How to Take Sharp Portraits
- 1). Use a tripod. No matter how steady your hands are, you cannot hold the camera as steadily as a tripod can. While the difference may be negligible at fast shutter speeds, when the speed drops below the setting nearest the inverse of the focal length of the lens (for example, 1/30 for a 24-millimeter lens), you will begin to introduce camera blur when you handhold.
- 2). Decrease the size of the aperture. The smaller the aperture, the greater the depth of field will be, which means more of the face will be in focus. Begin with an aperture of at least f/5.6, and adjust it according to your needs.
- 3). Increase the shutter speed, especially when taking portraits of children. The faster the shutter speed, the more the camera is able to freeze motion. Slower shutter speeds may result in motion blur if your subject moves. Begin with a speed of at least 1/60 of a second, and adjust it according to your needs.
- 4). Increase the camera's ISO. This makes it more sensitive to light and allows you to achieve a greater depth of field with a smaller aperture.
- 5). Increase the amount of light falling on the subject. This allows you to decrease the size of the aperture, increase the shutter speed, or both.
- 6). Focus on the subject's eyes. If you have a parfocal, or a true zoom, lens, zoom in as far as you can, manually adjust the focus, then zoom back out. If you have a varifocal lens, which loses focus as you zoom, magnify the image in the viewfinder or LCD screen, then focus on the subject's eyes.
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