Photography Composition - 12 Composition Rules for Your Photos to Shine By James Carren

Chapter 3:
Camera Settings
I would like to say here that in order to make a professional-looking portrait, you need to
be using only semi-automatic or manual settings. You need to take a meter reading, and set
your camera to a metering mode that will expose the background well, but place the
emphasis on the subject. I would suggest either evaluative or partial mode.
After you’ve figured out your optimal aperture and shutter speed settings for the light
you’ll be working with, consider your method of shooting and your subject. If you’re
going to be shooting from a tripod, you can probably get away with a slower shutter speed
or shallower depth of field. If you are shooting by hand, have your model stand in place
and take a test shot to make sure there isn’t any blur from camera shake. If there is, adjust
your exposure to make your shutter speed faster. Program mode may be a good shooting
mode to start with, since it will calculate proper exposure for you, and then you can just
shift accordingly to remove any shake.
You’ll also have to consider who your subject is. If you’re shooting with an adult, you
should be fine with a shutter speed that is only compensating for your own shake. If,
however, you’ll be shooting with a small child or baby as a model, you’ll need to adjust
your shutter speed to be very fast. This way, if they fidget, the camera can still capture a
good, sharp portrait. If you are afraid that they’ll bolt on you, you may also try setting
your shooting mode to AI focus, which, while it won’t change shutter speed, will
automatically refocus if the distance between the camera and subject changes.