Portrait photography can be brilliant, okay, or actually quite poor, and there are certain basic mistakes you must avoid. The first obvious error people make is cropping in too closely on a subject. An individual’s photo may then look cramped, and it’s always better to leave space so that you can crop in after.

Lighting is key to a good portrait photo, and you should always test the light with a subject first. You may find that one side of their face is lit and this will mean finding a way to spread the light, while a white background and umbrella can help bounce the light around a little more. Using flash is not always helpful, and it depends on the type of photo you’re looking for. If you don’t need everything lit then don’t feel pressure to use flash, just trust your instincts.

Finally you should also make sure you have a nice fast shutter speed. That way you won’t take blurred images and you’ll actually capture emotion. It takes practice to take a good portrait, and photo editing cannot fix a bad photo, it can only enhance a good image, so remember that.