Portraiture Tips

I did some research online in order to gather some portraiture tips that would be useful before I start shooting portraiture photography. Here were the tips I found which I am going to try and follow in my own portraiture work:

• You need to know how to pose your subjects for portrait photography properly to shoot flattering images
• Your subject should always be relaxed to create a improved portrait
• Do not be afraid of movement
• For close up portraits focus on the eyes
• Softer images are better for portrait photography
• Experiment with subject expressions
• Fill the frame
• Think about your composition
• Experiment with lighting
• A wider aperture (small f number) is best for portraits which gives a shallow depth of field
• Use a tripod to reduce camera shake which could cause blur
• If you have one, use a nifty 50 lens