Five More Summer Portrait Photography Tips

Double-check your shot

Even if you're shooting in shade, you need to pay attention to where the sun is falling as dappled light shining through onto faces can make them appear over exposed. Be prepared to move people around if needs be or find a new location all together where light can't shine through.

Play with the light

Dappled light might not look good on faces but it does create amazing bokeh. Try positioning your subject against foliage and use the greens and lighter spots of dappled light as your background. By using a larger aperture and using your zoom to pull your subject further into the shot, the background will blur nicely into a series of coloured shapes.

Add some flare

Adding flare to a shot isn't something everyone will like but when used right, it can work quite well, creating a sense of romanticism and adding an edge of mystery to your shot if you choose to cover your subject's face with the flare. Take a look at our previous article on using flare here: Flare And Photography.

Eyes

Even though your subject is in the shade you still want their eyes to shine. You can use flash to create catchlights but it's much easier to just position your subject so they're facing the light source and/or use a reflector to bounce the light into your shot.

Boost colour and contrast

Positioning your subject against a white surface will bounce light back onto them and if they're wearing coloured clothing, the plain white surface can help boost the colours, enhancing the portrait as a result. You could also tweak the colours and saturation in your photo editing software to further enhance the summery feel.

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