How to Take More 'Emotional' Portraits

When it comes to portraiture of professional quality, the ability for the artist to capture and

represent emotions in the face of the subject is a crucial distinguishing factor between good and great photographers. There's a difference between a simple, generic head shot (which may be more fitting depending on the project you're hired to do), and an emotional, articulate picture that tells the audience more of a story about the subject being captured It can be extremely difficult to capture emotion through photography. Many artists fail to tell stories through portraiture work, because when you catch an picture of a person's face, there's only so much you can show. If that's something you're searching for to develop, there are a couple of helpful photography techniques you can use to get more emotional portraits.

- Try Working In a Familiar Setting

Some of the main problems photographers typically face when taking photos of their customers is that some customers are somewhat nervous and shy about getting their picture taken. Tons of people get camera shy, and in the photos, the embarrassment appears to manifest and show up on their faces.

it is an important part of your job to help put your subjects at ease. One of the simplest ways to do this is to try shooting on location they are comfortable with as long as it goes with the theme.

- Don’t Micromanage This also contributes to the key goal of putting your subjects at ease. If you want to capture the sincere emotional essence of the subject, you really want them to be themselves and that won’t happen if the subject is feeling nervous. Many photographers make the mistake of over-correcting subject behavior right off the bat when diving into a shoot. The subject is much more likely to respond well and feel at ease if they’re met with positive reinforcement and enthusiasm, especially when you’re first starting out the session. Try giving nothing but encouragement, compliments, and positive reinforcement when you’re first getting started.

-Keep Your Subjects Busy Your subjects are much likely to show more sincere emotion if you give them something to feel emotional about. Sitting in a chair and having your picture taken rarely makes any subject feel anything other than nervous. Consider keeping your subjects a tad bit busy. help your subject feel more relaxed and natural- and you’ll be more likely to catch them with more sincere emotions.