How to shoot incredible portraits

Take your portraiture to the next level with pro photographer Paul Wilkinson as he reveals his tricks of the trade for lighting and shooting your best-ever pictures of people

- Paul Wilkinson

Portraits have more to offer than any other photographic genre, in my opinion.

You have the same lighting, exposure and composition-considerations as with other photographic subjects, but on top of all that, you’re dealing with people. Unique, interactive and unpredictable human beings, many of which are incredibly nervous about having their photo taken.

Yes, we portrait photographers also pursue beautiful light, calculate how many more lenses we can justify and dream of the perfect location. But even once the light is right, the location chosen, and the camera set, our job is only just beginning. We also need to place people in that light in a way that flatters them, encourage them to pose and yet look relaxed despite the unnaturalness of the entire endeavour. Then, and only then, do we try to create something – an expression, a feeling – that will connect from our subject’s eyes into the eyes and heart of the person looking at our finished image.

Even newborn babies display a preference for looking at human faces over other stimuli, and that preference deepens as we grow older and gain more experiences. We are genetically programmed to be interested in looking at other humans, that’s just the way it is.

When we gaze at a portrait, our attention goes straight to the subject’s eyes as we try to read their expression and interpret what we see through the filter of our own experiences. That’s why the last thing you do before pressing the shutter release – interacting with your subject to generate an expression – is as important as getting all the technical details right.