Recent Portraits Articles

Can You Tell Which of These Portraits Was Shot on a High-end Camera?

The age-old question of whether great images are made by the photographer or the camera is a boring one. However, a more interesting topic is the gap between high-end cameras and entry-level cameras and whether most people can tell the difference.

Up the Production Value of Your Portraits With Topaz Labs 

Perhaps some of the biggest dealbreakers for images are sharpness, resolution, and noise. No one likes a blurry low-res ISO 25,600 file. Yet, sometimes the client picks the worst possible file that is the definition of poor image quality. Luckily, Topaz Labs have developed AI-enabled software which lets you save your portraits. Act fast and take advantage of their Cyber Monday prices.

How to Retouch a Dramatic Portrait From Start to Finish

Portraiture is one of the most popular genres of photography for many reasons and photographs of people are often the ones that are looked at the most and for the longest. One style within portraiture that is a staple is the dramatic look. In this video, watch a start-to-finish edit of a portrait with the dramatic look as the end goal.

Helpful Tips to Improve Your Portrait Photography

Portrait photography is a challenging genre that requires you to not only be deft and confident with your camera and post-processing, but also able to make the subject comfortable in front of your lens. If you would like to improve your portrait photography, check out this awesome video tutorial that will give you a wide variety of helpful tips to get you on the right track.

How to Add Motion to Your Fashion Shoots

Fashion photography has created some of the most iconic portraits ever taken and it's a revered genre of the discipline. However, it's easy to fall into static shots, leaning on familiar poses. In this video, Lindsay Adler walks you through her techniques for adding motion to fashion shoots.

3 Important Features Coming in Luminar Neo: Tested

Skylum has been touting their upcoming release of Luminar Neo, an image editor that builds on Luminar AI with some new features that are sure to please fans of the current product and may arouse interest from other photo editors.

5 Weird Things Boudoir Photographers Do

Every genre of photography has quirks that the photographer gradually adopts as normal. This is one boudoir photographer's weird habits and although some of them are specific, there is a lot of crossover with other genres in places.

3 Steps to Getting Better Skin Tones Using Photoshop

Skin tones are one of the most crucial parts of a portrait edit. Get them right, and they can elevate the image to another level. Get them wrong, however, and they can sink your image. If you are new to shooting and editing portraits, this helpful video tutorial will show you three steps to get better skin tones in Photoshop.

How to Quickly and Effectively Edit Holiday Snaps

While you may concentrate on making art, some of the most important images you will ever take are when you are with family and friends. A common example is when you travel for a holiday and these end up being the photographs your family will look back on for years to come. Here are some tips for quickly improving them with a simple post-production process.

Lighting 101: A Three-Point Lighting Tutorial

If you are looking to step beyond basic, one-light setups, it can be a little daunting at first. In this behind-the-scenes video, learn how effective a simple three-point lighting system can be.

We Review the H&Y Revoring: A Look at Its Design, Practical Applications, and Limitations

What exactly can the H&Y Revoring do and how does it work? This unique type of filter from H&Y has definitely turned a lot of heads due to its unique design and how it solves a problem that generations of photographers (who use filters) have had for a while. In this review let’s check out how the H&Y Revoring works, what are its limitations, and what instances is it useful in.

How to Find Beautiful Natural Light in Ugly Locations

It's easy to look around at local locations and think that you have no chance of creating beautiful, natural light portraits because of them. However, with the right positioning and knowledge, you will be able to create stunning images with great light.

A Basic, One Light Outdoor Flash Photography Tutorial

If you're new to flash photography, or want to try it outside and off-camera, there are a few things to keep in mind. This behind-the-scenes video is a good introduction on how to get started.

How to Create the Day Versus Night Portrait Effect In-Camera

In-camera special effects are a great and fun way to emphasize a story in photography. Many of these special effects that seem high production are actually quite easy to accomplish using the tools we already have or are easy to get. Today, I'll be showing you how to create one of my signature portraits, the Day vs. Night.

Behind the Scenes of a Medusa Halloween Photoshoot

Halloween might not be my favorite "holiday", but it does bring with it some fantastic photoshoots. In this video, watch as Lindsay Adler creates some stunning Medusa-themed portraits using LEDs.

How I Got the Shot: Lighting Studio Portrait With Photo Backdrop

We are not always fortunate to have the perfect background that matches the total vision of a shoot. The same goes for having a huge budget to build the set, which leaves a few options. Spend the time with compositions or use a printed backdrop to complete the scene. To save time, at least in my case, I opted to go with a printed backdrop for the shoot since there would be multiple images.

3 Easy Portrait Lighting Setups for Small Spaces

When you are first starting out, you are not likely to be shooting from a dedicated studio. Most of us start out in a spare room at our home or the like, meaning we are in a tight space. That does not mean you can't take great photos in that small space, though, and this excellent video tutorial will show you three easy portrait lighting setups that work well in close quarters.

5 Portrait Lighting Styles You Can Create With One Light

When you think of high-end portraiture, you might imagine multiple lights and complicated setups. The truth is, you can create a lot with just a single light. In this video, learn five techniques that can be replicated with a single light.

Creative Lighting Techniques You Can Recreate at Home

The best place to practice photography, if it's possible, is in your own home. However, with few of us having acres of space to roam around in our own property, you need to get good at utilizing the space you do have. In this video, learn creative lighting techniques with speedlights even in smaller spaces.

One Simple Tip That Will Level Up Your Portraits

All it takes is this simple composition tip to take your portraits to a new level. In this video and article, I'll be demonstrating this tip and how you can use it in post-production to completely transform your photographs.

Taking Strangers' Portraits on a Large Format Camera

If you enjoy watching portraits taken then this video will be a rare treat for you. One photographer takes an 8x10 large format camera on a number of portrait shoots of strangers and acquaintances.

5 Tips for Lighting Headshots From Peter Hurley

Few names are more synonymous with headshot photography than Peter Hurley. In this helpful video, he offers five fantastic tips on lighting for headshots that will improve your work in no time.

Behind the Scenes of Three Bridal Portrait Sessions

If you are photographing weddings, going to start photographing them, or are interested in trying it out, bridal portraits are crucial to your success. In this video, watch behind-the-scenes of three different bridal portrait sessions and see how these excellent images were made.

Capture In-Action Portraits Using a Wide Angle Lens

Photographing a couple from up close can drastically change the way your image feels. Getting up close with a wide angle lens creates a sense of action and aliveness that draws the viewer in.

10 Quick Steps to Creating Successful Portrait Poses

When it comes to portraits, things like light placement and camera settings are quantifiable and in that sense, more easily learned than something a bit more nebulous, such as posing. If you have been struggling with posing your subjects, this great video tutorial will break it down into a 10-step process that will make it more digestible and easy to implement.

Is This the Most Versatile Portrait Lens Ever Made?

There have been some excellent lens releases this year, but Tamron's newest offering might be challenging for the top spot. With an unbelievable focal range and widest aperture, how does it hold up on different shoots?

Three Simple Tips for Dark and Moody Boudoir Portraits

I feel like boudoir portraits, for the most part, fall within two different types when it comes to lighting and atmosphere: light and airy or dark and moody. If you are looking to step out of your comfort zone of light and airy and try taking some dark and moody portraits, here are three simple tips to help you start.

How to Take Nighttime Portraits

Normally in portraiture, you get a high level of control over the lighting, but in some scenarios (weddings, for example), you will have to think, light, and shoot on your feet. This excellent video tutorial will show you several ways to shoot nighttime portraits with a variety of different techniques and for a range of different creative looks.

Transform Your Portraits With the 'Ring of Fire' Special Effect

There's a good chance you've heard of the "Ring of Fire," a technique popularized by wedding and portrait photographer Sam Hurd. The Ring of Fire is a special effects technique that uses a piece of copper tube to reflect light and create a highlight flare in the shape of a ring. This technique has been widely adopted, and to create this effect for yourself is pretty easy. Today, I'll be walking through the steps to transform your portraits using the famous Ring of Fire technique.

5 Tips to Help You Take Better Headshots

Headshots are a tricky genre, as they require you to not only have skills behind the camera and with your lighting, but also with posing and your ability to make people feel comfortable in front of the lens. If you would like to improve your headshots, check out this great video tutorial that features five helpful tips from a top-level photographer.

What Is the Best Camera and Lens Combination for Portraits?

If you’re pondering the perfect combination of camera body and lens for shooting portraits, check out this series of suggestions for budgets ranging from $1,000 all the way through to $10,000. What would you go for?

An Easy One-Light Studio Portrait Photography Setup

When you are new to artificial lighting, it can be a bit tricky to try to take in all the terminology, techniques, and creative practices at the same time, and as such, it is important to make sure you start out the right way. The best way to begin learning is by working with a single light, and this great video tutorial will show you an effective one-light setup for creating compelling portraits.

Learn How This Tricky Couples Portrait Was Shot

Shooting weddings involves a number of challenges, including having to work with whatever light you are given that day while still being expected to produce memorable, compelling images for your couple and their family. This awesome video tutorial will show you how a photographer captured a great couples portrait in a field even with harsh sunlight complicating the equation.

Helpful Ideas for Finding Great Portrait Locations

If you are anything like me, you have probably found yourself agonizing over finding just the right location for a portrait shoot at one time or another. It does not have to be that difficult, though, and this helpful video tutorial will give you some great tips for finding suitable locations quickly and easily.

How to Easily Set Up a Portrait With Paramount Lighting

One of the first lighting techniques I learned in graduate school was Paramount lighting. It's an easy way to come up with consistently solid portraits of almost anyone. Here's a quick tutorial from Adorama and fashion photographer Lindsey Adler on how to get that just right.

How Shadows Can Improve Your Portrait Photography

When we learn about lighting in portrait photography, we mostly focus on where to add light and how to shape it, but the presence of light is only made impactful by the mutual presence of shadows. Shadows can be a fantastic tool not just for contrast but to create a sense of drama or to tell a story with your images. This fantastic video tutorial will walk you through the process of lighting a portrait image with carefully crafted shadows to show you just how powerful they can be.

A Full Photoshop Portrait Retouching Tutorial

Knowing how to light, pose, and shoot a portrait is only half of what it takes to create a successful final image. It takes strong processing skills at the computer to complement your technique behind the camera. This comprehensive video tutorial will show you everything you need to know to retouch a portrait to a professional standard in Photoshop.

How Good Is the Canon RF 100mm f/2.8 Macro for Portraits?

Buying a macro lens is useful for a lot of photographers in a number of different genres, however, it's a difficult purchase to justify if you do not do much macro photography specifically. If it had some other purposes it would be a more palatable purchase, and if you take any portraits, it does have.

3 Reasons the Canon RF 28-70mm f/2 Is My Favorite Lens of All Time

For the longest time, my favorite lens on any camera system was a 35mm wide-aperture prime. The focal length forced me to get "in the action" for impactful portraits, yet it was wide enough to capture wide angle scenes. But a new lens has recently won my heart and assumed the top spot in my kit. In this video and article, I'll be walking through a photoshoot while demonstrating why the Canon RF 28-70mm f/2 lens is my favorite lens of all time.

How to Pose Models: Tips From a Professional Model

I’m currently just casually reading about Deleuzian philosophy. Gilles Deleuze, a French philosopher, and Félix Guattari wrote about truth as coming from multiple sources.

5 Helpful Tips for Better Environmental Portraits

While portraits with a narrow depth of field that isolate the subject against a wall of blurry colors and ill-defined shapes are quite popular, they can sometimes be a bit one-dimensional. Environmental portraits are a chance to increase the nuance of your images and tell stories about your subjects. If you want to improve your own environmental portraits, this great video tutorial will give you five tips that will help you on your way.

A Common Misconception About ND Filters

ND filters are fantastic pieces of kit for a number of applications, but there is a powerful use for them that sometimes gets overlooked through misconceptions. In this video, see visual examples of exactly what an ND filter can do for you.