Portrait photography tip: Hide your subject

Saturday 28 August 2021, 22:22 by Elja Trum | 3,642 views | 0 comments

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

We recognise people out of thousands. So you do not always have to show someone fully lit in the frame to create a recognisable portrait. For example, you could photograph someone veiled, with only the eyes visible.

Stef - f/9, 1/200s, 100 ISO @ 97mm
Or, as in the portrait above, have your subject look away and let the light come from behind, so that only the contours are visible.

This immediately adds atmosphere to a photo, and if you know your model Stef, who appears in this photo, you will certainly recognise him straight away too.

By partly hiding your subject, you make the photo more interesting to look at. You make your brain work.

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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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