4.  Turn the Camera Sideways.



How many horizontal photos have you seen of people

standing up?  A bunch!  Here again, there are often areas at

both sides of the photo that don't do zilch for it.  Turn

the camera upright and move in on the person.  If you want a

full length, the feet should be at one end of the frame and the

head at the other (leaving just a tad of room above the

head).  For closer shots, consider a waist-up shot. 

Either way, this not only eliminates a lot of clutter, but also

permits the subject to, again, show up larger in the finished

print.





Ask yourself this question:  Why is almost every portrait

you've ever seen vertical?  Answer:  There's usually

nothing at the sides worth showing.  See the shot of

clarinetist Daniel Paprocki.

But here again, this little tidbit of advice can often be

discarded at the expense of better photos.  See the shot of

Melody Wilcox, of ESPN2's Local Sports Break, below, for example.

And how about someone sitting on a bench?  Instead

of shooting straight in, with the camera held vertically, have

them sit with their feet up on the bench and shoot them from the

side.  Here, a horizontal portrait might be many times more

appealing than a vertical shot.  And let's not forget a

person shot against a gorgeous background scene, like someone on

the shore, or looking at a great sunset, or an architect looking

over her/his latest creation.  These will work very well

taken horizontally.  But here again, it's usually better to

have the person, or their face, to one side, rather than in the

center of the scene.