The face can be a little challenging to photograph. We have all had a few successes when taking a selfie or a picture of a few friends with our phone camera. We probably have a few wasted photos too. Why is it that some photos work while others aren’t worth keeping? There is probably a list of reasons. It is not the appearance of the person we photograph; some highly attractive people look rather plain in photos, especially a bad photo. Some ordinary people are photogenic, given a decent photographer. Can we change this? Make everybody more photogenic? Quite probably.
A person’s face is complex. It is not like a neat geometric shape that automatically appeals to our sense of proportion. A building might do this, but not a landscape or a face. So, we cannot reduce anything to a neat formula, like the golden ratio, symmetry, the rule of thirds or balance. Certainly, these might be part of a good picture. But we are not simply putting the square block in a square hole. The aspects of a good image are multi-dimensional. Yet when they work together, they look natural.
A person’s face is linked to their personality. We need to capture some of the body language and facial expressions of the individual. Failure to do this results in an emotionless image. We should look at the photo and almost know what they are thinking or feeling, or perhaps wonder at what they are thinking or feeling. A definite emotion or a mysterious puzzle suggests an interesting photo.
Background – In reality, an individual is part of a complex world. But if we photograph them this way, they tend to just become an insignificant part of the background. Instead, most photos work by putting the person as the focal point of the image, with everything else (or everything unimportant) in the background. At the very least, blur the background. This makes the viewer concentrate on the person, which is the subject of the photo. Else, we can have a neutral background, from a plain colour to a brick wall. Make sure the person is distinct from their surroundings. We might have the person juxtaposed against a staircase or some fine architecture. This can work well. But if the person is the subject, they must always be the focal point of the image.
Context – Is the person a musician, or a motorbike enthusiast? Then their guitar, motorbike or other relevant possession might be part of the image. If it’s a wedding, then this should be obvious in the photo—wedding attire, and the church in the background – are all part of the picture. Formal wedding photos are fine. The bride spontaneously laughing is just as good.
Angle – In straight photos, the person just facing the camera, front and centre, can look rather plain. Try having them at an angle. The old trick is to have them point one foot towards you.
Light – Perhaps the biggest element in any photo is the light. An experienced photographer gets the right light intuitively. Bright spots are distracting, shadows only work if they provide the right contrast. If the natural light isn’t working for you, use some reflective surface to give a more even, soft light on the face.
Lenses – Different lenses will totally change the look of a face. 35mm and 50mm lenses tend to give pleasing, realistic-looking results because these are quite similar to the way the human eye works. Some other lenses can give good results if we are at a distance, perhaps zooming in.
Photoshop – It is easy to think that we can fix anything in Photoshop. This is perhaps half true. We can crop images and get good results. We can do some impressive things by changing the tint of an image. But we can only work with what we have. If the basis photo is poor, we can’t redeem it. It is fine to fix superficial things in a photo, like a red eye from a flash or the acne that the person happens to have on that particular day. Do not remove anything that is a permanent part of the person’s appearance.
Odd angles – Everything being straight up and down can look predictable. Try having people framed by odd angles in the surroundings. Two faces appearing from an archway shot at an angle looks more interesting than just two faces in front of a square door.
Our Wedding Photographer Sydney wants to capture the emotion of your wedding day. This is an art and science, backed with experience and an understanding of what you want in those photos that you keep for a lifetime. We work with you to find what is right for you and your partner and aim for wedding photos that you want to show to your friends.
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