Most people who are just starting out in photography are caught in the “Oh no, I mustn’t cut the top of their heads off” mode. As a result, they often end up zooming out too far or moving too far back. There’s absolutely no reason to: Get in close and personal. There is a lot of beauty in being able to see eyes, the small smiling wrinkles in a face, and every tiny detail of skin. Psychologically, getting in very close works well because you actually very rarely see only such a small part of a person. It takes you well inside his or her personal boundaries, a place usually reserved for family, close friends, lovers, or complete strangers on the metro. Of course, a photograph is different from any of these experiences, but nothing is stopping you from using all the tricks in the book to get your photographs to be as intimate as possible. To get in close, you can move closer physically, but you might find that not everybody is comfortable with getting a lens too close to his or her face. Using a zoom lens is the way around this: You can get beautiful, intimate portraits from across the room with a 200mm lens, for example. Alternatively, 92
Focus On Photographing People
as discussed in Chapter 4, “Composition and Making People Look Good,” and Chapter 7, “Photo Editing,” don’t hesitate to crop your photos to get in closer after the fact.
Creative use of colors As humans, we have a strong reaction to colors, and using them to full effect in portraiture is a very good idea. Colorful makeup is one way you can brighten up somebody’s face, but you can go much further
than that, too. Clothes and backgrounds, especially, can look fantastic in vibrant colors. If you’re feeling flashy, you can add colored gels to your strobes or lights to add some extra color to your photos, too. The great thing about gelled strobes is that you can paint a wall in 1/60 of a second—and repaint it just as quickly in a different color. It’s not the most original of techniques, but it’s perfect for adding a lick of awesome to your photos.