Before taking photo

• Make sure lens on your camera is clean.
• Choose your location to take photo.
  • Outdoors with natural light is best.
  • If it’s cloudy outside take it anywhere. Lots of sunlight? Then try to take photo in bright shade (somewhere without strong contrasts of light and dark).
  • If indoors, choose an area with the most natural light.
  • Don’t put the person right up against a wall or any background—that looks like a mug shot, and the background becomes distracting.
  • Remove hats and sunglasses. Hats lead to shadow on people’s faces. Take off sunglasses because seeing people’s eyes creates a more personal connection.
  • Leave flash turned off. If the phone tries to use flash, it means you need to a find location with more light.

Composing your photo

• Rule of thirds. Imagine breaking an image into thirds both horizontally and vertically so it has nine parts. As you look through a viewfinder, place your points of interest (such as the person you are photographing) at an intersection of those lines.

Taking the photo

• Get close! Your subjects’ head and shoulders should fill the screen when you are setting up the photo. This usually means getting closer than what feels comfortable for you.
• Hold the camera still. That is key to getting photos in focus.
• Take multiple shots. If you take at least three to four shots, you are more likely to get one good photo. If possible, take photos with different facial expressions, including some where the person smiles without showing their teeth.
• Quickly check your photos. Make sure you got at least one good one. It’s easier to re-take in the moment than to try to re-create later.

Things to avoid

• Avoid cutting off people’s heads. It’s good to get close, but not so close that you chop off the top of the person’s head.
• Avoid distracting things in the background. Signs, people and clutter in the immediate background can distract from the subject of the photo. Try to find the simplest background possible.
• Avoid sun behind the subject. If outside, the sun should be behind your back, which will put the light on your subject’s face.