Shooting people is probably one of the most difficult area of photography but for someone who is a people person it can be the easiest. People photography is more about how well you communicate with the subject than it is about technical know how. Why communicate? Because communication helps break the ice between the model and the photographer.

The idea is to put your subject at ease in front of the camera. The rest usually follows. Imagine just shooting pictures of your subject without communicating a word. Chances are that both you and your model would get bored. Models, professional or amateur always need encouragement, need to be told that what they are doing is working for the camera. The better you do this the faster the model would warm up in front of the camera.

A good sense of humor would do wonders. I have always believed that a photographer with good communication skills and less technical know how would go a long way compared to a photographer with average communication skills and immaculate technical know how.

Communication still being important here are some pointers on how you can get better portrait shots.

INCLUDE TEXTURE: If texture forms a major part of your frame, make it stand out obviously. Try to strike a link between your subject and your background

TRY AND UNDEREXPOSE: An underexposed image in most cases will have shadows and highlights with less of mid-tones. Shadows being dark area your attention will automatically be drawn to the lighter parts. Good underexposed images will make the image look more dramatic. Convert to B/W and add grain for even better impact

TRY AND OVEREXPOSE: Burning out the highlights or making a high-key image with soft light will make a nice soft portrait with an airy feeling. Using this technique also will hide small defects and make the image look much smoother

USE BACKLIGHT: Conventionally we avoid backlit shots as in an uncontrolled environment your pictures will end up looking like silhouettes. Using backlight for hair lights it up like crazy. So if hair is a big part of your subject make it stand out by placing your subject between you and a light source. However this will work better for females than males

SHOW THE CULTURE: When on a tour or out hiking take portrait shots in a way as to bring out the difference in culture. What might look mundane to you could be exotic for so many people out there. The best thing about culture is that its everywhere and can be captured if you put a little bit of thought to it e.g. Attires – try including more of the attires or accessories. Also structures, houses etc.

CREATE DEPTH: Windows, water etc are all very good reflective surfaces that give a different result. Different types of surfaces can be used to create an extra dimension and depth to the pictures

MAKE YOUR SUBJECT POSE: Forget the conventional straight on shots. Go ballistic with poses – yours as well as the models. Shoot from angles unthought of and see the results. Bonus ponts if they look uncomfortable

SHADOWS ARE GOOD: A lot of people believe shadows to be bad. My take on this is that shadows bring out form and in case of faces bright out the face structure better than having flat lighting so make shadows an important part of the image. The only shadows to be avoided are the ones case under eyes when shooting under overhead sun. Place your subject elsewhere or use a fill flash

CROP: Cropping out a major part of the face looks interesting. There are no rules for cropping. Incaft cropping can be used to draw more attention to the parts that are left in the frame

BLURRED MAGES: Sometimes a blurred image can be more interesting than a sharp one. Explore this possibility as well as it might add a certain amount of mystery to your picture. Imagine a monsoon shot having a dramatic angle and is slightly out of focus on the face

MOTION BLUR: Blurring out subjects moving across the frame will exaggerate the sense of movement

SERIOUS PORTRAITS: We have almost always been asked to smile in pictures. Not all portraits need to have a smile, capture the serious emotions as well. Portraits without a smile are my personal favourites and work very well

USE FOREGROUND: Try keeping some kind of a prop in the foreground and have it party in the frame to give your pictures more depth