4 Tips to a Great Portrait of Your Dad

A Super Quick Guide By Kent DuFault

Our parents are precious to us. I think it’s important that we preserve our memories of them by creating portraits of moms and dads over time.

Father’s Day, and Mother’s Day, is a perfect moment to capture a unique image of our parents every year.

Today, we’re going to discuss some tips on how to get a top-notch, meaningful, portrait of your dear old dad… or perhaps the father of your own children!

Figure 1 https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidw/380279239/

Think of Father’s Day, as the date for recording a moment in the life of the man you love, (or men), as they go through life.

Fatherhood has many stages. Each of those stages has it’s own unique photographic opportunities.

Your job, as the loving photographer, is to determine what important stage should be portrayed that year.

For example, the father in figure 1 is enjoying a physical activity with his young son. Playing together is an important aspect of fatherhood at this stage of life.

Figure 2 https://www.flickr.com/photos/harrypotts/16376383888/

Figure 2 represents another playful image: at a much different stage in life. In this example, the adult son is being playful with his elderly father.

Each of the two examples (figures 1 and 2) illustrates a thoughtful image of a father at various points in his life.

If you were to take this on as a lifelong project- imagine how special it would be to present the subject with a book of images that spans over a twenty to forty year period.

Now that’s a worthy project!

There are four things that you should keep in mind when creating your Father’s Day portraits.

1. Action
2. Angle
3. Expression
4. Emotion

ACTION-

Action, can be key, to elevating your portrait from a simple snapshot to a meaningful portrait photograph.

When I say “action”, I don’t mean your subject has to be waterskiing. (For example…) (Unless of course that’s indicative of his life.)

Action can be anything from a simple smile, to hugging his kids or grandkids.

Now, if the man you’re photographing is highly active, by all means use that.

I know an 82-year-old father, (and he’s a grandfather), (and he’s a great grandfather), who still climbs mountains!

Wouldn’t it be fun to photograph him swinging by a rope at a local climbing wall surrounded by his grandkids?

This is the type of planning, and pre-visualization, that can bring your portrait to life.

Figure 3 https://www.flickr.com/photos/31064702@N05/2975936481/

Not all dads are going to be super-expressive. However, if you put some planning into whatever makes your subject tick- you can go from an uncomfortable expression – such as this one in figure 3 – to…

Figure 4 https://www.flickr.com/photos/gregor_y/15582368/

Something more instantaneous and expressive, such as this dad- who had something tickle his funny bone. This is “ACTION”. He has reacted and this created a more meaningful portrait than a simple stare at the camera.

We have established that an expression can be action. We have discussed creating a moment that would elicit action. Let’s look at some other possibilities.

Figure 5 https://www.flickr.com/photos/dickdotcom/4938419219/

You might look at this image and state, “This isn’t action. They’re sleeping! They’re not even moving.” And, you would be right! However, I want you to adjust your thinking. Thinking like a photographer, sometimes means looking at a situation outside of the norm. There is “action” in this photograph. There is “action” because of “interaction”. The father holding the child, and the child’s hand resting on the dad’s chest create, “a tension”, an interaction between the two of them. This creates a meaningful- and “active” image. Let’s look at a similar photograph that lacks the action of interaction.

Figure 6 https://www.flickr.com/photos/alicegop/3128078541/

Now, you might look at this image and say, “Wait a minute! In this photo they are awake. They’re even moving. This is an action picture!” Again, I can’t say that you are wrong. Once again, I ask you to put your photographer’s hat on. In this photograph, there is no interaction between Dad and his kids. They are as “visually” distant, as if they were in separate rooms: each individual is in their own world. When planning your portrait- interaction is a vital part of action.

Let’s cover one more aspect of incorporating “action” into your Father’s Day portrait.

What if your subject is an active dad? Some photographers, especially beginners, might think that an active situation- automatically creates a compelling active portrait.

This is not necessarily so.

Let’s take an activity as an example – snow skiing.

I’ll breakdown a successful Father’s Day portrait, and then a less successful Father’s Day portrait, revolving around the activity of snow skiing.

I’m hoping, that this breakdown of these images will assist you to begin “thinking” like a photographer.

The Successful Portrait!

Figure 7 https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjvs/445722483/

This portrait of Dad, and his son, is interesting due to the “active” interaction of the son in the background. It was also helped by the interesting composition formed by the ski and the heads. Finally, the expressions of both men are the icing on the cake (so to speak).

The Less Successful Portrait-

Figure 8 https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjvs/445714481/

This attempt lacks all personality. It was shot too wide. By incorporating other people in the background, it distances the subject’s relationship. Despite the fact that the dad has his arm around his son- they appear distant and unrelated. This is a portrait that portrays a potential active environment- but through a lack of interactivity- it falls flat.

Here is what we have learned so far…

• Action means interaction
• Action doesn’t necessarily mean just physical activity
• When physical activity is involved- interaction is still vital
• A simple expression can be action

ANGLE-

The choice of angle (i.e. the camera point-of-view and lens selection) really boils down to a couple of considerations.

• What “story” are you trying to tell in your portrait?
• Using an “unusual angle can bring interest…
• Do you want to see the details of your subject’s face?

If you are going for a “traditional” portrait- keep these two points in mind…

When photographing a man-

1. A point-of-view (POV) where the camera looks UP at him creates a feeling of the subject having power or superiority.
2. A POV where the camera looks DOWN at him creates a feeling of empathy and approachability.

Figure 9 https://www.flickr.com/photos/ljguitar/419070962/

This photographer chose a traditional approach to this dad’s portrait with his daughter. There are several issues that could be debated regarding this photograph. However, let’s stick with the subject of angle. The angle was a good choice. The camera POV is just about eye level with both subjects. This placed them on an even plane in the photograph, which means they draw equal attention.

Now let’s look at a photograph of a father, and his daughter, where the POV didn’t work out very well.

Figure 10 https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikecogh/8731721832/

This photographer attempted something different with their POV, and that is commendable. However, in this case, it wasn’t very successful. The little girl is almost lost in the clutter surrounding her. Plus, the man’s leg and knee are so dominant that they pull the viewer’s eyes away from the faces of the subjects. Creativity is good. Don’t get so creative that it pulls away from your ultimate goal.

Figure 11 https://www.flickr.com/photos/amira_a/15483404504/

I’m not saying that you should suppress your creativity. I’m saying that you should make sure it meets with your goal for the photograph. Do you believe the dad holding the umbrella would appreciate this image? You can’t see his face? You can’t see his child’s face? Yet, the relationship is beautifully implied. Creativity was applied here in a manner that truly worked. The wide-angle POV helped create the composition.

Thing to consider when choosing your angle-

• What point-of-view supports the type of portrait that you wish to create?
• Don’t let your creativity cloud your judgment as to the chosen angle…
• Look up for dominance in a male portrait, and look down for approachability.

EXPRESSION-

Expression wouldn’t really matter in the figure 11, would it? Let me re-word that… facial expression wouldn’t really matter in figure 11.

There are many ways that humans express themselves. You will find that body language is just as important to your photographic efforts as facial expressions are.

Your ability to capture human expression- is what will elevate your work within the photographic community.

Two keys abilities that you should practice are- anticipation- and timing.

A fantastic expression doesn’t do you any good if it has passed before you click the shutter.

And, have you noticed that if you ask your subject to repeat something- it’s never as good as when they did it naturally?

When planning your Father’s Day portrait do the following-

• Pick a theme. It can be as simple as dad and the kids. Or, get creative and create something extraordinary.
• Pick a location. Don’t make it too complicated. In my experience, many dads need to have their hands held when taking pictures of them. Don’t make it difficult for him.
• Pick an emotion- love, laughter, excitement, pensive
• Determine what secret ingredient that you are going to use to get that EXPRESSION displayed.

Figure 12 https://www.flickr.com/photos/usarak/14198081597/

Figure 12 depicts a group of fathers that, most of time would be “stoic” at best in the expressiveness. Introduce some dancing daughters, and everything changes. Use your imagination to give your subject something to react to: something that will create an expression.

Figure 13 https://www.flickr.com/photos/kphaubrich/5501434990/

This dad is all by himself. But, this is a pretty cool portrait that says a lot about the man being portrayed. He was told to talk about something that he was passionate about, and that created emotion, which created expression. My point here is that you don’t have to be super elaborate in your planning.

Tips for capturing a memorable expression…

• Practice your ability to anticipate.
• Practice your timing.
• Learn to preset your camera settings so that you’re not fumbling with the camera when the “moment” presents itself.
• Give your subject something to be passionate about.

EMOTION-

We all know that most men, in general, don’t tend to display their emotions easily. We talked about that a little bit in the previous section.

If you’ve done your homework, as discussed in the previous sections- your subject’s emotion should be on the surface and should be ready to be captured.

Figure 14 https://www.flickr.com/photos/miksalac/4713982176/

A simple pre-planned task, such as asking a child to pick a flower and present it to her dad, can bring out emotion that might otherwise not be displayed.

Figure 15 https://www.flickr.com/photos/38484636@N06/4536997362/

Emotion is often displayed at a spur of the moment. Even though you have a plan. Have your camera pre-set and ready for anything that might occur. Be willing to abandon your plan and go a different direction- should something better develop on its own.

Figure 16 https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattbrittaine/6620227261/

Do you consider figure 16 to be a successful Father’s Day portrait? I do. In fact, this image almost brings tears to my eyes- having lost my own father several years back. This image has everything that we talked about-

• Action including Interaction
• An interesting Angle that is close and well composed.
• Expression: Despite the fact that this photographer used a motion-blur technique; there is no missing the subject’s expressions through their body language.
• Emotion: this image is super-charged with emotion and creativity.

I hope you feel inspired to get some great portraits this Father’s Day.

Please feel free to share your efforts on our Facebook page. Hashtag your photograph- #mydadsphoto.