With a single north-facing window, a $20 collapsible reflector, and a 50 mm lens, you can produce portraits that withstand 300 dpi printing at 12×18 inches. Portrait photography is less about secret gear and more about repeatable control of light, perspective, and color—variables you can quantify and set on purpose.
If you want clear, actionable steps and the reasons behind them, read on. You will learn how to choose focal length by working distance, place lights by ratio, expose skin to avoid clipping, and direct expression without awkwardness.
Optics And Perspective You Can Control
Focal length does not change facial proportions—camera-to-subject distance does. For head-and-shoulders on full-frame, 85 mm at roughly 1.2–1.6 m yields natural proportions without nose enlargement; 50 mm at the same framing forces you closer (≈0.8–1.0 m), exaggerating features. On APS-C, a 56 mm behaves like the classic 85 mm field of view; on Micro Four Thirds, 45 mm is the practical equivalent.
Depth of field is a function of aperture, focal length, subject distance, and sensor size. For a tight headshot at 1.5 m on full-frame, f/2 gives about 6–8 cm of depth—enough to keep both eyes sharp if they are on a similar plane. At f/1.4, the in-focus zone collapses to 4–5 cm, making small head turns risky. If you want a creamy background without losing eye sharpness, back up 20–30% and use f/2–f/2.8 rather than standing close and shooting f/1.4.
Background separation comes from both blur and luminance contrast. Two meters between subject and background is a practical minimum indoors to get pleasant blur with f/2–f/2.8 on a normal-to-tele lens, and it also reduces hard shadows. If space is tight, add separation by lighting the subject 0.5–1 stop brighter than the background and nudging the background 200–300 K cooler or warmer via white balance or gel choices.
Light That Flatters Skin
Soft light comes from a large source relative to the subject. A 120 cm octabox placed 1 m from the face is “larger” than a 60 cm softbox at 1 m, but moving the 60 cm box to 0.5 m produces similarly soft wrapping while increasing falloff (inverse-square law). This falloff controls shape: a close key light and a modest fill define the jawline without harshness.
Set ratios intentionally. A 2:1 key-to-fill ratio (key brighter by 1 stop) is a safe default for corporate portraits—shape without drama. For character-rich faces, 3:1 (1.5 stops) increases depth. Measure with your camera meter or a handheld meter; alternatively, chimp the histogram and use your camera’s highlight alert to keep the brightest skin below clipping.
Simple Window Setup
Place the subject about 1 m from a large window, facing along the window (not into it). Put a white reflector 60–90 cm on the shadow side to set a 2:1 ratio. Typical starting point: ISO 200, f/2.8, 1/200 s in bright overcast; reduce shutter or ISO as needed. Rotate the subject until the far cheek shows a slim highlight and both eyes have a catchlight near the 10 or 2 o’clock position.
Small-Flash Setup
Use one speedlight in a 80–120 cm umbrella or softbox as key at 45° off-axis and slightly above eye level; add a 60×90 cm reflector or a second speedlight through a shoot-through umbrella for fill. Keep key at 1/4–1/8 power to enable t.1 flash durations ≈1/2000–1/4000 s, freezing micro-movements. Sync at 1/200–1/250 s (typical native sync), ISO 100–200, and adjust aperture for exposure. High-speed sync works but costs 2–3 stops of effective output; use it outdoors when you need f/2 in sun, ideally with an ND filter to preserve power.
Mind color quality. For LEDs and fluorescents, look for CRI ≥95 or TLCI ≥95 to keep skin tones accurate; lower indices often produce green spikes that require magenta correction. With flash plus ambient, decide your white balance priority: set Kelvin to the flash (≈5600 K) and gel the flash for tungsten (CTO) if you need the room lights visible and warm, or kill ambient with faster shutter/low ISO.
Exposure, Color, And File Discipline
Shoot RAW (12–14 bit) to preserve dynamic range and flexible white balance. The practical difference between 12 and 14 bit is subtle but real in heavy edits—banding risk is lower in gradients and skin. Modern full-frame sensors offer roughly 13–14 stops of dynamic range at base ISO; at ISO 1600 you may lose 1.5–2 stops. For portraits, you rarely need extreme DR; the goal is consistent, unclipped skin.
Expose skin deliberately. For light skin, aim for highlights around 1/3 to 2/3 stop below clipping; for deeper skin tones, protect specular highlights similarly and let midtones sit lower without forcing them “brighter.” Many mirrorless cameras offer zebra warnings; setting zebras around 70–75% for light skin and slightly lower for deeper skin can help prevent overexposure, though exact mappings vary by brand. If unsure, bracket ±1/3 stop and choose the cleanest file.
Calibrate color at the start of a session. Shoot a gray card or a color target under your key light and set a custom white balance; this saves minutes per image in post. For delivery, export sRGB unless the client specifies Adobe RGB (print houses sometimes do). Keep a 16-bit master TIFF for heavy retouching; export 8-bit JPEG at quality 85–92 for web—typical files land around 300–800 KB at 2048 px long edge without visible banding.
Directing, Posing, And Expression
Camera height matters. For most adults, keep the lens at or slightly above eye level to avoid flared nostrils and to open the eyes. Ask for a micro-tilt: “Bring your forehead forward 2 cm and down 1 cm.” This stretches the jawline and reduces neck banding without feeling forced. Turn the body 20–30° away from camera, then turn the head back to camera for a relaxed posture; square shoulders only when you want assertiveness.
Hands and clothing reveal tension. Give hands a job—thumb in pocket, gentle hold on a lapel, or light touch at the opposite elbow—to avoid claws. Smooth jackets by lifting the hem and letting it fall, then pinching fabric at the back if needed (temporary clips work). Avoid strong moiré risk: fine herringbone or tight stripes can alias on sensors with weaker AA filters; bring a plain backup outfit.
Expression is a process. Work in short, repeatable sequences: neutral, micro-smile, real smile, look-away-and-return. Count “3, 2, 1, breathe” to sync shutter with relaxed exhale; you get softer eyelids and less jaw tension. For children, set a game (race to the mark and freeze) and keep shutter at 1/250–1/500 s even with flash to catch peaks; for executives with 10 minutes, pre-light a stool position and shoot tethered to choose in real time, limiting final selects to 3–5 frames.
Post-Processing That Preserves Texture
Start with global adjustments: white balance via gray card shot, exposure, and gentle contrast curve. Keep skin hue within believable ranges by adjusting HSL narrowly; shifting orange hue by ±5 and saturation by ±5 is often enough. If your camera skews magenta or green under LEDs, fix it with tint first; hue sliders should not do heavy lifting.
Local retouching should be quick and subtle. Spend 2–4 minutes on spot healing for temporary blemishes, then use dodge and burn on a 50% gray layer or curves for contouring: brighten under-eyes by ≈0.25 stop, darken hot hotspots by ≈0.3 stop, and even nasolabial shadows slightly. Frequency separation is powerful but easy to overuse; if you cannot complete it in under 10 minutes without plastic skin, use dodge and burn instead.
Sharpen for output, not for zooming at 200%. For web at 2048 px, radius 0.4–0.8, amount 50–80, threshold 2–4 often suffices; for prints at 300 dpi, use a slightly larger radius (0.8–1.2) and evaluate at print size. Noise reduction is rarely needed below ISO 800 on modern sensors; if used, target color noise first and protect edges to keep pores intact.
Conclusion
Pick one controllable setup and master it: 85 mm at 1.4 m, f/2.8, window key with a white reflector, subject 2 m off the background. Expose skin just below clipping, set custom white balance, and direct with specific micro-prompts. Add one variable at a time—fill ratio, lens, or backdrop—and your portrait photography will scale from reliable to remarkable without guesswork.