5 Beginner Mistakes to Avoid in Portrait Photography

I've noticed from all sorts of places online and in real-life, that there are mainly 5 common mistakes that beginners make in portraiture. In today's video, I provide tips on how to avoid them and how to improve your photography as a whole. These concepts apply to a film photographer using a Pentax 67 and Portra 400 or a digital photographer using a Sony A7RIV.

My 2020 Photo/Video Kit:

0:00 - 0:38: Intro
0:39 - 1:51: Image is Too Crowded
1:52 - 2:39: Skin Tone is Off
2:40 - 3:49: Always Shooting Wide Open
3:50 - 5:00: Poor Focus / Blurry Photos
5:01 - 6:32: Believing There's Only 1 Way

#beginnerphotography #tipsandtricks #top5

Come say hello!

[brandingmitzuni]

"just make sure the skin doesn't look like a blue reptile" xD Thanks for sharing your knowledge. It helps me to step up the advanced selfie game!

[jeffrey_jpeg]

The last tip, it helps a lot. I always see headshots, but nothing too special and this feels like I was given a creative key.

[Menosfilms]

One thing about shooting wide open is making sure to NOT stand too close to the subject because sometimes the whole subject will go out of focus as well.

[GONZOFAM]

Thanks. You seem to be natural communicator, clearly articulating complex ideas in a simple format. Sub'd.

[ericuuuiuiuii]

I really like your tips videos idk why but nearly all of your tips are stuck in my mind and they aren’t the same as in many other photography tips videos:) thanks for your help/work:)

[Kachka]

I find your videos super helpful as a beginner photographer ✨ it really can be constricting to spend the whole shoot thinking "am I doing this right", needed this reminder, thanks! 🖤

[lolomol]

I really like the last advice. I follow a lot of portrait photographers on Instagram. And it's true that by seeing what they do, you have this idea that there is only one way to capture portrait! Thanks for the reminder

[SathyaPeacock]

Nice one dude. Great tips as always, I'm a beginner portrait photographer and will definitely utilise these 👊🏽

[ReimannPembroke]

Great tips my dude! It's definitely good to start with the fundamentals and then learn the ways you like to break them! It's also good to know how to break rules in case you get caught in a situation where you are going to need to push the boundaries of your camera or the film you are using. (like if you get caught in low light situations without a tripod like I recently did lol)

[jimwlouavl]

Loved your first tip. I have a hard time with the background in outdoor portraits.

[davereads]

hey dude! great tips will keep this all in mind!

[bllntd]

Thanks for the tips! Really helps especially the last one ✨

[atharvgupta]

Ahhh man I missed your combined tutorials for both film and digital

[mirandaisergio]

Thanks for these tips. Will keep these in mind on my next shoot!

[ChaChaDiaries]

Great tips like always. Will revisit this video from time to time whenever i need a reminder hehe.

[TheDarknightx]

Great tips and reminders. The only comment I have is on skin tone. You can definitely get it done right, but when people are looking at it digitally, it can vary from device to device. I've noticed that my phone as a reddish tint to pics that I see online, but the same images look fine (the color) when I see it on my laptop. Guess that's an issue that's bound to come up when we're looking at one image through possibly 1000's of different devices vs. a print image.

[geneyoon]

A good reminder for even seasoned portrait photographers

[King-zovv]

Awesome video brother!! Liking these consistent uploads

[walideliass]

I agree my friend! There are no rules we ‘have’ to follow when it comes to creating art!

[Reggiebphoto]

Great tips, bro. Gonna reshare this 🙌🏽