Taking pictures of people is one of the great joys of photography. You will experience a great sense of accomplishment when you capture the spirit and personality of someone in a photograph. At the same time, you have a great responsibility because the person in front of the camera is depending on you to make them look good. You can’t always change how someone looks, but you can control the way you photograph that individual. In this chapter, we will explore some camera features and techniques that can help you create great portraits.

While climbing through the Bayon temple in Cambodia, I happened upon this young monk, sitting quietly in a corner of the temple. His colorful robes were such a great contrast to the old stone walls of the temple. The area he was sitting in happened to be in the shade, which helped to soften the shadows and allowed me to capture more detail in the darker shadow areas.

Figure . 

Yet another shot from my travels to Cambodia. I was exploring another temple when a heavy monsoon rolled in. I ducked under the cover of one of the buildings, along with some other visitors and this lovely young girl who worked at one of the local food stands. She was quite the ham and loved having her picture taken. I had her stand right at the edge of the doorway where the soft light from the cloudy sky could fall across her face. I kept the aperture fairly large to create a shallow depth of field and then focused on her eyes.

Figure . 

In Chapter 3, we reviewed all of the automatic modes in the Basic zone. One of them, Portrait mode, is dedicated to shooting portraits. While this is not my preferred camera setting, it is a great jumping-off point for those who are just starting out. The key to using this mode is to understand what is going on with the camera so that when you venture further into portrait photography, you can expand on the settings and get the most from your camera and, more importantly, your subject.

Whether you are photographing an individual or a group, the emphasis should always be on the subject. Portrait mode utilizes a larger aperture setting to keep the depth of field very narrow, which means that the background will appear slightly blurred or out of focus. To take full advantage of this effect, use a medium- to telephoto-length lens. Also, keep a pretty close distance to your subject. If you shoot from too far away, the narrow depth of field will not be as effective.

If you took a poll of portrait photographers to see which shooting mode was most often used for portraits, the answer would certainly be Aperture Priority (Av) mode. Selecting the right aperture is important for placing the most critically sharp area of the photo on your subject, while simultaneously blurring all of the distracting background clutter (Figure 6.1). Not only will a large aperture give the narrowest depth of field, it will also allow you to shoot in lower light levels at lower ISO settings.

Figure 6.1. Using a wide aperture, especially with a longer lens, blurs distracting background details.

This isn’t to say that you have to use the largest aperture on your lens. A good place to begin is f/5.6. This will give you enough depth of field to keep the entire face in focus, while providing enough blur to eliminate distractions in the background. This isn’t a hard-and-fast setting; it’s just a good, all-around number to start with. Your aperture might change depending on the focal length of the lens you are using and on the amount of blur that you want for your foreground and background elements.

Go Wide for Environmental Portraits

There will be times when your subject’s environment is of great significance to the story you want to tell. This might mean using a smaller aperture to get more detail in the background or foreground. Once again, by using Av mode, you can set your aperture to a higher f-stop, such as f/8 or f/11, and include the important details of the scene that surrounds your subject.

Using a wider-than-normal lens can also assist in getting more depth of field as well as showing the surrounding area. A wide-angle lens requires less stopping down of the aperture to achieve an acceptable depth of field. This is due to the fact that wide-angle lenses are covering a greater area, so the depth of field appears to cover a greater percentage of the scene.

A wider lens might also be necessary to relay more information about the scenery (Figure 6.2). Select a lens length that is wide enough to tell the story but not so wide that you distort the subject. There’s nothing quite as unflattering as giving someone a big, distorted nose (unless you are going for that sort of look). When shooting a portrait with a wide-angle lens, keep the subject away from the edge of the frame. This will reduce the distortion, especially in very wide focal lengths. As the lens length increases, distortion will be reduced. I generally don’t like to go wider than about 24mm for portraits.

Figure 6.2. A wide-angle lens allows you to capture more of the environment in the scene without having to increase the distance between you and the subject.

Metering Basics

There are multiple metering modes in your camera, but the way they work is very similar. A light meter measures the amount of light being reflected off your subject and then renders a suggested exposure value based on the brightness of the subject and the ISO setting of the sensor. To establish this value, the meter averages all of the brightness values to come up with a middle tone, sometimes referred to as 18 percent gray. The exposure value is then rendered based on this middle gray value. This means that a white wall would be underexposed and a black wall would be overexposed in an effort to make each one appear gray. To assist with special lighting situations, the 50D has four metering modes: Evaluative (Figure 6.3), which uses the entire frame; Partial (Figure 6.4), which uses the middle 9 percent of the frame; Spot (Figure 6.5), which takes specific readings from small areas (often used with a gray card); and Center-Weighted (Figure 6.6), which looks at the entire frame but places most of the exposure emphasis on the center of the frame.

Figure 6.3. The Evaluative metering mode uses the entire frame.

Figure 6.4. The Partial metering mode uses the middle of the frame.

Figure 6.5. The Spot metering mode uses a very small area of the frame.

Figure 6.6. The Center-Weighted metering mode looks at the entire frame but emphasizes the center of it.

For most portrait situations, the Evaluative metering mode is ideal. (For more on how metering works, see the “Metering Basics” sidebar.) This mode measures light values from all portions of the viewfinder and then establishes a proper exposure for the scene. The only problem that you might encounter when using this metering mode is when you have very light or dark backgrounds in your portrait shots.

In these instances, the meter might be fooled into using the wrong exposure information because it will be trying to lighten or darken the entire scene based on the prominence of dark or light areas (Figure 6.7). You can deal with this in one of two ways. You can use the Exposure Compensation feature, which we cover in Chapter 7, to dial in adjustments for over- and underexposure. Or you can change the metering mode from Evaluative to Partial metering. The Partial metering mode only uses the center area of the viewfinder (about 9 percent) to get its exposure information. This is the best way to achieve proper exposure for most portraits; metering off skin tones, averaged with hair and clothing, will often give a more accurate exposure (Figure 6.8). This metering mode is also great to use when the subject is strongly backlit.

Figure 6.7. The light background color and clothing fooled the meter into choosing a slightly underexposed setting for the photo.

Figure 6.8. When I switched to the Partial metering mode, my camera was able to ignore much of the background and add a little more time to the exposure.

There will often be times when your subject is not in the center of the frame but you still want to use the Partial metering mode. So how can you get an accurate reading if the subject isn’t in the center? Try using the AE (Auto Exposure) Lock feature to hold the exposure setting while you recompose.

AE Lock lets you use the exposure setting from any portion of the scene that you think is appropriate, and then lock that setting in regardless of how the scene looks when you recompose. An example of this would be when you’re shooting a photograph of someone and a large amount of blue sky appears in the picture. Normally, the meter might be fooled by all that bright sky and try to reduce the exposure. Using AE Lock, you can establish the correct metering by zooming in on the subject (or even pointing the camera toward the ground), taking the meter reading and locking it in with AE Lock, and then recomposing and taking your photo with the locked-in exposure.

It has been said that the eyes are the windows to the soul, and nothing could be truer when you are taking a photograph of someone (Figure 6.9). You could have the perfect composition and exposure, but if the eyes aren’t sharp the entire image suffers. While there are many different focusing modes to choose from on your 50D, for portrait work you can’t beat One Shot mode using a single focusing point. One Shot focusing will establish a single focus for the lens and then hold it until you take the photograph; the other focusing modes continue focusing until the photograph is taken. The single-point selection lets you place the focusing point right on your subject’s eye and set that spot as the critical focus spot. Using One Shot mode lets you get that focus and recompose all in one motion.

Figure 6.9. When photographing people, you should almost always place the emphasis on the eyes.

There is something timeless about a black and white portrait. It eliminates the distraction of color and puts all the emphasis on the subject. To get great black and whites without having to resort to any image-processing software, set your picture style to Monochrome (Figure 6.10). You should know that the picture styles are automatically applied when shooting with the JPEG file format. If you are shooting in RAW, the picture that shows up on your rear LCD display will look black and white, but it will appear as a color image when you open it in your Digital Photo Professional software. You can use the software to apply the Monochrome, or any other style, to your RAW image within the image-editing software.

Figure 6.10. Getting high-quality black and white portraits is as simple as setting the picture style to Monochrome.

The real key to using the Monochrome picture style is to customize it for your portrait subject. The style can be changed to alter the sharpness and contrast. For women, children, puppies, and anyone else who should look somewhat soft, set the Sharpness setting to 0 or 1. For old cowboys, longshoremen, and anyone else who you want to look really detailed, try a setting of 6 or 7. I typically like to leave Contrast at a setting of around –1 or –2. This gives me a nice range of tones throughout the image.

The other adjustment that you should try is to change the picture style’s Filter effect from None to one of the four available settings (Yellow, Orange, Red, and Green). Using the filters will have the effect of either lightening or darkening the skin tones. The Red and Yellow filters usually lighten skin, while the Green filter can make skin appear a bit darker. Experiment to see which one works best for your subject.

As long as we are talking about picture styles for portraits, there is another style on your 50D that has been tuned specifically for this type of shooting. Oddly enough, it’s called Portrait. To set this style on your camera, simply follow the same directions as earlier, except this time select the Portrait style instead of Monochrome. There are also individual options for the Portrait style that, like the Monochrome style, include sharpness and contrast. You can also change the saturation (how intense the colors will be) and color tone, which lets you change the skin tones from more reddish to more yellowish. I prefer brighter colors, so I like to boost the Saturation setting to +2 and leave everything else at the defaults. You won’t be able to use the same adjustments for everyone, especially when it comes to color tone, so do some experimenting to see what works best.

Face detection in digital cameras has been around for a few years, but it’s still a new concept in the world of the dSLR. Your 50D has three different autofocus modes for Live View: Quick, Live, and my personal favorite, Face Detection. These modes are different from the standard modes like One Shot, AI Servo, and AI Focus. Face Detection mode is probably the slowest of the Live View focusing modes, so I use it mostly when I am working with a tripod or my subjects are going to remain fairly still. When you turn on Live View with Face Detection focusing, the camera does an amazing thing: it zeroes in on any face appearing on the LCD and places a box around it (Figure 6.11). I’m not sure how it works; it just does.

Figure 6.11. The Live View Face Detection mode can lock in on your subject’s face for easy focusing.

If there is more than one face in the frame, the box will appear over just one of them, but it will have little arrows to the side of it. Just move the Multi-Controller toggle button from side to side to make the box jump from one face to the other until you have selected the one that you want to focus on.

Using Live View’s Grid Overlay

There is another benefit to using Live View: the Grid overlay. This is a feature that actually places a grid over your image, dividing it into thirds, which can be of great benefit in properly composing your image.

Setting Up Live View’s Grid Option

1. Press the Menu button and then use the Main dial to get to the second camera setup screen.

2. Using the Quick Control dial, scroll down to Live View function settings and press the Set button.

3. Scroll down to Grid display, press Set, and then choose Grid 1.

4. Press the Menu button to return to the main Live View settings and make sure to set the Live View shooting option to Enable.

Now, when you activate Live View, you will see the one-third grid overlay superimposed on the rear display (Figure 6.12). This effect only shows up on the display and will not be visible in your final image.

Figure 6.12. Using Live View’s Grid option can help you compose your shots.

A common problem when taking pictures of people outside, especially during the midday hours, is that the overhead sun can create dark shadows under the eyes and chin. You could have your subject turn his or her face to the sun, but that is usually considered cruel and unusual punishment. So how can you have your subject’s back to the sun and still get a decent exposure of the face? Try turning on your flash to fill in the shadows. This also works well when you are photographing someone with a ball cap on (Figure 6.13). The bill of the hat tends to create heavy shadows over the eyes, and the fill flash will lighten up those areas while providing a really nice catchlight in the eyes.

Figure 6.13. I used a little fill flash to lighten the dark shadows created by the ball cap without overpowering the natural light.

The key to using the flash as a fill is to not use it on full power. If you do, the camera will try to balance the flash with the daylight, and you will get a very flat and feature-less face.

Not all portraits are shot with the subject sitting in a chair, posed and ready for the picture. Sometimes you might want to get an action shot that says something about the person, similar to an environmental portrait. Children, especially, just like to move. Why fight it? Set up an action portrait instead.

For the photo in Figure 6.14, I used the Portrait picture style and set my camera to Tv mode. I knew that there would be a good deal of movement involved, and I wanted to make sure that I had a fairly high shutter speed to freeze the action, so I set it to 1/320 of a second. I set the focus mode to AI Servo, the drive mode to High-speed continuous, and just let it rip. There were quite a few throwaway shots, but I was able to capture one that conveyed the energy and action.

Figure 6.14. A high ISO allowed me to use a fast shutter speed to stop the action, along with a small aperture to increase depth of field.

Before we get to the assignments for this chapter, I thought it might be a good idea to leave you with a few extra pointers on shooting portraits that don’t necessarily have anything specific to do with your camera. There are entire books that cover things like portrait lighting, posing, and so on. But here are a few pointers that will make your people pics look a lot better.

Avoid the Center of the Frame

This falls under the category of composition. Place your subject to the side of the frame (Figure 6.15)—it just looks more interesting than plunking them smack dab in the middle (Figure 6.16).

Figure 6.15. Try cropping in a bit, and place the subject’s face off center to improve the shot.

Figure 6.16. Having the subject in the middle of the frame with so much empty space on the sides can make for a less-than-interesting portrait.

Choose the Right Lens

Choosing the correct lens can make a huge impact on your portraits. A wide-angle lens can distort features of your subject, which can lead to an unflattering portrait (Figure 6.17). Select a longer focal length if you will be close to your subject (Figure 6.18).

Figure 6.17. At this close distance, the 18mm lens is distorting the subject’s face.

Figure 6.18. By zooming out to 70mm, I am able to remove the distortion for a much better photo.

Don’t Cut Them Off at the Knees

There is an old rule about photographing people: never crop the picture at a joint. This means no cropping at the ankles or the knees (Figure 6.19). If you need to crop at the legs, the proper place to crop is mid-shin or mid-thigh (Figure 6.20).

Figure 6.19. Cutting a person off at the joints, such as the ankles or knees, looks a bit unnatural.

Figure 6.20. A better crop intersects at mid-shin or mid-thigh.

Use the Frame

Have you ever noticed that most people are taller than they are wide? Turn your camera vertically for a more pleasing composition (Figure 6.21).

Figure 6.21. Get in the habit of turning your camera to a vertical position when shooting portraits. This is also referred to as portrait orientation.

Sunblock for Portraits

The midday sun can be harsh and can do unflattering things to people’s faces. If you can, find a shady spot out of the direct sunlight. You will get softer shadows, smoother skin tones, and better detail. This holds true for overcast skies as well (Figure 6.22). Just be sure to adjust your white balance accordingly.

Figure 6.22. An overcast sky provided a soft, even light source for this picture of my buddy Mike.

Give Them a Healthy Glow

Nearly everyone looks better with a warm, healthy glow. Some of the best light of the day happens just a little before sundown, so shoot at that time if you can (Figure 6.23).

Figure 6.23. You just can’t beat the glow of the late afternoon sun for adding warmth to your portraits.

Keep an Eye on Your Background

Sometimes it’s so easy to get caught up in taking a great shot that you forget about the smaller details. Try to keep an eye on what is going on behind your subject so they don’t end up with things popping out of their heads (Figures 6.24 and 6.25).

Figure 6.24. A downspout in the background is going right into the subject’s head.

Figure 6.25. By moving the camera position a little to the left, I was able to remove the distracting pipe from the photo.

Frame the Scene

Using elements in the scene to create a frame around your subject is a great way to draw the viewer in. You don’t have to use a window frame to do this. Just look for elements in the foreground that could be used to force the viewer’s eye toward your subject (Figure 6.26).

Figure 6.26. It wasn’t hard to frame this wonderful subject, since she was already sitting in the window. Learn to use the elements of the scene to frame your subject and draw in the viewer’s eyes.

More Than Just a Pretty Face

Most people think of a portrait as a photo of someone’s face. Don’t ignore other aspects of your subject that reflect their personality—hands, especially, can go a long way to describing someone (Figure 6.27).

Figure 6.27. There’s more to a person than just their face. This street musician’s hand tells a story all its own.

Get Down on Their Level

If you want better pictures of children, don’t shoot from an adult’s eye level. Getting the camera down to the child’s level will make your images look more personal (Figure 6.28).

Figure 6.28. Sometimes taking photographs of children means lying on the floor, but the end result is a much better image.

Eliminate Space Between Your Subjects

One of the problems you can encounter when taking portraits of more than one person is that of personal space. What feels like a close distance to the subjects can look impersonal to the viewer. Have your subjects move close together, eliminating any open space between them (Figure 6.29).

Figure 6.29. Getting siblings to stand close together can sometimes be a challenge, but the results are worth the effort.

Don’t be Afraid to Get Close

When you are taking someone’s picture, don’t be afraid of getting close and filling the frame (Figure 6.30). This doesn’t mean you have to shoot from a foot away; try zooming in and capture the details.

Figure 6.30. Filling the frame with the subject’s face can lead to a much more intimate portrait.