5 Simple Portrait Tips You Can Start Doing Today

It doesn’t take a lot to improve your portrait photography by a huge amount. Oftentimes, it’s as simple as just becoming more aware of something you’re doing, and then trying harder to do more of that on your next shoot. Oh, and practice of course!

Portrait photographer Julia Trotti believes that great portraits don’t require epic locations or extravagant backdrops, just a good eye, a dash of creativity, and the right approach. On a recent shoot, she set out to prove exactly that, using an everyday location and turning it into a series of professional, story-driven portraits. Here are her 5 tips for improving composition.

1. Work with What You Have

One of the most common misconceptions in portrait photography is that you need a grand, Instagram-worthy location to get beautiful results. Julia disagrees. On this shoot, her “epic location” was simply a row of blooming trees on a small street corner.

Instead of lamenting the size of the space, she leaned into it, literally. She had her model stand close to the branches, framing the shot with petals to create a lush, full background. Don’t obsess over finding a perfect location; make the most of whatever you’ve got by thinking creatively about angles, framing, and depth.

Pro tip: A telephoto lens can make even small backgrounds look grand by narrowing the field of view and filling the frame with your subject and surroundings.

2. Think in Stories, Not Single Shots

Many photographers shoot portraits as if each image is a standalone piece. Julia treats each session like a visual story.

When she started with the cherry blossoms, she didn’t just take one “wow” shot and move on. Instead, she incorporated the blossoms across multiple images, from close-ups to wide shots, so that they became a recurring visual thread. She even created “transition shots” that included both the flowers and nearby buildings, connecting the blossom scene to the next location seamlessly.

Pro tip: If you’re delivering a gallery, make sure your images flow together. Use recurring elements to tie scenes into a cohesive narrative.

3. Tame Your Leading Lines

We’ve all heard the advice: use leading lines to draw the viewer’s eye to your subject. But it seems you can have too much of a good thing, and Julia warns that lines can backfire if they’re too dominant.

In one location, strong architectural lines overpowered the frame, competing with her subject. Her fix was to shift her position slightly and have her subject lean away from the wall. This softened the lines, pushed them out of focus, and balanced the composition by adding shrubs and sky to the opposite side of the frame.

Pro tip: Leading lines should guide, not dominate. If they’re too sharp or obvious, adjust your position to soften them.

4. Make Wide-Angle Lenses Work for You

It seems like unusual advice, and it’s true that wide lenses (like the 28mm Julia used) can be tricky for portraits. They tend to include too much background clutter and don’t offer flattering compression, or get that separation and bokeh that we all love.

However, Julia’s approach was to change perspective, not gear. She got closer to her subject, angled slightly to create separation from the background, and then simplified the scene by incorporating a dark tree backdrop. This not only drew focus to her subject but also reduced visual distractions. There is, of course, a danger that your subject’s face will become distorted by shooting at a closer distance; however, that depends on your subject and what look you’re trying to achieve. It’s always worth trying something out just to see.

Pro tip: If your background feels busy, either zoom in or adjust your perspective to block distractions with simpler elements.

5. Posing Without Running Out of Ideas

This is something that can often stump newer photographers. Everything is going great, you tackle a few poses, and then what? You’ve run out of ideas, and then you start to panic. Luckily, Julia has a posing trick that works whether you’re shooting an experienced model or someone camera-shy: start with one comfortable pose, then make small, incremental changes.

Once she captured the initial pose, she’d ask her subject to subtly adjust (shift a hand, turn the head slightly, lean on a wall) while Julia moved around, changing angles, focal lengths, and framing. This kept the flow natural and created a variety of shots without constant, jarring resets.

Pro tip: Small pose adjustments paired with photographer movement can yield a diverse, professional-looking set without exhausting the subject.

Bonus Tip: Don’t Forget Creative “In-Between” Shots

In between the main portraits, Julia took creative shots that were more about mood and atmosphere than the subject’s face. Harsh light through branches, dramatic shadows, and environmental textures all made their way into the gallery.

These “in-betweeners” added depth and variety to the final set, making the shoot feel more like a cinematic sequence than just a string of headshots.

In the end, portrait photography is less about having perfect conditions and more about knowing how to bend your surroundings, angles, and gear to your advantage. Learning how to communicate with and direct your subject will always be a great time investment. Watch the video below to see the whole session:

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