Portrait photography tip: Give the situation a role

Sunday 5 December 2021, 20:02 by Elja Trum | 3,513 views | 0 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Of course, it is fun to shoot a nice portrait. However, it often adds something if you let the surroundings play a part. This makes it clear what the situation was when the photo was taken, giving the photo more of a story.

Robin - f/1.4, 1/30s, 1250 ISO @ 50mm
In the photo above, you can see Robin sitting among the Sinterklaas presents. The attention really goes to Robin herself because her face is sharp, but the blurred background adds a lot. This photo was deliberately not taken from eye level, but in this case it still produces a strong photo.

It can be nice to let the child get on with what they are doing and, once you have found the right composition and the right light, call their name to make them look up. The first look is usually the best, so make sure you are ready to press the shutter.

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About the author

Elja Trum is the founder of Photofacts and online photography course website Photofacts Academy. He has been writing about photography since 2006. Elja is also the author of (Dutch) books on composition, black-and-white photography, flash photography and portrait photography.

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Elja Trum

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Would you like to take better photos and keep up with what is happening in photography? Photofacts publishes articles that teach you something about photography — from a product announcement to a practical shooting tip or a look at a website. Photofacts covers photography every day and is a hobby project of Elja Trum's that got out of hand. The articles are written by a team of volunteer authors. If you would enjoy writing one or more articles for Photofacts, do get in touch.More about Photofacts

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