Portrait Photography How To

People are among the most popular photo subjects. This month's lesson presents some easy ways to produce better people shots.

1. Don't Just Sit There...
Static portraits—with the subject just slouched there, or stiffly posed, are not terribly appealing. It generally pays to play director as well as photographer when you're photographing people.

Most of us are familiar with the use of out-of-focus, seamless backgrounds by studio photographers, especially those who shoot portraits. Often, these backgrounds are a single color, such as white, black, or gray. In other cases, the backgrounds are a muslin material, adding texture to the background. The sole purpose of these backgrounds is to create a cleaner overall composition, giving the viewer no choice but to look at the man, woman, or child.

It’s amazing how a small shift in vantage point can add a big boost in creativity to portrait photos, as you’ll see in the tutorial below. These tips are especially helpful for photographers who lack a big budget for building sets and purchasing expensive backgrounds to spice up their images.

One of our favorite photo editing apps for portrait photography is back with a new version. 

Posing tips, tricks and how-tos for plus size women have been popular with Shutterbug readers so here’s another great tutorial on the subject. This one is coming to you from plus size model and influencer Ashley Lopez who shows you “how to pose for pictures as a plus size woman.”

Today's portraiture tutorial takes you behind the lens of an accomplished pro who shares several "essential tips for capturing  breathtaking photos both indoors and outdoors." Whether you're just getting started making people pictures or you're looking for ways to up your game, this quick lesson is just what you need.