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Photography vocabulary · Photo Genres & Shoots

Portrait

Meaning in photography, with examples

/ˈpɔːrtrət/nounCore term

In photography, portrait means: A photograph of a person or a group in which their face, character or mood is the main subject.

In Turkish: portre, portre fotoğrafı

How it is used

Portrait photography includes family, newborn, corporate, editorial and environmental portraits (people shown in their workplace or home). You take or shoot a portrait, and the person sits for it. Portrait mode on phones imitates a shallow depth of field.

Example sentences

  1. We're doing environmental portraits of the farmers in their fields.

  2. For the annual report, each director needs a formal portrait.

Common collocations

  • environmental portrait
  • family portrait
  • portrait session
  • portrait photographer
  • headshotA simple, tightly framed portrait of a person's head and shoulders, used for CVs, company websites, LinkedIn or acting work.
  • orientationWhether a photo is taller than it is wide (portrait orientation) or wider than it is tall (landscape orientation).
  • key lightThe main and usually strongest light in a lighting setup, which sets the direction and mood of the light on the subject.
  • depth of fieldThe area in front of and behind the point of focus that still looks acceptably sharp. It can be shallow, with a blurry background, or deep, with almost everything sharp.
  • retouchTo make detailed changes to an image after the basic edit, such as removing blemishes, stray hairs, dust or unwanted objects.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Photo Genres & Shoots

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