Portrait Photography How To

When I’m looking at ways to do a specific task my brain often reverts to Occam’s razor. (Occam was a logician and Franciscan friar in the 14th century.) The way I interpret it, is that if there are many ways to do something the easiest and most direct method is usually correct. It’s the KIS principle and keeping it simple works best for me. Like most people, especially those of us who are self employed, there aren’t enough hours in the day, so I’m extremely concerned about workflow and just how much time each project is going to take. If I have a task, like organizing and editing my work, that I can do one way that takes an hour and another that takes 30 minutes, I’ll take the 30 minute option every time. With all that said, I’ll explain how I handle a portrait session, from the original shoot to ordering the final images. It may or may not fit your way of doing things, but just keep my buddy Occam in mind and remember there’s more to life than sitting in front of a computer.

Shadows can be an important element for adding impact and drama to an image. Other times though, background shadows are simply an unwelcome distraction in images with a clean, minimalist look. In this Photoshop tutorial instructor Brendan Williams demonstrates a "sneaky selection trick" for eliminating shadows fast.

Anita Sadowska is a professional fashion photographer based in Dublin, and in this quick tutorial she teams up with an experienced model to demonstrate simple posing techniques that will help you shoot boudoir photos at home like a pro.

One simple method of adding impact to portraits is to frame your subjects with natural or man-made objects. The “frame” you use can be something as simple as a window, doorway, arch, or the overhanging branches of a tree.

We all been in situations when shooting landscapes or outdoor portraits when the images we capture aren't quite as dramatic as we would like. Sometimes that's because lighting conditions could be far more interesting.

If you've tried your hand at portraiture you know that different subjects require different techniques to obtain the best possible results. Photographing kids often means crouching down and shooting from their eye level, the task with men is making them appear strong and imposing, and portraits of women call for yet another approach.

Are you dissatisfied with your portrait photos because they tend to look like snapshots? Do you wish you had a studio and a bunch of costly lighting equipment (and knew how to use it)? Well, keep reading because this is your lucky day.