Tips for taking a good portrait

1. Alter Your Perspective

2. Play with Eye Contact

3. Break the Rules of Composition

4. Experiment with Lighting (the most flattering light for most portraits is soft and off-camera)

5. Move Your Subject Out of their Comfort Zone

6. Shoot Candidly, Don't Pose your Subject

7. Introduce a Prop, Let them do Something with their Hands or Body

8. Focus Upon One Body Part – Get Close Up

9. Obscure Part of your Subject

10. Take a Series of Shots

11.  Show the subject and also their surroundings

12.  Capture their spirit, try to show something you remember about that person

13.  Give your subjects some room if you are not doing a close up

14.  Avoid tangents

15.  Avoid cutting off hands and legs at the knees

16.  Remember the rule of thirds!

17.  Expression.  Capture their Expression.

18.  Take A LOT of shots!  Often the best shot comes when you both are exhausted.