>>4314348>I don't know any of the basic rules, fundamentals, or philosophy behind itgood. take more portraits until you can see what kind of portraits you want to make, what portraits you like, and then your portraits will be like no one else's. the best way to take good photos is to take a lot.
however, I have done some work (read: about three days worth with the owner of a clothing store in a nearby city) with models and the number-one thing I remember from it was how the guy there (who'd been working in fashion for decades) kept telling the models to pose and they would just do it. it seemed like the models already knew how they wanted to look on camera so all he had to do was get them to strike their next pose when he was ready. poses in portraiture may not be what you like. I don't know. maybe you really just like plain faces.
I did learn another thing from one of my photography instructors at community college. He said you can cut off the forehead but never the eyebrows or anything below that. Next, he said you never cut anyone off at their joints; only cut them out of frame on a limb. that helps you frame extreme close-ups (cut-off at the neck), close ups (cut off beneath the shoulders) and medium shots (cut-off below the elbows and either above or below the hips). it could be a bullshit rule but it helps me make decisions so you could use it too.
Last thing, and I learnt this from another instructor: you need to take 10 000 photos to get a good one.
