What’s the difference between a ‘traditional’ portrait photograph, and an artistic portrait photograph? To start, the traditional version is usually made up of a series of headshots, with the person smiling serenely for the camera. They can be great photos, but let’s be honest, they’re a little boring as well.

Portrait photography has morphed into a multifaceted form of photography, where the subject is closely examined from all, and every angle. Moods, emotions, moments – everything that can be taken from the subject is recorded on camera. It’s no wonder than portrait photography has become such a creative art, with a host of new dynamic techniques used to strike that perfect balance between scene and subject.

Portrait photography can be very artistic you just need a few tried and tested techniques to try out.

Let’s take a look at 8 creative techniques that portrait photographers use to get the most out of their time with their subjects.

Increasing or decreasing the light in portraits can make for some interesting effects. An overexposed image can add a light, soft feel to your portrait, while an overexposed image gives your subject that darker, broodier feel. Like most great effects in photography, these are used to enhance the mood in your portrait. Underexposure can be used to highlight the light parts of your subject, like the eyes – a key feature in portrait photography.

There are hundreds of different ways you can compose your portrait, so why not try a few strange, or exciting poses for unique results? A full body portrait of a man lying horizontally on a wooden beam, is far more interesting than a photo of him leaning against a wall. Place your subjects in difficult, or downright crazy poses for the most inspiring portraits. This is especially great if your subject is naturally fun – it will exemplify their personality and capture a special moment in time.

You don’t always have to see the detail in your subject to create an awesome portrait. Photographers often use backlighting to produce a kind of halo effect behind their subjects, that can be deeply resonant, even beautiful. You take this a step further and play around with backlighting and silhouettes for really artistic compositions. Use creative poses and warm colors to make your subjects hair seem golden, and photograph them from different perspectives.

Distorted or composed shadows can be a great addition to your portrait. As an extension of your subject, they should be used to add to the message that your composition is trying to get across. For example, a woman standing in torn clothing against a wall, with a long looming shadow behind her – speaks of some dark past, or burden she has hanging over her. The shadow becomes part of your composition, as a key element in explaining the person behind the portrait.

One of the best ways to get some real emotion from your subject is to use props, to either occupy, or amuse them while you take photos. This is often done in new born photography, where the photographer places the baby in a basket on the dining room table, and shoots some size portraits from there. It can be used for personality enhancement, like a teen and her blackberry, or a mom baking.

When you take the time to consider the props that are going to accompany your subjects in the composition, you can come up with some really creative ways of bringing out their personality, or emotions. Use scenery and random objects as well, to turn a boring portrait into an interesting work of art.

Portraits don’t always have to be 100% crisp – they can also be blurry for a reason. Capturing movement or motion in portrait photographs is a great way to get a high energy shot, and to enhance the emotion of the image. A blurred angry man screaming for example, will have more impact than a still of a man screaming. This is because the blurred streaks show the angst and fury that a still just can’t capture.

Resist the urge to constantly frame the head and shoulders in a perfect composition. It’s not that exciting! Instead, zoom in extra close to your subject and photograph parts of their face and body. By doing this you give yourself the opportunity to hone in on a sudden glance, or a fleeting feeling that dances across your subject’s face. The best shots are a close ups of person’s eye, nose and part of their mouth. They can be very stirring.

Texture is a great element to enhance portrait photographs. Instead of shooting with perfection in mind, shoot raw images that highlight texture on your subjects face, clothes and surrounding. Use interesting textured patterns as backgrounds as well, for sharp contrasts or perfect color balancing.

These 8 artistic techniques will set you along a more creative path as a portrait photographer. Try out some of these exciting tips, and see what kind of mood you can produce in your image!