I know I talk a LOT about fun, trendy, cute poses, but I think it’s equally as important to capture the classic, close up portraits as well for your senior.

I like to call this, “posing for mom and posing for senior”, but more on this next week 😉

But seriously, nothing beats a strong, beautiful, classic close up portrait. If you’re not including these in your galleries already, it’s time to make a change!

Hot take though, I see senior photographers posting close up portraits that just aren’t IT …

aka they feel like something is missing and just are not visually appealing and it all comes down to the 3 categories I’m talking about in this week’s video!

There are three things you should be checking off your list as you’re setting up your photo:

Consider your crop (and bonus, your composition / rule of thirds!)

What I mean by this, is to really check and make sure that you aren’t cropping off an elbow, a shoulder, or even their head. For a close up, classic portrait, you should also be cropping them off right at the waist or top of hip. I say hip in case of posing like having a hand up by their head and making sure to not crop off their elbow or even a prop in some cases.

What you also need to consider is your rule of thirds. If you don’t know what the rule of thirds is, it’s the standard guideline of correctly composing your image. You’ve probably seen the grid on your camera screen, in LR when you’re cropping, and other places, but might not have known what it is. I made a few visual examples for you!

When using the rule of thirds, ideally, your subject should be placed on one of the grid lines with their head at a connection point. This creates a more natural, visually appealing image for the viewer.

So when we are working with our close up portraits, we should be aiming for their eyes to go right through the top grid line , their head in the first “third.” This helps reduce negative space above the head, without cutting it too close.

Look for natural framing and leading lines

Second, we should be looking for some natural framing or leading lines, or creating this in our posing. Natural framing could be anything like a window frame, a tree branch, a flower bush, etc. to create a natural frame around the subject. Leading Lines could be something like the lines of a brick wall, the horizon line, branches, etc. Adding in these will enhance your photo!

You can also do this with your posing! Bringing a hand up to the shoulder, a hand on the head, anything that helps add angles, and brings the viewers eye to the subject’s eye!

If you need some help with posing, grab my free POSING FOR GEN Z guide! Full of my favorite prompts for trendy, cute poses my seniors LOVE! Grab it here!

Having tack sharp focus (on the right spot!)

Last, but certainly not least, having tack sharp focus is going to help create a stunning close up portrait. When setting up your image, be sure you are toggling or dragging your focal point to your subject’s eye. If you’re like me and like to shoot with a wide open aperture (personally, I shoot on 1.8!) this is extra important! With such a low aperture number, this means there will be less thats actually in focus, BUT it will create more of a dreamy background… which is what I love and aim for.

Just be sure you are selecting the subject’s eye as your focal point and your shutter speed isn’t too low (if it is, it’ll cause your image to look shakey, so just check to be sure!)

I hope these three things are helpful for you to take better portraits! Especially those stunning close up portraits! If you feel like you’re struggling with your classic close ups, or just need a refresh on these things, this video is for you!

🎉 SEE IT HERE ON YOUTUBE

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