Video: Five tips to radically improve your portrait photography

What makes for a great portrait? We've long believed it's when the shot tells us something about our subject, but this can be difficult to do even for seasoned photographers.

That's one reason why this fantastic video by photographer Pete Coco is worth watching as he shares five great tips that will really elevate your portraits. 

One of Pete's best tips is to encourage your subject to look away from the camera - something that may seem an odd choice when we're constantly reminded that eye contact is 'everything' in portraiture.

But, as Pete explains, doing this allows you as the photographer to explore different emotions than would be possible with just a traditional eye-to-eye shot - while also giving a totally different feel to the final results. 

His tips for looking for unguarded moments with low drive-mode are also excellent, and may just be the secret to nabbing that one-off moment you would have missed otherwise.

You can see more of Pete's videos on his YouTube channel. Big thanks to Pete for letting us share this video. 

About the author: Pete Coco is a portrait photographer and musician based in New York. When not performing as a jazz bassist, Pete can be found in his studio working with a wide range of clients, although is passion is creating unique portraits of other musicians and artists.