Portrait Photography How To

Toby Harvard calls himself a “fetish photographer” and he takes an unconventional approach to portraiture with his neon-lit images. His vibrant photographs often break the rules of composition, which is one reason his work is so interesting.

Ask a Pro is a Q&A column from professional photographer, writer, and educator Scott Kelby. Scott is here to answer all your photography-related questions, so if you have something you’d like to know, e-mail him at editorial@shutterbug.com (with “For Scott Kelby” as the subject line) and your query could be featured in the next edition of Ask a Pro.

In this episode of the Last Frame, Joe Edelman demonstrates how to capture some great fashion photos without a lot of expensive gear. As he explains in the video below, all you need is a single strobe, a 50mm lens, and a couple “gobos” or light modifiers you can easily make yourself.

Victoria Will is an accomplished New York-based photographer specializing in celebrity portraiture and lifestyle photography, and she utilizes an effective “back–button” focusing technique to achieve faster and more precise results. Watch the quick video below with her tips on this easy and effective method and you're sure to start shooting like a pro.

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.

Manuel Ortiz is a Chicago-based wedding/portrait photographer who strives to capture the spirit and personality of his subjects. In this helpful tutorial video, he enlists the help of his pretty wife Diana to provide 10 effective tips on posing women.

At street level, Moscow-based photographer/adventurer Angela Nikolau appears to be a young photographer with the looks to be a model. But when you see the photos she makes after scaling some of the world’s tallest buildings, you realize first impressions can be very deceiving.