Portrait Photography How To

Photography “hacks” videos are great fun because they help you shoot unique, attention-getting photos using ordinary household items. In the below video from Jessica Kobeissi, her five hacks involve using something you see all the time: glass.

Do the subjects in your portraits look a little stiff and unnatural? Your problem might not be the person you’re photographing but, rather, your choice of camera settings.

One of the things beginning portrait photographers often have difficulty with is getting their subjects to pose for photographs in a way that shows them in their best light. This is the very essence of portrait photography and posing can really make or break an image.

As a photo rep, I have always had great admiration for the portrait photographer. You are catching people at their worst (“I hate having my picture taken!”) and at their best (“Yes, this is really who I am!”). Whether it is a toddler, high school senior, or CEO, you are responsible to keep people calm, work fast, overcome technical and travel obstacles, and manage all the details of composition and lighting. In this column, we talk about all these issues as well as marketing your portrait photography business, the skills required for business success.

Tony Northrup is an image-editing expert who says, “The most common portrait mistake we see is underexposing because of backlighting.” If this problem sounds familiar, fear not, because Northrup provides a simple solution in the 5-minute video below.

ISO is a basic camera setting with a big impact on the photos you shoot when it comes to exposure, image quality, and other important variables. Unfortunately the simple concept is misunderstood and often results in images that don't meet expectations.

Have you ever captured an image that looked like a pixelated mess, either because your camera was inadvertently set to low resolution or you cropped the photo excessively? If so, this tutorial from the Bazillions instructional YouTube channel  is just what you need, as it explores the fascinating world of AI upscaling.