South African light is not gentle. On the Highveld the sun climbs high and hard from a thin atmosphere more than 1,400 metres above sea level, while the Cape can hand you a week of flat winter overcast, and the KwaZulu-Natal coast softens everything through a standing haze of humidity. Portrait photography here is less about finding an interesting face than about learning to read the light falling on it. This guide works through the fundamentals — lens choice, exposure, portrait composition and how to shape light — against the conditions you will actually be shooting in.
What is portrait photography?
TAMRON 70-180mm F2.8 G2 (Model A065) Focal Length: 180mm Exposure: F2.8 Shutter Speed: 1/30sec ISO: 800
In photographic terms, a portrait is simply an image in which a person is the subject. The word carries a certain formality in English — it suggests a studio, a commissioned sitting, a framed print on a wall — and that formality is misleading. A photograph of your sister on the stoep
