flash with up to two hours’ runtime on a 95w/h battery. Ideal as a location light, it weighs just 1.4kg and has integrated handles.
• NEO2 Offers a combination of bright, constant LED illumination and High Speed Sync (HSS) flash. It comes in at under £200 and with no recycling time you never miss a shot.
• Nikon D5 This pro DSLR incorporates a 153-point AF system and an FX-format CMOS image sensor and a 180K-pixel RGB metering system to aid accurate subject recognition and image detail.

About Peter Müller:

Peter Müller is a photographer and co-owner of NOIRStudio in Frankfurt, Germany, in partnership with Jean Noir. He is known for his emotive black & white portraits that are shot in-camera and require little retouching. He holds workshops around the world that explain how he conveys emotion and tells stories in his images.

You can discover more of his work at www.500px.com/petermuller.

Related content:

• Best cameras for black and white photography in 2023
• Black and white street photography: Tips and techniques from the experts
• Complete guide to black and white photo editing
• Complete guide to Portrait photography – How to get started

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The post How to shoot stunning black and white portraits appeared first on Amateur Photographer.

This event wasn’t like any other I’d been to. Glittering fashion and fabulously theatrical surroundings, The Creativity Hub’s Once Upon a Time event brought all things dreamy, fairytale and fantasy to the modern-day. With superb haute couture gowns created by world-renowned designers, some of which have even graced the London and Paris Fashion Week runways, and stunning models that brought everything to life.

Across the Sunday, we were treated to five different themed sets over the day – including Midnight Secrets, Excalibur, Sunset Seranade and Morning Blossom – and the chance to test and improve our portrait photography skills. The partnership with Fujifilm at this event meant I could try out some kit! I paired my Fujifilm X-T4 with a 56mm F1.2 R WR lens, as well as my 16-80mm, here are some of the results:

Image Jessica Miller. Model: Faz Beau @rufarro

Image: Jessica Miller. Model: Alexa Taylor @alexataylorldn

Image: Jessica Miller. Model: Emma-Rose Collingridge @emmarosecollingridge

Image: Jessica Miller. Model: Fern Taylor @fern_cj

Image: Jessica Miller. Model: Kelley Martin @kelleyy.martinx

Next event with The Creativity Hub:

Electric Avenue

• Futuristic theme
• Location: Milton Keynes
• Dates: 9th & 10th December 2023
• Times: 11am until 5.30pm
• Price: Half day from £200, Full Day £375, Weekend £750, Shoot-and-Stay (3 Nights) £300

Voyage to an uncharted realm this December on an adrenaline-packed journey to a dazzling world of neon lights, pulsating beats and contemporary fashion.

Creativity Hub Events are tempting you out of the shadows and into the Land of Light, to a place where creativity meets technology that defies the ordinary.

​Fusing wearable tech with high concept couture, dramatic gel compositions and things that glow in the dark, illuminate your imagination and push the frontiers of fashion’s future, where bold and luminous realities last long after the lights go out..

Savings on Creativity Hub events for Amateur Photographer readers!

SAVE 10%: AP readers get 10% off their booking when using the code AP10

See how we also got on at the 1940’s Fashion on the Ration and sci-fi themed Creativity Hub shoots.

More events from The Creativity Hub:

Stardust

• 11th May 2024
• Bedford

Vortex

• 13-14th July 2024
• Manchester

Flora

• 17-18th August 2024
• Northamptonshire

More portrait photography content:

• How to take better portraits on a budget
• Best portrait tips from the pros
• The best lenses for portrait photography
• Best cameras for portraits

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The post Once Upon A Time… A fairytale themed photoshoot appeared first on Amateur Photographer.

The prestigious Taylor Wessing Portrait Photo Prize competition showcases talented amateur and young photographers as well as established professionals. The diverse range of images often reveal inspiring and fascinating stories.

From the 5020 submissions entered by 1785 photographers from 59 countries, five photographers were shortlisted. Alexandre Silberman has come out on top, with Gilleam Trapenberg coming second, and Jake Green and Carl Francois van der Linde taking a joint third prize; presenting the outstanding quality of images.

In addition to the first, second and third prizes, the competition ran the Taylor Wessing Photographic Commission for the first time, which provides the winning photographer the support to create a portrait, which will become part of the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection. The £8,000 commission has been won by Serena Brown for her portrait me nana fie, which depicts her younger sister visiting her family home in Accra, Ghana.

58 photographs from 51 photographers will be displayed at the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2023 exhibition in London which, for the first time in three years, runs at the National Portrait Gallery from 9th November 2023 until 25th February 2024. It features work by Jenny Lewis, Heather Agyepong, a portrait of actor Ncuti Gatwa by Jonangelo Molinari and the 2023 In Focus photographer, Hassan Hajjaj.

The photographs have been selected for display by a panel of judges including National Portrait Gallery’s Director, Dr Nicholas Cullinan; Senior Curator at The Photographer’s Gallery, Karen McQuaid; writer and photographer, Caleb Azumah Nelson; artist, Campbell Addy; and the National Portrait Gallery’s Senior Curator of Photography, Sabina Jaskot-Gill.

Alongside the exhibition, the Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2023 catalogue includes interviews with all prize-winning photographers, alongside extended captions for each exhibited work and insights from the judges.

About the images Dr. Nicholas Cullinan said, “Congratulations to the prize winners and all the shortlisted photographers who will be on display as part of the exhibition this year. The Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize always represents the very best of contemporary photographic talent, showcasing the array of unique perspectives and styles at work in the discipline today. It’s wonderful to see the Prize and exhibition return to the National Portrait Gallery after three years, and to share these fantastic portraits with our visitors.”

Read on to learn more about this year’s images, and tips for entering next year’s competition.

Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize 2023 winner

Diena, Alexandre Silberman

Diena by Alexandre Silberman from the series NATURE © Alexandre Silberman

From a long-term series of portraits entitled NATURE, Diena was photographed in the Parc de La Courneuve, one of the largest artificial parks in Europe. An enclosed green space in a concrete forest, at the heart of an area in great economic and social difficulty, it is a veritable lung for the inhabitants.

“Diena was sitting here, on a late summer afternoon, with a suitcase surprisingly embellished with a bouquet of dried flowers. She was wearing a long white veil that reflected the sun spectacularly. I saw her in the distance and decided to ask her to paint her portrait. I used 2 rolls [of film], but in the end it was the last two shots, taken in close-up, disregarding the elements around her and concentrating on her face alone, that made it into the series.”

This is Alexandre’s second time entering the competition, when asked about being shortlisted he told me, “It’s obviously a source of great pride. It’s also an opportunity for me to return to London, where I have fond memories of shooting. The NPG is an iconic place, and I think all the artists on show benefit from its influence. My first long-term photo series was about the museums of Paris and their staging of beauty. Here, we’ll be right in the heart of it too.”

When entering the competition Alexandre recommends remembering that judging is subjective, and what the judges might be looking for is likely to change from year to year. “I don’t think the portraits I sent in when I first entered were any less good than Diena’s. But they didn’t catch the eye of the jury, that’s just the way it is.

On the other hand, once the first round is completed, I can only advise you to make sure your print is as good as possible. I normally print myself, but for this one I wanted a spectacular print on high-quality paper. So I went to a professional printer – Romain Hemon, from the Diamantino laboratory – who was able to interpret the photo in a more radical way than my original prints, by accentuating the contrasts in particular. It’s wrong to think that photography is a solitary art; the way other people look at your own work is often a big plus.”

The judges felt this portrait encompassed a compelling blend of the traditional and the contemporary. With echoes of art historical depictions of a Madonna, the monochrome palette lends a timeless, oneiric quality to the work. However, details within the image, such as the sitter’s nose ring, floral blouse and headphones, feel fresh and current and bring the portrait firmly into the present.

Alexandre Silberman’s top tip for portrait photography:

• Assume your role as photographer, be visible, be close. A good portrait should have a direct impact and not require too much reading.

Taylor Wessing Photographic Commission winner

me nana fie, Serena Brown

me nana fie by Serena Brown © Serena Brown

Serena is a British photographer and her work often focuses on issues affecting working class youth around the UK. Serena has won the brand new commission prize as a result of entering the competition for the first time. Her image me nana fie was taken on a trip with her sister to their grandma’s home in Ghana last year.

“My sister had never been and it was our first experience of Accra together. This image features Chloe and Kojo after a day of games and laughter. It felt really special to be able to document all the time we spent reconnecting with friends, family and passers by in my Grandma’s front yard. I hope to continue the series and create a body of work that celebrates community and explores the idea of home.”

The judges enjoyed the natural and spontaneous feel of this portrait. The sitters are casually posed, but the portrait captures their evocative expressions and emanates a sense of warmth and affection

With the Taylor Wessing Photographic Commission, Serena will be able to create a new portrait that will become part of the National Portrait Gallery’s collection. “It feels so special to have this opportunity, I wouldn’t ever have imagined that I’d have the chance to make such an important portrait, to be placed in the permanent collection. She recommends to anyone reading to take the leap and enter. “I can remember coming to see the exhibition on many school trips, so to be here alongside so many talented photographers is amazing. I’ve definitely talked myself out of it so many times but it’s a great opportunity for photographers of all experience levels.”

Sabrina’s top tip for portrait photography:

• Have good chat!

Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2023: Second prize

Kisha and LaDarayon, Gilleam Trapenberg

Kisha and LaDarayon by Gilleam Trapenberg from the series Currents © Gilleam Trapenberg.

Gilleam’s work explores contradictions and stereotypes of the social landscape of the Caribbean, focusing on vistas beyond tourist tropes to explore a more nuanced and multifaceted understanding of daily life on the islands. From the series Currents, his photograph depicts Kisha and her 14 year old son, LaDarayon.

“I’ve known Kisha since 2018 when I photographed her for the first time on the island of Saint Martin. She was standing outside in front of her house and I happened to drive by. I immediately parked my car on the curb and asked if I could take a portrait of her. She was wearing this light blue t shirt that almost blended in with the sky and ocean in front of her house. Every year after that when I would be back on Saint Martin I would pass by Kisha to photograph her. It became something very natural.”

The photograph was taken by the Dutch photographer in April of this year. “I texted her that I was back on the island and that I wanted to photograph her again, and she asked if I could photograph her and her sons. I loved the idea as I photographed her with her sons before in 2019. Generally I don’t photograph someone or a group of people for so long, but with Kisha and her family that’s different. It’s truly an honor to be shortlisted for such a prestigious prize, let alone the fact that the work will be exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery. It’s still quite surreal.”

If you have a portfolio or a series, Gilleam’s advice when entering the competition would be to choose the photo that could summarise your project in one image.

Gilleam’s top tip for portrait photography.

• A portrait is a collaboration between the sitter and the photographer. It’s important to know how different types of camera can influence how someone feels in front of your lens. A dslr with a big telephoto lens would evoke an entirely different emotion and portrait than an analog snapshot camera.

Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2023: Third Prize

Chotu Lal Upside-down, Carl Francois van der Linde

Chotu Lal Upside-down by Carl Francois van der Linde from the series Our Leader © Carl Francois van der Linde.

The photo Chotu Lal Upside-down is from the series Our Leader. In the photo is Arjun Raj but goes by his ring name Chotu Lal, a.k.a the Dragon, which was given to him by The Great Khali who is the founder of the CWE Wrestling Academy. The photograph was captured in Jalandhar during Van Der Linde’s exploration of the world of Continental Wrestling Entertainment (CWE). The portrait finds Chotu Lal in the midst of building his personal wrestling brand; CWE students often stage humiliation efforts as part of their promotion, recording them and adding the content to social media.

“Chotu Lal is a 16 year old aspiring wrestler from Bihar state in North east India. He is smaller in stature and uses it as a comedic act or edge to his wrestling persona. I saw a bunch of the wrestlers creating a promotional video, suspending Chotu-lal by his feet and I thought this would make a great photo to showcase the obscurity of their kayfabe tactics and the extent they would go to portray farce humiliation tactics for self-promotion.”

Carl speaks about his shortlisted photograph with immense gratitude, he told me, “I feel privileged to even be considered amongst the top portrait photographers exhibiting at the National Portrait gallery this year, let alone being included in the shortlist. Being recognised for personal work is always highly appreciated, since the only input and vision for a project comes from the photographer. The external validation is valuable to silence the voice in your head that says: “What the hell are you doing in rural India photographing these wrestlers, who in their right mind would want to see these guys?””

For newcomers to the competition, he suggests creating as much personal work as possible first, “and enter your best images without overthinking it. Do the work and put it out there, even if you lose money and never see any financial compensation. Buy the ticket, contact the communities, travel to far-out, off-beat places, live with the subjects and hurt, love and learn from it. My friend and mentor once told me that people judge photographers first and foremost by their personal work, that advice has stuck with me ever since.”

The second photograph by Carl from the same series that has been included in the exhibition. Dev Dangi by Carl Francois van der Linde (2023) © Carl Francois van der Linde.

Carl’s top tip for portrait photography:

• No smiling

Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2023: Third prize

Shaun Ryder, Jake Green

Shaun Ryder by Jake Green © Jake Green

Jake is a British, London-based documentary photographer who creates observational images of people and place. He has photographed the likes of actor Daniel Kaluya and singer Dua Lipa. His intriguing portrait of the lead singer from the Happy Mondays, Shaun Ryder, was taken in Manchester when working on a Channel 4 commission. “At the end of the session I asked Shaun if we could take some extra portraits – I had a shot in mind that was more subtle and little off set. Shaun had the idea to vape and in a moment of spontaneity the vapour completely obscured his face. The portrait is testimony to Shaun and his amazing energy.”

Having been entering the Portrait Prize for over 20 years, Jake has some direct advice: “don’t over think it – pick out the portraits that mean something to you and if they get selected then great – if they don’t then just keep trying.” On his achievement and the competition he adds, “being shortlisted is very reaffirming and a huge honour given the high standard of images being entered and selected for the exhibition. It’s also a great time to be involved with the NPG – there is such a buzz about the space.

The reopening also presents a real opportunity to change and to do things differently. We are already seeing some great initiatives where shortlisted photographers are being asked to run workshops with students; and for the first time the NPG gave people on low to no income free entry to the competition. I really respect that and I’ve got a feeling that this is just the start.”

Jake’s top tip for portrait photography:

• A portrait is a collaboration between you and the person in the image – the sitter and photographer. Without that person you would have nothing.

Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2023 Exhibition:

• Opens Thursday 9th November and closes Sunday 25th February 2024
• The exhibition is open Monday-Thursday & Sunday 10:30 – 18:00, Friday & Saturday 10:30-21:00
• Tickets from £8.50, concessions available, free for members.

Tickets are available to purchase at www.npg.org.uk.
Associated events can be booked at www.npg.org.uk/whatson/

Supported by Taylor Wessing

#PhotoPrize

See more of the best photography competitions to enter and photography exhibitions to see.

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Best portrait tips from the pros

How to take better portraits on a budget

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The post Taylor Wessing Portrait Photo Prize 2023: Alexandre Silberman announced as the winner appeared first on Amateur Photographer.