Portrait Photography How To

Once in danger of fading away, Halloween has grown to become a favorite holiday for more adults than children. Adults are now devoting a great deal of time, energy and money into dressing us as various characters from movies, television shows and video games. 

You’ve probably heard this one before: you should shoot portraits with mid-range lenses like an 85mm or an 100mm to create the most flattering look. Or this one: don’t shoot a portrait with a wide-angle lens because it will make a person’s face look distorted.

Let’s say you wanted to attend next week’s Portrait Masters Conference + Expo in Phoenix, AZ but realized that it’s already sold out. Or let’s say, you just didn’t have the time (or money) to fly to the show, book a hotel etc. and check out all the portrait photography classes and presentations from respected photographers and educators, but are still interested in the content.

There’s a lot of interest in boudoir photography these days, and a recent tutorial on the subject was our most popular story over the past several months. Therefore, we decided to feature the video below, with a very basic technique for shooting boudoir photos, using simple gear and available light.

Coming from an advertising and design background has trained me to shoot with the objective of the final print in mind. The agency I once worked for lived by the mantra, “garbage in garbage out."

The Color Wheel is a simple but oft-ignored tool that that enables photographers to visualize the interplay between various tones and how be they can be combined to increase the impact of an image. If you don't understand this important concept and how it works, today's video will get you up to speed.

Photographers never get tired of debating the qualities of zoom lenses vs prime lenses for shooting portraits. There are proponents of both camps and there's really no right answer (it's ultimately a matter of preference) but it's a fun optical debate, nonetheless.