Valentine's Day Photo Tips: Take a Heart Felt Portrait for the One You Love!

For Valentine's Day, what better way to show your affection than to take a heart felt portrait for the one you love? Here are five tips to help you do it right.

1. You want the focus of attention in your photo to be your subject's face and expression. Suggest clothing that will not take attention away from the subject- avoid checked patterns, stripes and big patterns, unless such outfits are your subject's trademark. The subject's face should stand out, not the clothing!

2. Come in close and fill the frame with your subject. Generally, you'll be better off with a "head-and-shoulders" shot in which the hands don't show.

3. If the hands do show, give them something to hold - gloves, a small bouquet, a hat - anything that's appropriate.

4. Use a relatively fast shutter speed - outdoors ISO 100-200, indoors ISO 400, depending on lighting. Shoot some pictures with flash, some without. Even outdoors you can use your flash to help with shadows, etc.

5. When using flash, keep your subject a few feet from the background to minimize dark wall shadows.

Of course, when you get the photos loaded onto the computer, examine them carefully. Then take the best photo and have it printed to a size you are happy with, and put in a tasteful frame for a great Valentine's Day present!

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