A character portrait is so much more than just a photo of a person. It should allow the viewer to look deeper into the image and instantly understand the subject’s back story. At the very least, the photo should tell the viewer something about the person’s character. The fun part is, that the character you’re photographing can be completely created from your own imagination.
Character Portrait Inspiration
Like so many things in life, knowing how to start feels like the hardest part. So, how do you find inspiration for your character portrait?
If you’re creating the character then the first thing to decide on a time period. This means determining if your character is from the past, present, or future. Personally, I love working with themes from the past because styling trends from the past is easier than from the future!
Aside from the time period, there’s also the question of setting. Is your character from the real world, realms of fantasy or a combination of both? Once again, it’s far easier to work within the real world. A vintage character is a great place to start and still leaves you with a vast range of possibilities to explore.
Now it’s time to do your homework. Old photos and the work of other photographers who have explored a similar theme are a great source of inspiration. For this, Pinterest is the perfect online tool. I use it to pull random ideas together into a cohesive theme that I can easily share.
Create a Background
Once you’ve settled on a theme, there are three main parts to creating a character portrait. The first is to find or create the background for your character. You should factor in time to research a location. Once you find one, double-check if you need permission to shoot there. Don’t forget to plan for the weather, working around other people, and moving stuff that doesn’t fit the theme.
Studios are the best setting to create character portraits. You have access to your whole kit, plus what the studio has on hand. It’s also always dry and (usually) warm. The downside of a studio is that it’s a soulless box that needs staging from floor to wall. If you’re handy with a hammer or a paintbrush, there’s a huge satisfaction to be had in creating a space for your character to inhabit.
However, if DIY isn’t for you, apply some well-controlled lighting or some camera trickery to work wonders. The Westcott X-Drop Grunge Concrete background can look like a real concrete wall on location with some depth of field blur.
If you can’t fake a location in the studio, do the opposite and embrace the fact you are in a studio and make that a feature! A studio background that compliments the character in your portraits is a great look. There are many vintage-themed backgrounds around such as the excellent Manfrotto EzyFrame kits.
How to Style Your Character
Once you have your location sorted, it’s time to consider the styling that will bring your character’s look to life. You’ll need props, clothes, and, perhaps most importantly, a person who can convey a character.
You might be lucky enough to find someone who already has their own character look. It can be a cosplayer, re-enactor, or just someone with their own distinctive style. If so, they’ve done the hardest part of character portraits for you!
If that’s not the case, the choice of model makes a huge difference. In fact, you really don’t need a “model” to be your model, you want an “actor” to model. Whoever you use needs to become the character, understand the theme, and portray it to the camera.
The great thing about character portraits is anyone can be a model—and that includes you! Being your own model makes total sense, keeps costs down, and can be hugely rewarding in your normal portrait photography. Being your own model really makes you appreciate just how tiring modeling is as a profession.
If the character look is from history, or is easily recognizable, you might need to be very careful with your outfit selection. But the right look in clothes is usually more about the overall feeling it portrays.
The internet is full of places to find vintage clothes or modern reproductions. If you’re working in the realms of fantasy, pretty much anything goes. Costume hire stores are great places to find inspiration. Look for anywhere that does stage costumes. Even if they don’t have exactly what you want, really good stores will mix and match items together or help you find alternatives.
Avoid party stores or fancy dress outfits. These often look acceptable at a party or from a distance but rarely have the small details that the close-up scrutiny of a photo session will give.
Pick Your Props
Props are the glue that joins all the styling parts together. A good prop tells a story, gives something for your model to interact with, and should fit in with the theme. Sci-fi and fantasy characters need props that are out of this world, which makes them tricky (but not impossible) to find.
Props for a vintage-themed character portrait are, once again, a lot easier to come across. From thrift stores to barn finds, vintage props can turn up anywhere. They are often the things that the modern world no longer values. If I had to choose just one type of prop, it would be an old book.
Having something to hold solves the problem of what to do with your model’s hands and, at the same time, literally tells a story. Old books also look… old. They discolor and age beautifully and, best of all, they are super cheap!
How to Light Character Portraits
Oftentimes, the lighting can be surprisingly simple. A character with a simple but strong look might need no more lighting than a key light and fill light. The strength of the portrait comes from the person, not from the lighting.
Futuristic character portraits can be almost all about the lighting. Lens flare from lights shining directly into the camera, shiny surfaces that reflect the light, and neon-style tube lights like the Nanlite Pavotube 30X can look super modern.
Some looks need special lighting— none more so than Film Noir. Film Noir is all about the shadows. It’s a look that is a mixture of vintage and fantasy. Light can come from unusual angles. It is usually highly controlled, so having a light such as the Flashpoint EVOLV200 is a great choice. It’s small enough to squeeze into tight spaces, powerful enough to be used with snoots or barn doors, and is a modular system with a range of lighting accessories.
How to Edit Character Portraits
This article would not be complete without mentioning post-processing. Like it or not, you’ll be doing something to achieve the best character portraits. Post-processing is an essential editing tool for removing any distracting items. Cloning out coffee cups and water bottles springs to mind!
If you go with a vintage portrait, you may want to alter the clear and sharp look of a modern camera and lens. This can be as simple as adding a vignette or lens blur to the edges. Another popular technique is to lift the shadows for a washed-out look.
There are many, many reasons to do portrait photography. It can be a professional headshot, fashion or beauty session, or wholesome family session. Those are all great reasons to create portraits for someone else…But if you want to make images for yourself, then a character portrait might just be reason enough!
All photos by Gavin Hoey.
