TOP TIPS PERFECT THE CINEMATIC LOOK

Take your portraits to the next level with these simple skills

01 SHOOT SOFT BACKGROUNDS

When looking for backdrops experiment by defocusing the lens, then take some test shots to see how the background looks. The best have a mix of light and dark. Specular highlights, like lights, can look beautiful when blurred, resulting in lush bokeh.

02 USE A WIDE APERTURE

A wide aperture gives us the lovely blurred backdrop that we want for this kind of portrait. Most of our shots were taken at f/2.8, but for comparison here’s one at f/8. This gives us a more detailed background. So the wider the aperture, the more blurred the backdrop.

03 CROP INTO THE HEAD

Including the entire head can result in a shot that looks like a passport photo, and also leaves too much dead space around the head. So it’s best to crop into the head. But where to crop? As a rule of thumb, crop halfway between the hairline and the crown.

04 HEAD INTO THE LIGHT

Experiment with different angles to the face – a slight adjustment can make a big difference. If in doubt, ask your subject to angle their face towards the key light. This means the light will fall evenly across the face and you won’t have unsightly shadows cast by the nose.

05 BACKLIGHT WITH DAYLIGHT

Used in film, backlighting is great for separating your subject from a background. It results in a highlight along the outline of the body (as seen along the shoulder in tip 3). Place your subject with their back to the sun, or lightest part of the sky on an overcast day.

06 THE SHOULDER LINE

Even though we can’t see most of the body, it’s crucial to get your subject into an attractive, natural position. Asking your subject to stand slightly side on can give the body a great angle, and creates a strong diagonal leading line from the front shoulder towards the face.