How to Take Good Photos of People

When it comes to taking great shots of people, there is a golden rule that you must follow. Always use a zoom lens that is at least 85mm. Anything less and you'll soon find that the faces of all the people you take are distorted. This is especially true around the nose area, which will seem larger than usual, and also the ears will be further apart than normal.

Any photographer will tell you how important lighting is. To a point that it is universally agreed that lighting itself is more important than the lens and the camera. Of course, when choosing a camera, what you pay is what you get. The larger the sensor the better, as opposed to the larger the megapixel. Even an older camera which is secondhand but professional quality will still beat a new camera but a inferior sensor. For the novice, this is what we recommend to most people. Secondhand equipment which is excellent quality will always take the best shots.

When the subjects you are shooting are constantly moving around, you will want to have sufficient lighting so that the response time for your shots is low. Choosing the best lens you can afford with a large aperture is important, especially if you are taking many shots in low light. You do not want to miss the great photo simply because of inferior equipment and having blur in all your shots. Some users prefer to switch off automatic settings like image stabilization simply because they find that the shots are more sharp when these are set to manual. In our testing, we recommend that for novices, that they leave these settings on, until they learn to get a steady hold on their new equipment.

The best photos come naturally, without the person smiling to the camera. Most of the best shots we have taken always come from in between the shots, when the person thought they were off camera. Be prepared to leave the camera in multi shot mode, to take the photos after the session, so that you can capture the natural reaction of the person. Something as simple as dropping something on the floor, or being distracted by traffic can lead to a great shot of their profile, or a gust of wind blowing their hair, can all make great photos. Remember that as a photographer, you really should make yourself disappear, so the subject becomes more comfortable with their surrounding, almost naturally so they are less aware of your big lens pointing in their direction.

Never run around too much in front of them and point your lens straight into their face, as this can become a daunting experience for them, and once they lose patience with you, it is very hard to get them to smile with their eyes. Photographers constantly look for an emotion or a story to be told by the eyes of people. Any tension showing in their face, or a strained look while they have to climb stairs, will all be seen and captured in the photo. If this is what you are after, then that is fine. However, if you are after a natural look that will sell, then learn to be direct and clear, but not forceful in your instructions to them.

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