Editor’s Note: We’re pleased to welcome Brian Smith to the Photofocus team. Brian’s portraits of celebrities, athletes and business executives have appeared on the covers of many magazines. He brings a great perspective on how to capture compelling portraits. Please welcome him to the site.
Creating a compelling portrait can take a lot of thought and design. But here are three practical tips you can use to improve your image.
Choose the Right Lens
Choosing the correct lens can make a huge impact on your portraits. Traditional portrait lenses are 85mm, 100mm, and 135mm, but I much prefer the focal range offered by a 24–70mm zoom. At its widest setting of 24mm, it allows you to capture a lot of environment around your subject. Select a longer focal length if you are closer to your subject. Zoom to 70mm for an intimate portrait.
A 24-70mm lens is one of the most versatile lenses for portrait photography as it covers the range from wide to moderate telephoto. On the left is the 24–70mm lens at 24mm, and on the right is 24–70mm lens at 70mm
Know Your Glass
Different focal lengths flatten perspective to various degrees. Understanding the feeling that this creates is another tool in creating memorable portraits. Filling the frame results in different looks – and feeling – depending on focal length. Shooting a tight portrait with a slightly wide-angle lens results in rounder facial features than you get when shooting with a longer focal length.
Note the difference in perspective and background between similarly cropped portraits shot with a wide angle 35mm lens on the left, and a telephoto 135mm lens on the right – Both shots 1/200 sec. at f/2.0.
Zoom With Your Feet
Never forget that the best zoom lens you’ll ever own are those things at the bottom of your legs called “feet.” Don’t forget to shoot both tight and loose even when shooting with a prime lens.
Both of these portraits were shot with a Sony 135mm F1.8 Zeiss lens by quickly stepping in and out for a tight and full length portrait.
Miami celebrity portrait photographer Brian Smith photographs Hollywood’s A-List and Fortune’s 500 for magazines and advertising. He’s a Sony Artisan of Imagery, X-Rite Master Coloratti, Adobe Influencer and author of best-selling books on photography.
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Filed under: Portrait, Shooting, Technique & Tutorials Tagged: better portraits, Brian Smith, environmental portrait, Environmental Portraiture 
