Introduction to Portraiture

A portrait is a photographic technique that focuses on a person’s face or upper body.

Although normally a portrait is taken by someone else, a selfie, the person taking a photo of themselves, can be considered a portrait as it focuses on their face.

To make the portrait more focused on the upper body, especially the face, distracting backgrounds shouldn’t be seen in the photo, also, other objects that make the viewers focus on that should be eliminated from the photo.

Good portraits should contain 2 elements in one photo. The first element is the subject that the viewers can focus on, for example, the face of a person. Second, the background should not distract the viewers, so negative space can be used.

Small details such as close up of hands shouldn’t be seen in portraits as they should focus on the upper body.

Mind Map