How to Do Soft Portraits
- 1). Take your portrait photographs outside during early morning or late afternoon on a sunny day. When the sun is low, around sunrise and sunset, the natural light is soft and diffused and you can take the portrait in any well-lit location.
- 2). Set up a light and point it toward the wall, so that it faces in the same direction as your subject. Move the shade so that all the light focuses on the wall. This method, which works best on white walls, diffuses the light.
- 3). Attach a photography umbrella to one of your lights. Point the light in the opposite direction of the subject with the umbrella's inside facing the subject. You can add a second or third light and umbrella.
- 4). Move your subject into place so that diffused light falls on him. Hold a light reader in front of him, facing in the same direction as him. Make a note of the recommended exposure and shutter speed.
- 5). Slide your lens to the correct exposure and set the correct shutter speed.
- 6). Point your lens at the subject. Engage her with discussion or ask her to pose with a particular expression. Slide the focus knob until she is in focus. Press the shutter release to take a photograph.
