Portrait Photography How To

A while back we shared a viral video in which six photographers shot the same model with widely varying results, partly because they were given false information about the person being photographed. The video below was inspired by that challenge and resulted in quite a creative experience.

The late Mr. Newton was certainly onto something. I believe the overwhelming desire of most portrait photographers is to please the client, with seduction, amusement, and entertainment far from their minds. Let me submit this idea: shoot what the client says they want and then shoot something challenging their assumptions. Most wedding clients tend to be traditional but even introducing black and white or infrared images can increase sales and show clients you’re thinking outside the veil.

The Killer is Jerry Lee Lewis—if you want the origin story of his nickname, it’s searchable—and on that night in 1975 he was past his rockabilly and rock-and-roll days and into his country music career. Photographer Henry Horenstein was at the Ramada Inn in East Boston on assignment for Country Music magazine to photograph Lewis between sets.

While previously thought of as a niche, boudoir photography is now a thriving way for photographers to make a living. Usually a gift to a loved one or one’s self, boudoir photography consists of an intimate photo of a woman or man suggestively covered or even fully nude. Although the photographers I interviewed all have different businesses, they all have one thing in common: tremendous kindness and compassion. Thanks to the following photographers for sharing how they have made their businesses a success: Mariah Carle, Lynn Clark, Lindsay Rae D’Ottavio, Megan Drane, Kristi Elias, and Mistie Simone.

Daniel Norton is a NY-based photographer with a celebrated career in portraiture and fashion photography. He’s also a respected educator, and in the video below he illustrates a quick and simple setup for shooting portraits at home or on location.

Disillusioned with the practice of law, Brian Ingram found himself forced to reexamine his professional path in life. So, at a critical juncture, Ingram chose what to him was the road “less traveled by.” And, to further quote Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken,” it “has made all the difference.” Sparked by the gift of a Nikon D40, Ingram chose photography to be his new profession, and this new path revitalized his outlook on life.

Matthew Jordan Smith is a expert portrait shooter who has photographed some of the world’s most famous people in the U.S. and abroad. In the video below he explains how to make great portraits of women using a single light and an inexpensive white poster board.