Dissolve

Photo by Rosie Forsyth, 19, Scotland

This photo instantly grabs our attention and pulls us in - how does it do that?

The eyes are looking directly at us and we are looking back at them - hard to tell who was first in this standoff! For a split second it’s no longer a photo but real interaction.⠀⠀

You are always present in the picture you take but you dissolve somewhere between the surface of the image and the viewer’s eyes. Whoever is looking at your photos will inherit the emotion and communication intended for you.

If there is joy/love/surprise/questioning/hurt/anger in a photo the viewer will feel it’s for them and will start experiencing it also. And that’s just one of the many powers photography has over us!

So how you interact with the person you are photographing plays a crucial role in your portraiture: ⠀⠀

❓Are they happy to see you? ⠀⠀

❓Are you chatting with them or are they posing in silence?

❓Are they giving you attention or are they unaware of you?

Answers to these questions alone will determine your style of portraiture and will produce completely different results.

Learner’s Tip 📸

Just like this one by Rosie some of the most iconic portraits are taken slightly from the side, at 30-45 degree angle. Unless you are in a studio you probably won’t be measuring your angles! But try and avoid shooting someone straight on if you want a flattering dynamic looking image where the person looks three-dimensional. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀

The girl in Rosie’s photo doesn’t look like she had been sitting like this for hours for the perfect shot (maybe she did and maybe she didn’t!) but it appears like a grabbed spontaneous moment and that’s the alive quality that you want. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀