Sent to you by MarcG via Google Reader:
My portrait of actress Halle Berry chosen as Picture of the Year by People Magazine
Here are some tips and tricks you can use every day for photographing fashion, beauty and celebrity portraits.
Because society views celebrities and supermodels as larger than life subjects, I try and fulfill the viewers 'perception' by using a few simple formulas.
First, when creating a dynamic portrait I use a long lens. This will create three things:
1.) Compression – The natural compression created by using a long lens will immediately flatter the subjects' features instead of distorting them.
2.) Comfort – The greater image magnification created by utilizing longer lenses forces you (the photographer) to move farther away from your subject. This increased distance gives your subject greater comfort by creating space between yourself and your subject. This will always put whomever you are photographing more at ease.
3.) Composition: When it comes to focal length of the lens choosing a longer lens will lessen the focal field. Therefore you will have more concentration on your subject than you will your background.
This celebrity portrait of actor James Caan appeared exclusively on the cover of Photo Insider
Next, using the chosen long lens, I place the camera at chest level with the subject so I am shooting up at them just a bit (if we were using a short focal lens I would be shooting up their nose and distorting their features – not a pretty picture). This upward P.O.V. gives the image the perception that the subject has been placed on a pedestal, and by doing that it can render a beautiful and regal look, or on the opposite, a tough, even menacing look to the portrait.
Lastly, a very simple rule. No matter what the composition I almost always keep the eyes of the person I'm photographing in the upper third of the frame, this is because it's were we are naturally drawn when viewing the photograph.
The only exception to the above rule is when I'm shooting unusual compositions and utilizing negative space for my desired composition.
In the end I think of it like this; learn the rules so you can understand how to break them properly!
Jerry Avenaim
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