In an era where visual expression is democratized to such an extent – everyone is an artist, and with good technology, he can easily become a propulsive artist. If he/she gets lucky. Thanks to smart phones, today we can record every moment. Modern technology has done so much that many of these devices also have high-quality professional cameras.
Beginners usually believe that creativity in photography requires a camera that has “manual functions” and that creativity arises as a result of experimenting with different camera settings. This is why such people practically never take a photo that has content and depth. Namely, the point of photography is the photographer’s interaction with what he wants to capture. The photo should show what is behind the camera, not in front of it. It should be a window into the photographer’s head. There should be creativity, ideas, emotions, spirit, and vision. Without it, the best you can hope to record will be a well-realized copy of kitsch, aesthetically pleasing but without deeper meaning.
As in any other business or hobby, photography is a broad term, and most of those who work in it opt for a narrower field. For example, some like to follow and photograph sporting events, and weddings, some are focused on nature, and some on animals. However, we dedicate this article to those who photograph people.
Photography, as a powerful means of expression, is used today in all aspects of life, permanently recording the world around it, as it really is, but also as the photographer wants to portray it in the moment of experience. A photograph of one person or group of people showing the expression, personality, and mood created at a given moment is considered a portrait photograph.
From the very beginning of photography, headshot photography is considered to be the most demanding, but also the most attractive photographic motif. There are many types of portraits that differ in many ways. Every person, every soul trapped within a split second reveals the photographer’s vision of that person. Whether a portrait is a work of art depends on the person looking at the particular portrait.
For successful portraiture, it is necessary to achieve relaxation of the photographed person and thus his “cooperation”, which is why it is always good to “shoot” more shots when shooting, the model becomes more relaxed, and the photographer has the opportunity to study the model’s behavior “through the viewfinder”.
When we talk about headshot trends, we can undoubtedly say that things are more or less the same as in 2024 – selfies are without a doubt the most popular way to take photos. Self-portraits are not new age. Many have tried to accommodate at least two or more people before, and some cameras have even managed to capture it. With the advent of mobile phones and the improvement of their cameras, photographs have also been improved.
So, selfies are something we like to do ourselves. However, for a little more professional photography, you will need the help of someone more experienced, who understands light, intensities, lenses, and everything else that a photographer should know. You can click here to find out more about it.
We all love black and white photos. They remind us of another time and tell a special story. Just think of those black and white that have a color detail, for example, a woman’s headshot where only red lipstick is visible. Still, that time is behind us, and today color paintings are definitely more popular. Of course, these shots will look much better if they are plowed outside, so you can see the vividness of the colors in the background.
Another trend that has hit the world of photography is the vertical portrait. While the horizontal has captured a lot of background, the vertical portrait is focused on what is in the foreground, and that is certainly the model that stands in front of the lens. So, this type of photography is a great way to keep the focus on the model and his outfit.
Portrait photography or portraiture is a genre of photography in which a person or group of people is photographed and the personality of the subject is recorded using light, pose, and background. The portrait can be formal, artistic, or clinical. Important factors of the portrait are light, shooting angle, and position of the model. With the help of these factors, it is very easy to manipulate someone’s emotions or appearance. The main difference is if we achieve this on purpose in order to prove something or show us a model in a different “light”, the problem arises when we mistakenly mix one of the factors and create the wrong mood of photography.
When it comes to the light source that will be used in the shooting, the important parameters are the power and temperature of that light, the dimensions of the illuminating surface, the direction of the light beam given by a particular source, and the distance of the light source from the photo model.
We can use all types of lenses to take portraits, from wide-angle to telephoto lenses. It all depends on the position and content we want to highlight in a particular portrait. So we need to think carefully about which lens to use for a particular person or a particular portrait cycle. We need to be aware that a wide-angle lens distorts a person, but includes a lot of surroundings in our image and gives great depth of field.
Final Thoughts
From its humble beginnings, the portrait has become one of the most popular forms of photography with the development of technology and accessibility conquered the world. The biggest growth came with the advent of social networks and the ease of spreading them. Of course, the style itself has undergone many changes. Although the formal portrait is still used in various documents in other media, it is being replaced by a much more modern and interesting form.
