sure you control the direction of your subject’s
eyes. People want to look at the camera and
will shift their focus towards it, even if that
isn’t the look you are going for. Here are some
eye directions and how they work:
> Looking directly at the camera. This is a
very powerful look, and having the subject
look directly into the camera can help the
viewer connect with the subject.When photographing people indoors, especially
when using a flash, let the camera do some of the
work. This is a great time to use the aperture pri-
ority mode and allow the camera to pick the best
shutter speed. The key is to use the correct meter-
ing mode for the situation. That means looking at
the scene and determining whether there are very
bright or very dark areas that could cause the
scene metering to be fooled into over- or under-
exposing the image. If, for example, there is a
very dark area behind the subject, the camera
might try to use a shutter speed that will overex-
pose the subject, while if the background is very
light, the camera could try to underexpose the
subject.
Digital cameras use a TTL, or Through The Lens,
system to control the output of the on-camera
flash. The camera takes the information about
the scene, including how far away the subject is,
and uses it to control the flash. These systems are
really very good and will, in most circumstances,
give you a great exposure without much effort.
For example, if you pick an aperture that gives
you the desired depth of field, the camera picks
the shutter speed and controls the power of the
flash, and it only outputs the light needed to get
a proper exposure.
To successfully photograph people, there are
times when you will need to pose them to get the
best image. These posing tips will help you get
your subjects looking their best:
■ The eyes are important. The most importantpart of a portrait is the eyes. Make sure you
focus on the eyes and ensure that they are
positioned correctly; even if the rest of the
image is pretty plain, as in Figure 4-11, the
attention will go straight to the eyes. Make
ABOUT THIS PHOTO This photo was taken with a simple flash
set on the camera, with the light bounced off the ceiling. Taken at 1/30
second, f/5.6, and ISO 400.4-11