Outdoor Portrait Photography!  If you’ve ever photographed a weekend outing, a family reunion, or a special vacation break with friends or family, you’re aware that outdoor photography poses unique problems. Even the most seasoned photographer can fall prey to this. Direct sunlight is harsh. Unwanted elements can obstruct your photographic composition. Color rendering can be difficult to achieve. While there isn’t much you can do about Mother Nature, you can overcome many of the other problems you’ll face as an outdoor portrait photographer with some skill and patience. Here are a few techniques which can be followed for better outdoor portrait photography.

Correct the color

Color correction in outdoor portraits were usually done using corrective filters or special films before the digital age. The colour balance option on digital cameras can be used to correct the colour. For outdoor exposures, most digital cameras currently do a pretty good job of automatically changing the white balance.

Lighting

Downlight might bring out the worst in your subject due to the shadow patterns it makes.  Lateral light (such as that found in the early morning and late afternoon) is far preferable. Lateral light may be directed and manipulated to create stunning shadow patterns on your subject’s face. Many outdoor photographers have a saying that the first tree in the forest is the best for a background.

Keep it Simple

When you’re putting together the portrait, you want your subject to be the centre of attention. If you’re not careful, busy patterns, vast regions of brilliant colours or overpowering forms in your foreground or background which aren’t treated properly can distract from the subject. Hence it is well played, when kept simple.

Control the depth of field

With correct depth of field control, the edge of a forest or distant mountains can render wonderfully as a backdrop for your subject.  This acts as an eye control for the person looking at your portrait. The eye is drawn to the brightest and most sharply focused objects. Your subject will be highlighted as the focal point of your portrait if she is sharply focused relative to the background. Changing the aperture setting allows you to control the depth of field.

Outdoor Portrait Photography has a number of obstacles and opportunities for portrait photographers. With these simple techniques, one can capture beautiful pictures without any obstacle. To know more about the field of Photography, one can enroll in the 3 month Diploma in Photography course.

Outdoor Portrait Photography