Introduction to portraits for beginners. See how professional photographers take good portraits.

In portrait photography, the most important thing is to always remember that your subjects are people. Learning how to balance technique with creativity and modeling can be difficult at first. You have to find your own rhythm and make eye contact with the model as well as verbally. This is a skill that takes time and personal experience to develop. It's important to learn this technique skillfully and creatively so that you don't feel overwhelmed. One of the prerequisites for taking portraits is that you have to like people. Otherwise, it might be better for you to be a product or landscape photographer. I still remember taking photos of a real estate agent. She needs a portrait for a business card. This should be a relatively simple job, requiring only light, pose, and camera angle, right? wrong. I thought to myself, “I was a photography major in college, this is easy.” There’s a difference between overconfidence and self-confidence: you should believe in yourself, your abilities and talents, but don’t lose sight of the person in front of you . I focused so much on the technical and creative side that I completely forgot about the human element. She just sat there tapping her fingers and looking around boredly. There's great lighting in the photo and her pose is good, but her expression is pretty bad. She had lost interest and it showed on her face, especially her eyes. Sometimes we get so caught up in technology that we forget that talent is the most important part of portrait photography. This is something that not only beginner photographers need to pay attention to, but also some professionals. If you want to be great at portrait photography, communicating with your subjects is essential. As your photography skills and knowledge grow, you will begin to feel more comfortable taking photos in the way you like. But you need to learn how to talk to your customers so they feel comfortable and relaxed. The easiest way to start a conversation is to ask questions. After all, you need to know what the photo is used for and how it will be used. Ask them about their family, talk about their friends, or ask what they like to do, or even tell a joke. Humor is a useful tool for relaxing people. It is important to listen to their answers, or what they say and feel. You have to be sensitive to their needs. Throughout the entire shoot, you should keep the process very smooth. In other words, you should never let the client notice that you are thinking about technical/creative issues or be interrupted by uninvited guests. Proper exposure and pose are important for portrait photos. However, if the expression is poor, the entire photo will be a failure. You can break the rules without success, or mess up the lighting or poses, but to a certain extent, good expressions can save the photo. My advice is don’t get so caught up in technique that you forget your subjects are people. Otherwise, it may not only be bad for your work, but also your business. Basically, put yourself in their shoes, would you let a hard-hearted person take your picture? Develop a personality as a photographer to develop your own photography style. This is the only free and most important photography tool. My mother once said, "God gave each of us two ears and one mouth because He wanted you to hear as much as possible." This is great advice, so the most important thing when talking to your clients is to listen, meet their needs. Not only see but also hear the difference.