it in front of your subject, stand on that chair and take a photo from "above" your subject? Your subject can then just look at you and you will have a different perspective. Your photo will also be interesting since it will also include your subject laptop and other items that may be around your subject. 2. Don't be afraid to NOT establish eye contact. Your subject may look straight into your camera lens, yes, but it can also be more dramatic if your subject DOES NOT look into your camera lens. Ask your subject to look off the camera. Perhaps your subject can focus on something on his or her left, something unseen or something outside the field of view of your camera. This will definitely help create a dramatic feel to the photo. It will also help create a "candid" feel to the portrait. 3. Experiment with lighting. Lighting can be a photographer's best friend if done and executed pretty well. There really are a lot of possibilities to a portrait if lighting is used. What you can do is conduct side lighting -- this will help set a certain mood. You can also experiment with backlight or silhouetting. This will add that "wow" factor to the photo. 4. Don't be too strict with the rule of thirds. As previously mentioned, you need not put your subject dead center. You can experiment with the photo composition. You can place your subject on the right or you can even