Getting Creative: A Discussion of Portraits
In our creative meeting at the studio yesterday, we focused on new and different ways of photographing portraits during weddings. We talked about how we could make them fun and unique while still delivering the traditional idea of a posed portrait.
I shared one of our previous creative meetings with you because I think it is important for our clients and other photographers alike to see what our creative process here at the studio is, and how we are able to stay innovative as a team. This time around, we took a look at some great examples of portraits at recent weddings and discussed what techniques we had used to capture all of the essential actors while still maintaining our creative photojournalistic approach. Everyone at the studio is incredibly talented and passionate about what they do, so we love getting together and sharing new techniques that we have discovered. For those of you out there who are just as passionate as we are, I have included some of the portrait techniques that we discussed below. 
SHOW THE LOCATION
One of the ways to make a posed portrait visually interesting is by including an element of the location that makes it distinct in the background of the photograph. For example, if the wedding is located in Connecticut, the photographer could include a white picket horse coral in the background to give the actors (bride and groom, family members, wedding party) a setting for their story. Additionally, making that background slightly out of focus gives the photograph beautiful contrast and texture and draws attention to the people in the portrait.
Props can also be used for a similar effect. At a wedding that we shot on a farm in upstate New York, there was a beautifully weathered old tractor on the grounds, so we had the bride, groom and family members sit on or stand alongside the tractor in one of their portraits. The tractorgave the people in the portrait a sense of place without creating a distraction.
MIND THE EDGE
As photojournalists, we always try to take beautiful photographs using creative framing, but it’s important when taking portrait photographs to make sure that all of the key participants are fully in the frame. When it comes down to it, the photographs of friends, family members and the wedding party are often the most important to the bride and groom. It’s important to us that we have great communication before the wedding with the couple to make sure we know who all of their family members are and which shots are important to them. Using the right techniques and coordinating with the couple to make sure we have captured all of the key participants can lead to stunning, naturally beautiful photographs. 
PAY ATTENTION TO PERSPECTIVE
Sometimes there are parts of the background that are not visually appealing and should be excluded if possible. By paying attention to perspective, you can focus on your subjects while excluding elements of the background. For instance, if you are shooting a couple and want to capture the beautiful foliage above them but don’t want to include the traffic behind them at ground level, you could shoot from a lower perspective, so that only the foliage is in the background of the portrait. Getting close to the people in the portrait and only including a hint of the foliage behind them is another way to do this.
Similarly, if you are shooting portraits of a couple in an expansive space and want to show them in their environment, a higher perspective taken from a distance and using a longer lens can create beautiful depth to the portrait and draw the focus to the couple.
We chose to talk about portraits this week because they are an essential part of wedding photography, and when they are created thoughtfully, they can be just as innovative and unique as some of the candid moments. Feel free to share your thoughts with us below.
- Christian Oth