I love this picture of my daughter. The image captures a real sense of connection between her and anyone viewing the photo.
It’s all about the eyes.
It’s truly astounding how much of an impact two orbs can have on a single shot. The direction of your subject’s eyes can totally change the tone of a picture.
In the shot, my daughter is not looking directly into the camera. Rather, her head is slightly angled to create a feeling of candidness. In addition, the twinkle in her eyes match the sly little grin she’s flashing, making the viewer of the shot wonder what happened the moment before the picture was taken. What is she really looking at? What’s behind her grimace?
This is what makes portrait shots so compelling. When you are able to capture raw emotion in a photo, then you have accomplished your goal. The flipside is that when your subject is not dead center in the frame or if your subject is looking out of the frame that can also draw the eye of the viewer of the shot away from the main subject.
Of course, you don’t have to have your subject looking directly into the camera lens in order to capture a captivating shot. You could have your subject looking at something or someone else in the frame. For example, a small child eyeing a huge piece of chocolate cake can make for a terrific photo that tells a story in a single frame. My brother has a fabulous shot of his young son looking up at a bright red balloon, as it floats out of his hand. The balloon is the second point of interest in the frame, but when you combine it with the primary subject (his son); the rewards are priceless.
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