10 portrait photography mistakes

every photographer makes (and

how to fix them)
By Angela Nicholson June 19, 2013How To

Most photographers take a portrait shot at some point. You might

not think of it as such, you might think of it as a holiday photo,
documentary photography shot or a family photo, but if there's a
person in it, it's also portrait photography.

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 People photos can be particularly tricky to get right because many
subjects have strong ideas about how they do and don't want to
appear, and not all are comfortable in front of the camera.

In this article our head of testing, Angela Nicholson, explains some of

the common mistakes that photographers make when shooting
portraits and explains how to avoid them.

Portrait Photography Mistake No. 1: Shooting wide

Although you can produce really funky shots with a wide-angle lens,
few of them tend to find favour with the subjects.

Wide-angle lenses make close subjects look much bigger than those
that are further away and with a portrait this can mean a big nose,

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 above a receding chin, on a small face with tiny eyes.

It's far more flattering to shoot from a little further away and use a
longer lens as this will help keep the sitter's facial features in
proportion.

While an effective focal length of 50mm (or wider) lens may be a

good choice for an environmental portrait, where the subject is in
their workplace, for example, and you're not too close, something a
little longer, perhaps around 70-85mm, is often regarded as a good
choice for head and shoulders shot.

Don't forget, that a 50 mm lens is equivalent to around 75 mm on

and an APS-C format SLR, so your standard prime lens can be an
excellent choice.

Longer telephoto lenses also work well, although you'll need to stand
further away so you need more space to work in.

Using a longer lens has the added advantage of restricting depth of

field so the background is blurred slightly putting greater emphasis
on your subject.

SEE MORE
14 portrait photography tips you'll never want to forget
4 classic portrait compositions every photographer should know
Best lens for portraits: 5 sensibly priced options tested and rated
Try these 4 pro tips for perfectly exposed portraits

Portrait Photography Mistake No. 2: Eyes not sharp

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 As a general rule the eyes in a portrait image should be sharp. This is
especially important if you're shooting with the aperture wide open
to restrict depth of field.

Shallow depth of field is a great way of directing the viewer's

attention towards the subject, and if the wrong part of the image is
sharp that's where the viewer will look.

With a portrait this means that it's no good focusing on the sitter's
nose, the focus point needs to be right on one of the eyes.

If you normally let the camera select the autofocus point for you, it's
time to take control and set it yourself. Your camera manual will
explain exactly how to do this, but look for an option called
something like one point or one area auto focusing.

Alternatively, if your subject isn't moving you could try focusing

manually. In this case it's worth using your camera's live view mode
and composing the image on screen with the camera on a tripod.

It's usually possible to magnify part of the scene so that you can be
sure that the focus is spot-on. With a portrait you want to magnify
the eyes and focus on them.

An added advantage of shooting with the camera on a tripod and

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 composing the image on the camera's screen is that it's easier to
engage your subject in conversation, helping them to relax and
making the shoot almost incidental.

SEE MORE
How to focus a portrait: get pin-sharp eyes in 3 easy steps
How to focus your camera for any subject or scene: free
photography cheat sheet
Getting sharp images: every photo technique you need to know
starting out
How to fine tune image sharpness using live view

See more how-to articles

Portrait Photography Mistake No. 3: Too much depth of field

As alluded to previously, selecting a small aperture to create

extensive depth of field isn't always a good idea with a portrait.

If the background is busy or cluttered it may distract from your

subject. Choosing a wider aperture, for example if/5.6 will often
produce better results.

Even if the background isn't heavily blurred, restricting the depth of

field a little separates your subject from the surroundings giving

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 them greater dominance in the shot.

If you find that the background isn't as blurred as you would like, ask
your subject to step forward, increasing the distance between them
and it.

You could also switch to a longer focal length lens as this will result
in less depth of field at the same aperture, although you will have to
move further away from your subject to maintain the same
composition.

SEE MORE
54 Portrait Ideas: free downloadable posing guide
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explained
Photoshop Effects: how to mimic studio lighting for stylish portraits
17 posing tips and in-camera slimming tricks for shooting curvy
models

Portrait Photography Mistake No. 4: Unusual headwear

One of the all-time classic errors when shooting people is to not pay
enough attention to the background and as a result end up with
shots that have lampposts, trees or flagpoles sticking out of the top

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 people's heads.

It may be possible to avoid this by shooting with a wide aperture to

blur the background, but it's often just a case of taking a few steps
to one side of the other to give them a different background.

SEE MORE
40 More Portrait Ideas: part 2 of our free downloadable posing guide
Flash photography tips: external flash techniques anyone can
understand
How to retouch photos: pro techniques in 10 easy steps
Male Poses: 17 tips to make him confident and comfortable for your
camera

See more how-to articles

Portrait Photography Mistake No. 5: Depth of field to shallow

While restricting depth of field in a portrait can be very effective, if

you shoot wide open with an 85mm f/1.8 lens the depth of field may
be so shallow that only the eyes are in focus, while the ears are soft.

This means that you need to be extremely careful with your focusing,
and if you want a little more than the contact lenses on your
subject's eyes to be sharp, you may want to consider closing the

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 aperture down a little.

Be sure to check your images at or near the size that you want to use
them, or enlarge the image on the camera's screen when you review
it to check the focus and depth of field.

It can be hard to assess depth of field in thumbnails and when the

image is squeezed onto the back of the camera, out of ofcus areas
often look sharper than they actually are.

SEE MORE
Manual Focus: what you need to know to get sharp photos
Focus Modes: how, when and why you need to change your AF
settings
Digital camera tips: how to choose the best AF mode
Banish blurry photos: how to keep foreground interest sharp

Portrait Photography Mistake No. 6: Shooting from the wrong

height

The definition of 'wrong height' varies depending upon the subject

and the context of the image, but it can help you produce better
results if you shoot at your subject's eye-level.

With children this may mean kneeling down or even lying with your

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 elbows on the floor.

Conversely, if you want to take a quick shot that emphasises how

small they are, then shoot from above.

Many portrait photographers advise against shooting from below

your subjects eye level, because it can lead to double chins and up-
nostril views.

Traditionally, women and children were always shot from slightly

above with them looking up to emphasise their eyes and make them
look more appealing, but these guidelines are less relevant today.

SEE MORE
17 posing tips and in-camera slimming tricks for shooting curvy
models
11 portrait photography techniques your subjects want you to know
Maternity photography ideas: 17 tips for pregnancy photos she'll
cherish forever
19 stellar posing tips and camera tricks for flattering pictures of older
people

See more how-to articles

Portrait Photography Mistake No. 7: Harsh shadows

[caption id="attachment_537267" align="aligncenter" width="427"]

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 An example of harsh shadows[/caption]

In some cases strong shadows may make image, but in many

situations you want to try and soften the light and reduce the impact
of shadows.

If you're shooting in strong sunlight you might want to find a more

shady position for your subject.

Alternatively, you could use a diffuser held above your subject, to

soften the light.

A burst of flash, preferably from an off-camera flashgun, can also

work wonders, filling in shadows and giving the image boost. And
putting a little sparkle in the eyes.

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 The rapid falloff of flash also means that it is easy to darken the
background a little if you want, putting greater emphasis on your
subject.

SEE MORE
Free portrait photography cropping guide
Free family portrait photography cheat sheet
Flash photography tips: external flash techniques anyone can
understand
18 of the best-ever posing tips for group photos

Portrait Photography Mistake No. 8: Redeye

One of the dangers of using the flash on your camera is that the light
is very close to the lens and this can result in light from the flash
being bounced back of your subject's retina and into the camera
causing the phenomena we know as redeye.

Anti-redeye flash settings that fire a pre-flash can help by closing

your subjects irises down so that less light enters their eyes and
bounces back, but the best cure is to move the flash away from the
lens.

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 SEE MORE
3 stupidly simple lighting techniques that will transform your family
portraits
13 tips for better pictures of babies, toddlers and teenagers
6 simple simple lighting setups for shooting portraits at home (plus
free cheat sheet)
Headshot tips: how to take (and retouch) a professional portrait

See more how-to articles

Portrait Photography Mistake No. 9: Too much detail

While you want your subject's eyes to be sharp, you don't want to
emphasise any flaws in their skin, for example.

If you shoot only JPEG images look for a Natural or Neutral colour
setting and use that rather than Standard or Vibrant, which may
saturate colours, especially red and draw attention to pimples etc.

Better still, shoot raw files and process them carefully paying
attention to the skin tone and keeping saturation down (but not so
they look ill.

You may also want spend a little bit of time sympathetically

retouching the portrait to deal with any blemishes or pimples.

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 Be sparing with the level of sharpening that you apply to the image
(in-camera or post-capture) and if possible sharpen selectively when
processing the image, targeting the eyes and hair while leaving the
skin unsharpened.

Conversely, don't get carried away with the retouching so the skin
looks plastic on the subject barely recognises themself.

SEE MORE
How to focus on off-centre subjects
Creative focus: camera tips for static to spontaneous subjects
Studio Lighting: 4 seriously simple lighting techniques to try at home
Free portrait lighting cheat sheet

Portrait Photography Mistake No. 10: Too far away

One of the most common errors made by novice photographers is to

stand too far away from the subject and not zoom in sufficiently with
the lens.

With portrait photography taken outside this can often mean huge
empty areas around the subject with a vast sky above them and
acres of ground beneath them, when in fact head and shoulders
portrait would work much better.

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 That's not to say that full-length portraits don't work, they just need
a little more thought than many people give them.

Although going closer can often result in better portraits, beware

going over the top and producing a passport photo, a tight head-
shot from the neck up.

SEE MORE
Miss Aniela: my top tips for creative portrait photography
14 portrait photography tips you'll never want to forget
17 romantic couple poses that will make you say, 'I do'
People Photography: composition tips for more diverse portrait
styles

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