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It’s always fun to photograph people, particularly friends and family. But now you want your portraits to look more professional. Below are tips that will transform your snap-shots into beautiful photographs.

1. Do not place your subject in the middle of the frame. Rarely do you want someone in the center because it does not make for an interesting photograph. Experiment putting your subject to one side of the frame- by doing that you include some background which adds context.

2. In regards to lighting, you want a soft light on your subject’s face. You will usually want the light source to your back, because if the light source is behind your subject, they will end up being very dark (sometimes you may want this effect) and you will lose detail in their face. Outdoor lighting (natural light) is always best, and that is generally before 10 a.m. and after 4 p.m.

3. On some cameras you will see a “Portrait” setting, and what that does is set a shallow depth of field creating a blurred background. The advantage to this feature is that your subject is clearly the main focus of the photograph. To manually create this effect, set your aperture below 5.6.

4. Move in close to your subject. Zoom in; you can fill most of the frame with the person’s face. Try having your subject look in different directions as opposed to directly into the camera. Remember you want your subject to have fun and be comfortable.

5. Don’t forget that a portrait does not just have to be a subject’s face. Challenge yourself to capture your subject without including their face. Can you tell a story using your subject’s hands, feet, or possessions? Where do they enjoy spending time, where do they work, where are they in their element?

6. Be creative. Try tilting the camera, or have the person move around. In low lighting (and using a tripod), you can use a long shutter speed to create streaking effects.

There are no set rules, so just have fun. Your subject may have some great ideas for specific shots or locations. It is always nice to send your subject a great photo of them after the photo shoot.

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