How one fits an oval into a rectangle may sound unimportant but, if you are interested in photographing portraits, them it will become the cornerstone of you best portraits. If you substitute the word ‘face’ for the word ‘oval’ you would easily understand my meaning. Faces are ovals in their most basic shape, so then how do you fit a face into a rectangle?

Tip: A person is a vertical subject unless they are laying down, so you should photograph them in landscape format.

Rule of Thirds

First let’s talk about photographing a single person. Where to place that person’s face has intrigued artists for centuries. All artists have faced this challenge in their lives.

The rules of thirds is probably the most accepted rule in all of photography and that being said it has its place in portrait composition as well. The rule of thirds effectively divides the photograph into nine smaller rectangles by placing two lines horizontally and two lines vertically across it. Each pair of lines divides the photograph into three equal parts. The rule of thirds typically suggests that you place the primary subject at one of the four intersection points.

For most traditional portraits, you only need the horizontal lines, so long as you remember to use the “single person is vertical rule”, then you can places the subjects eyes on the higher of the two lines and center the subject between the left and right boundaries or the rectangle. This is considered a typical portrait and is good for many applications however, it is not considered very unique and definitely not creative.

Using the two techniques above will usually result in the average viewer say “That’s a great photograph!” However these two rules alone will not take these photographs to a higher level and make them art. That will require a little bending of the rules.

In addition to placing the persons face within the rectangle, other photographers suggest that you use the rest of the photograph to reveal something more about the subject. This type of photography is often referred to as an environmental photograph and sometimes requires you to break the “single person is vertical” rule.

I have taken many thousands of portraits and the ones that I find most memorable are always more than just another pretty face. Now let’s throw out the two rules above (these should always be in our minds) and get our creative juices flowing.

Let’s Shoot

Include more than just the face of the subject. Show something that reveals more about the subject to allow the viewer to better understand them. If you need to use a horizontal frame do so, just remember that the rule of thirds still applies to horizontal fames.

Photo by Stephen Hall

Try and shoot in daylight rather than indoors. This will stop the flash going off and giving people red eye. Red eye makes people look mental. Of course, if this is the aspect of their character you are trying to capture, then that’s fine.

Photographs one or two people at a time instead of trying to get large groups together; this will give you a better chance of getting everyone smiling nicely at the same time. Big groups rarely look good when you print them because you have to stand further back and this makes the people seem small and blurry.

Never ask anyone to smile. This technique never works because it makes your subject think about what their mouth is doing. Tell them a joke or makes faces at them if need be, or just take a non-smiling photograph for a change. Now if you can catch them when they do not know that you are taking the photograph even better. If they are engrossed in something that they enjoy doing you will usually get a more natural looking photograph. If the person is truly camera shy, you may even want to try photographing them while they sleep. Ethically you may want to show them the pictures when they make up.

Timing. This is less of a problem today since wit a digital camera you can afford to get a bit carried away and take fifteen or more shots hoping on will come out right. There is no shame in this the professionals tend to get a bit trigger happy at times as well. You can also check your photos to make sure that their eyes are not closed. Remember it is not a good way of doing photography if you just randomly take photographs you should take the time to learn to watch for that perfect shot as well. If you really need to talk to them, give them time to relax or even give them a drink.

As a last resort, you can hide all kinds of blemishes by changing your photos to blank and white or sepia.

The goal of photography is to create something more than just photographs, and the search for how to get extravagant portraits is not easy. Some will never learn how to do it and for others, the process will be too painful. But for you, the one reading this article, you will be are of the likely candidates to make it. There are no promises that you will makes it, but it is a worthy goal.