Portrait Photography How To

When you're just getting started in photography, shooting portraits can be both fun and intimidating. It's fun because you can get your friends and family to act as models and just start shooting away. It can be intimidating though because you're liable to make a few mistakes that could make your subjects look less than their best.

Even using the best posing techniques in boudoir photography is no guarantee that your images will stand out. In fact, all of us are guilty, from time to time, of being afraid to step out of our comfort zones as photographers.

We’re all familiar with the notion that the camera adds 10 pounds to people in our photos. Rather than debating the veracity of that claim, we’d thought we’d share the following video from SLR Lounge, describing a simple lighting technique for making portrait subjects appear thinner.

Today's enlightening tutorial from British pro James Feaver recounts how much he struggled with post processing when first embarking on his photography journey, and he describes his dismay like this: "I would spend hours and hours editing my photos, wake up the next morning hating what I've done, and have to start over."

Environmental portraits are all the rage these days in photography because they are far more revealing than a basic portrait of an individual or a simple headshot. As the name suggests, environmental portraits capture a subject within his or her typical environment such as a workplace. 

I’m what (the immortal) Stan Lee calls a “true believer” and I’ve been a fan of comic books since childhood. As a result, I can’t resist a convention because it’s an opportunity to dive into the world of fandom and mingle with like-minded people from around the country.

What’s your favorite lens for portrait photography? For Shutterbug photographer Jordan Matter, it’s an 85mm lens with a fast aperture.