Exposure and Lighting For Digital Photographers Only

Chapter 11. MAKING PICTURES OF PEOPLE

Few types of photography are more gratifying than creating a portrait that not only captures the subject's personality, but that also becomes a portrait the subject will treasure for years. But portraiture is challenging because, unlike inanimate objects, people tend to sit still for only so long before they become bored and ultimately irritated. Many people are often nervous about having their picture made, and, unless you, the photographer, can calm and reassure them, the subject's nervousness inevitably shows up in the portrait. It's essential that you get all the artistic and technical aspects of the photograph right, but you don't have the luxury of taking as much time as you want to fiddle with composition, focus, lighting, and exposure. When you're shooting a portrait such as the one in figure 11-1, you must shoot fast, while you have the cooperation of the subject.

Figure 11-1. 

This chapter covers some of the basic exposure considerations and lighting patterns for portraits and other pictures of people. It's enough to get you off to a good start with photographing people. When you're ready to explore the topic in more depth, you can refer to some of the many books that are available on exposure and lighting for portraits, and still more books ...