Portrait Photography: How to shoot people like a pro.Part 2

Which aperture (f-stop) to use?
What makes portrait photography very interesting is that a lot of decisions are to be made (like which lens to use, what focal length to use, and what aperture gives the sharpest) so you can focus on the harder parts of portrait and you can ensure that good amount of light that will capture the personality of the subject.

Now that you already have the idea what type of lens to use from my previous post, now its time to decide what aperture is best and gives the sharpest. Believe it or not, there is a special aperture that works best for portrait photography. Set the aperture opening to f/11 and you will be amazed of the sharpness and the depth on the face which portraiture is really all about.

You may also set your camera to aperture priority mode and choose the f/11 aperture.

Portrait Photography: How to shoot people like a pro.Part 1

What type of lens is best to use for portrait photography?
Portrait photography requires specific focal length to shoot with. Most professionals shoot portraits with a short zoom lens with focal lengths of 85-100 mm range. The telephoto lens in 85-100 mm range are often referred to as portrait lenses because of the following reasons:

• it eliminates the unflattering facial distortion which usually happens with wide-angle lenses
• it avoids compression given by long telephoto lenses
• it allows the photographer to shoot from a good working range of 10-12 feet from the subject giving enough breathing space while filling the frame witht the subject.
• the photographer does not have to pick up the tripod and move it or ask the model to move closer to the camera each time he needs to slightly recompose the shot.

So, get yourself a zoom lens that covers the 85-100 mm range, and you'll definite be taking portait shots like a pro.

By the way, the lens shown here is a 28-135 mm zoom, so this lens would do the trick because with it you can choose any sweet spots for portrait between 85mm and 100mm.