This week, you have the opportunity to capture the essence and personality of your subjects. Whether you choose to ask a stranger, do a self-portrait, take the portrait of a friend, family member, or acquaintance, or photograph animals and birds, the goal is to connect with another person or subject and tell their story through your image.
I thought I would start with a black and white image—a self-portrait to get things started. I was on vacation, and for some reason, I received a few comments on how I gave a positive and happy vibe. Such a nice compliment; I hope it comes across in this image.
I know I am asking a lot; many shy away from portraits, but we all take photos of people, so why not take a moment to think about how to get more out of them? Just a little consideration on how to show your subject in a more favorable light. I encourage you to join; I’m not looking for professional results, but I hope you have fun trying to get the portrait to tell a story. Hopefully, you will take a new photo or use an old one, maybe edit with some of the tips I have gathered here.
I had a bunch of detailed info on getting a great portrait, like cool tips on lighting, composition, and how important it is for your subject to express themselves, but in the end, I decided to keep it simple and just summarize everything since it got way too long and messy. I thought it’d be better to give some quick, easy-to-follow insights without drowning you in too much info, so you can really pick up the main points of portrait photography without any hassle.
portrait photography
When it comes to portrait photography, one of the most crucial elements is focusing on the eyes. They truly serve as the focal point in any portrait, so it’s important to ensure they are sharp and expressive. Capturing a clear and vibrant eye can create a powerful connection between the viewer and the subject. I have issues with this one – but practice makes it better.
Natural light is another aspect that can significantly enhance your portraits. Shooting during the golden hour, shortly after sunrise or before sunset, can give your images a warm and soft quality. This type of lighting not only reduces harsh shadows but also ensures your subject’s features are beautifully highlighted. I use this always natural light is the best.
Emotions are at the heart of great portraits. Rather than just photographing faces, try to capture genuine emotions that tell a story. Encourage your subjects to relax and be themselves so you can capture those candid moments that truly reflect their personality. Now this is a tricky one, but spending time and chatting at the same time helps.
It’s also essential to be mindful of the background in your portraits. A cluttered or distracting background can steal focus from your subject. By using a wide aperture, you can blur the background, allowing your subject to stand out more prominently. Choose backgrounds that complement your subject without overwhelming the composition. This is when taking photos in a controlled setting, but even in spontaneous shot you can if you are into editing change the background .
Directing your subject is key to achieving the desired expressions or poses. Give them clear directions and encourage them to experiment with different looks. The more comfortable they feel, the more authentic and confident their poses will appear. Many times you get the best shots just by observing with patience and catching the moment.
Lastly, consider the power of black and white photography. This style adds a timeless and dramatic feel to your images, emphasizing shapes, contrasts, and textures while removing the distraction of color. Black and white can beautifully accentuate the emotions and moods in your portraits, making them even more impactful. I just love this style, I use it a lot. Even a not so good image can be saved as a black and white conversion.
What’s a side portrait all about?
People make excellent photography subjects due to their diverse expressions and postures. Side portraits, taken from a profile view, showcase facial features and convey strength, adding an element of mystery. To capture compelling side portraits, it’s important to find the subject’s “good side,” choose a relevant theme, and use supportive backgrounds. Techniques include directing gaze, subtle facial expressions, and dynamic body language, while camera angles and lighting play a crucial role in enhancing visual impact.
This photographic style invites viewers into the subject’s thoughts, utilizing the rule of thirds for depth. Side portraits create a sense of movement and drama, revealing flattering profiles and allowing for various poses, thus heightening the appeal of mystery in the images.
Last week, the topic was Life’s changes; the question was: What has enriched and/or changed yours? Thanks Anne for this meaningful challenge.
Next week, Tina returns to host with a new inspiration. Tune in to find out another exciting challenge. It will go live at noon EST in the USA.
Don’t forget to use the “lens-artists” hashtag when creating your post so we can easily find it in the Reader and linking it to original post. Please see this page to learn more about the Lens-Artists Challenge and its history
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography 
A challenging challenge, Ritva! Your post is phenomenal, in examples, in how you explain and guide us. I’m nowhere on the same league as you, but I’ve enjoyed playing with this theme.
Here is mine:
Thank you Sofia for your kind words
A beautiful picture of you!!! And great collection of portraits.
Mine is here
Thank you Marina
Wrong link before, here it is
You are the master of portraits, Ritva! And your picture does give a hint about your lovely personality 🙂. I gave it a try but I hope you don’t mind my digression from the conventional sense of portraits:
Thanks PR. Photo captures a moment so so a little bit is revealed
Ritva, anyone who’s serious about portraits should start with your post. You gave excellent tips about how to photograph people. These photos are wonderful. Here’s my attempt:
https://throughbrazilianeyes.com/unlocking-personality/
That is so nicely said, thank you Egídio
Black & White is my favorite way to photograph
yes, it is so powerful in portraits
Oh, my goodness! This is definitely a challenge since I have never captured a true portrait. I have wanted to try so maybe this is the week to push down that barrier. We will see how it goes. 😉
Well I hope you have fun doing it, You will be fine 🙂
You have lots of great portraits Ritva, you can tell you love doing them. This is going to be a hard one for me, I’ve spent many years making sure there were no people in my photos. I will have to go back many years to find photos.
I find people interesting, asking strangers is still a challenge to me too, but at times it pays off
What a beautiful post and tough challenge–at least for me. I’m going to give it a go. I’ve done environmental portraits, but not a serious one. I’ll be back!
Looking forward to seeing them, your experience gives you ability to connect with people… that is the key element
😍
You have some wonderful portraits here, Ritva. The holiday obviously agreed with you xx
Thanks Jo, holidays are the best 🙂
Wonderful examples. You definitely have great portrait-taking skills, but then I might add, it takes practice, practice and more practice for most people to develop that (skill).
Your own self-portrait is stunning. Your smile really shines and reflects your personality.
Thank you Vicki, you just have to look for the beauty in the person you photograph – all of has that and it helps if you connect with them for a while.
A wonderful post, Ritva. Perfectly explained in images and words. It’s a real challenge for me; I’m not a portrait artist. I’m very embarrassed when I have to face people. I’ll see what I can find.
If you are open to people you will find they are same with you, I am sure you will find something for this.
Lovely portraits, Ritva. I like the range of mood and expression you’ve captured.
Here’s mine for this one:
https://stupidityhole.com/2025/03/16/face-behind/
Thanks, glad you liked them
Glad you joined. Kr. Ritva
What a fantastic overview of the topic of portrait photography, with great advice and excellent examples! As you say, many of shy away from this myself included, and I’m not particularly keen on posed portraits on the whole. But I’m trying to get more comfortable about asking people to pose for me when we travel rather than relying totally on my usually candid approach. So here are the results of my efforts on our recent Philippines trip: https://www.toonsarah-travels.blog/gallery-people-of-the-philippines/ There’s no consideration of lighting etc as they were all shot in situ, but at least I was brave enough to ask for the shot, in most cases!
Thanks Sarah, your post was just beautiful
Thank you 😊
This is a great challenge, with an excellent exposition. I’m going to have to think about this, as I don’t do portraits much, and those I do take tend to be of family, and I wouldn’t post those. Watch this space!
I will keep my eyes open
Great photos. Really inspirational.
Here are mine .., https://picturesimperfectblog.com/2025/03/16/a-dilemma/
Thank you 🙂
Great challege and great helpful guidance. Thank you for sharing. I also participated (for the first time :)) and I really enjoyed revisiting some of my old portraits. This has inspired me to take new ones and to maybe try some new self-portraits as well. Here is mine: https://nenena.de/2025/03/16/lens-artists-challenge-340-portraits/
Happy to have you join us and if I have inspired to get new shot, I’m ever so happy
Thanks for this educational post! Myself, I always prefer candid portraits. I can never seem to extract emotion out of people when they are posing. It’s something I struggle with when I’m behind the camera. Your work is beautiful, Ritva. The photo of the little girl with the stick/musical instrument(??) is my favorite!!
Thank you, the little boy 🙂 was having fun with a long pipe.
This is a challenge for me, Ritva! You are so experienced at bringing out the best in people when they are sometimes really self-conscious. I’ll give it a try, but I’m not making any promises. I’m no Richard Avedon. >grin<
🙂 looking forward to your post
I love seeing your portrait, Ritva, this is a great challenge! A lot of bloggers don’t like to share pics of themselves for a variety of reasons. I enjoyed reading about the various techniques you use for portrait photography.
At first I didn’t think my Sunday Stills post would work this week with your topic, but, wow it did… here’s mine:
https://secondwindleisure.com/2025/03/16/sunday-stills-monthly-color-challenge-splendid-shades-of-green/
Thank you for your kind words Terri
such a beautiful post, Ritva. and awesome images.
Thank you Klara, glad you enjoyed the post
Love your portraits, Ritva. Your extensive collection is nothing but outstanding, so many interesting and captivating faces. Brilliant!
Thank you so much, I really appreciate you saying that
These are stunning!
Thank you Nora
A gorgeous selection and variety of portraits Ritva! The portraits I take of friends and family are more for private sharing so most of my contribution features animal portraits: https://tranature.com/2025/03/16/kindred-spirits/
Thank you, glad to hear you enjoyed them
Hi Xenia – I cannot comment on your site? The comment box isn’t there!
Hi Ann-Christine, thank you for letting me know 🩷 When I look, the comment box is there and people continue to leave comment. Maybe clearing your cache, refreshing the page or opening the post in the Reader might help 🩷🍀 xxx
Ah, managed!
❤️ xxx
Indeed you are the master of portraits, Ritva! Love all your galleries, and thought I did not have anything to post. But I had some. I have learned from you, but my photos this time are old archive ones, so, I will try more further on!
Thank you, your photos are always lovely
♥
The portrait of you is beautiful! Your positive vibe definitely comes through in the photograph. I love all of your choices
https://dailymusing57.com/2025/03/16/lens-artists-challenge-340-portraits/
Thanks, glad it came true
You have a rich collection of portraits. I hope to sort through my photos and find a few. : )
Thanks Rebecca
Fascinating theme, meticulous and thorough, beautifully photographed.
https://fairplay740.wordpress.com/2025/03/16/lens-artists-challenge-340-portraits/
Thank you John 🙂
Part 2: https://fairplay740.wordpress.com/2025/03/17/lens-artists-challenge-340-portraits-part-2/
Beautiful portraits here. I noticed some were in very high key. I would be afraid of doing that. So that’s clearly something I should try, although with the skin colours that my world has, that kind of key may be impossible.
Here’s my entry: https://anotherglobaleater.wordpress.com/2025/03/17/more-distant/
I am also on the learning path, trying new things – finding a someone to pose is the hard thing 🙂
Ritva, these are all beautiful! Yes, your self portrait does show your positive and happy vibe! Thank you for the challenge.
Thanks, happy to hear that
I enjoyed your post and look forward to applying the tips! Since most of my photos don’t feature people, finding portraits was quite a challenge. I love all of your portraits, but I’m especially drawn to the black-and-white ones. I find those the most challenging because the image needs to be powerful enough to convey energy through the monochromatic tones. Here’s mine for this week’s challenge: https://offtopicmusing.wordpress.com/2025/03/16/portrait-journey-my-daughter-as-my-muse/
Thank you, the B&W images leaves the essence – so I also am drawn to them
Portraits aren’t my strong suit, but here are a few; Only A Few | Out of My Write Mind
Yours are wonderful!
Sandy, thank you.
Ritva, a terrific challenge beautifully presented. Your suggestions are great and your images are wonderful. I especially liked the images of the children.
Children are the best. Open and true emotions
Such an impressive collection with many personalities popping out from the screen! Of course I loved the man and dog shot, and also the side portraits. Thanks for all your suggestions. Here’s my addition to the fun!
https://lindylecoq.com/2025/03/17/lens-artists-challenge-340-portraits/
Thank you Lindy, that man does love animals 🙂
Hello Ritva,
Here is my contribution to the “portraits” challenge:
Portraits – Cafe Ludwig
Here is mine for the week
https://norasphotos4u.wordpress.com/2025/03/18/lens-artists-challenge-topic-portraits/
Your post was brilliant – so hard to measure up. But this relucant portaitist has done it at last: https://margaret21.com/2025/03/19/three-no-four-vikings-i-met-last-month/
Thanks Margaret, you did good in your post 🙂
Thanks for offering this challenge. Portrait photography is something I dabble in, but will never perfect. I love your examples and suggestions for natural light photography. The golden hour is tricky, but when it happens, wow! You can find my entry here. https://aslifeevolves.com/2025/03/19/landscapes-dont-blink/
Suzanne, your photos are lovely. Inspirational.
hello ritva,
an interesting but also difficult theme because in germany it is not allowed to photograph people without asking. you are supposed to ask them before you photograph them, but the coincidence is lost when you go to them and show it, most of them say no you don’t want it and i didn’t want to use AI.
that’s why i chose streeart pictures for the challenge, https://wp.me/pfnz9O-EK.
many greetings robert
Robert, you need to ask permission to take a photo everywhere, i find many people are willing to pose if you ask politely.
I loved this post, Ritva and the varied portraits! people seem happy with you behind the camera. Here’s mine:https://suejudd.com/2025/03/20/lens-artists-340-portraits/
Here is my try on Portraits. https://heavenssunshine.com/im-in-trouble/
Beautiful portraits
Ritva, this is a great topic and I learned a lot about taking better portraits! Here is my post: https://mycolorfulexpressions.com/lens-artists-photo-challenge-340-portraits/