A black and white portrait can be one of the most powerful ways to represent a person, but it takes more than just desaturating a color image to make an effective final photo. If you would like to learn how to do that, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will give you five tips sure to help you create better black and white portraits.

In person sales (IPS) have been a part of the photography process for years. With the onset of digital, it died down a bit, much to the disservice of both photographers (who are missing out on sales) and clients (who are missing out on memories). Thankfully, it's started to make a comeback, along with the value of printing images instead of just letting them live in the digital world.

Each week creativeLIVE has unbelievable live content that you can stream for free. Starting today through Sept 15th, creativeLIVE will host one of Fstoppers' most featured photographers Matthew Jordan Smith. Matthew is an acclaimed fashion photographer, and he has brought along America's Next Top Model winner Yoanna House to talk about everything that goes on in the fashion industry. For more information about this week's entire event, read the full post.

When taking a portrait of an artist, I find it is always a good idea to try and tell the story of the artist through the image. If someone is a musician, the aesthetic of a photograph should help you understand the type of music they play. Similarly, if someone is a drag queen – I try to photograph them in a way viewers can instantly ‘get’ their character. Join me behind the scenes in photographing Mango Sassi, a Drag Queen from Toronto, ON, and have a look into what it can take to create a collaborative image!

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has just released a campaign short based on the work of photographer Brian Sokol. In the brief production, A-listers such as Cate Blanchett, Kit Harington, and Neil Gaiman recite the rhythmic poem “What They Took With Them" by Jenifer Toksvig. The poem, along with the accompanying video and still imagery, urges us to sign the #WithRefugees petition to help ensure that refugees across the world have the basic necessities needed to rebuild their lives: education, a safe environment, and work opportunities.

As the adage goes, “you have to run before you can walk.” This also applies to photography. Once you’ve learned how to consistently make a good image within your camera, what is the next step?

It’s been a minute since I shot color film. I’ve been shooting digital on a Canon 5D Mark IV for years. How does The Canon EOS-1N RS with Portra 400 compare?

Do you ever feel challenged by the creative energy of your subjects? The pressure to create something unique when you're walking amongst giants? I had a chance to talk with renowned music photographer, Denis O'Regan about shooting some of the biggest names in modern music history.

When you are scouting locations for a photoshoot, what are you typically focused on for the backgrounds? How often do you consider the textures and the colors that they could add to your shots?

BTS [behind the scenes] Photo Shoot from Benjamin Schmanke on Vimeo.

Update: Live Now! As a wedding photographer myself, I think the most important thing any photographer can do for their business is adding video to their services. I met Rob and Vanessa earlier this year and was excited to hear they are teaching this new "Fusion" video/photo hybrid to other photographers. On June 29 - July 1, creativeLIVE is airing their 3 day workshop for free! Learn how you can easily incorporate video into your photography business from two of the industry's leaders.

Constructed photography is the art of illusion. As photographers, we cover the cracks, which compounded with social media, makes it hard to talk about underlying real issues.

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.

I created a photobook with captions, for my sister, featuring her two daughters. I had never created an album or photobook before, so I wasn’t sure how to organize the shots. Added to that, the photos were taken over a four week period. So, how did I combine all these to make a cohesive narrative? I wrote a bedtime story.

While every portrait photographer should learn how to work with artificial light, available light is still a fantastic tool for a lot of applications and can be the better choice in a range of situations. Available light can be more versatile than you might suspect, and this excellent video tutorial five different scenarios that make for fantastic portraits.

ViViD Magazine Fall 2010 Photoshoot from Matt Rodgers on Vimeo.

Adding a bit of motion to a portrait can completely change it, making it a dynamic image that encourages the viewer to look more closely and imagine what story it is trying to tell. One way to add motion is to introduce a breeze, and this great video tutorial will show you three ways to do that as well as how to work with the results.

If you offer portrait services in any way, be it weddings or family portraits, you will have sold a fair few stretched canvases in your time. Other wall products have come and gone over the years, but in this article, we explore why canvas is still that go-to product for photographers to showcase their work to portrait clients and suggest an elevated version to help you stand out from the rest.

As photographers, we are aware that, in general, people are not naturally comfortable being photographed. In this article, I want to show you a fundamental technique that I use to achieve energetic, real, and authentic couple portraits.

No doubt, when you are first learning about artificial lighting, it can feel very foreign and difficult to master, particularly when it seems like pros are using complex multi-light setups for all their shots. However, you might be surprised by how much you can accomplish with one light, a reflector, and strong knowledge of the fundamentals of lighting. This excellent video tutorial will show you how just such a shot was created and the process the photographer went through to create the final image.

Lindsay Adler is well known for creating dynamic and vibrant portraits that capture viewers' eyes and imaginations. If you would like to see how she does it from start to finish, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will guide you through a red-inspired portrait shoot, including set design, lighting, gear, and editing.

Ken Heyman, a photographer that’s worked with cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead, shot commissions for Life magazine, and collaborated with President Lyndon B. Johnson, died on December 10th in Manhattan at 89 years old. He died at his home of a heart ailment, as reported by his daughter, Jennifer McCarthy.

When we think of family portraits, we often picture the traditional looks: everyone lined up, smiling, and well dressed. Family lifestyle photography, on the other hand, shines a new light on family portraiture. Rather than posing everybody perfectly, lifestyle captures the personality and dynamics of the family. The spontaneity is a great addition to a complete family album. Let's begin by seeing how the two styles differ.

This video is a sneak peek into SLR Lounge Premium Library with a chapter from our new course, Family Photography 101. This is a complete course on capturing memorable and unique family portraits. In this video, I had Shivani with me as we compared family lifestyle photography with traditional portraits.

Harper's Bazaar Arabia-Louis Vuitton from Melissa Rodwell on Vimeo.

Many photographers and artists say that your subject's eyes are the most important element in an image. But trying to enhance them or add a little eyeshadow can be very tricky. This tutorial will show you exactly how it's done and teach you great Photoshop techniques in the process.

The School Sessions is a novel idea and concept started by the photography community in an effort to help raise $200,000 on April 12, 2015 for building a school in Mellier, Haiti. The students of this community were greatly affected by the 7.0 earthquake that occurred in 2010. They are asking photographers from all over the world to sign-up and donate their session fee from one or more of their portrait sessions on that day.

Photographers around this time of the year, portrait and wedding photographers especially, tend to have clients banging down their doors for holiday photos and other must have product deliveries in time for Christmas. While the rest of the world is gearing up for a relaxing holiday, we often experience anything but. From Christmas cards to wedding albums — regardless of the client's procrastination all year — we're expected to produce our work in record time.

Catchlights are one of the most important bits of a portrait that signify a professional image. It is not uncommon, however, for your subject to be posed in a way where they just miss having a catchlight. That is no reason to bin that photo, though, as you can add a realistic catchlight quickly and easily in Photoshop. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to do just that.

There are many options out there for printing and presenting your images. In this article, we look at the multitude of benefits of creating a Layflat Photo Book and shed light on why they are fast becoming a favorite amongst professional photographers looking for a budget-minded alternative to Flush Mount Albums.

For some of us becoming old may be a thing of a distant future, for others it may be a day-to-day experience. However, for many of us "empathy for our older population is lacking, and audiences need reminding that we are all aging and old people need to feel the joy of human interaction too". This is one of many reasons why photographer, known simply as "Z", has put together a photographic exhibition to highlight the legacy of those who may find themselves lonely and forgotten.

If you're planning on attending Lin and Jirsa's Ultimate Wedding Workshop 101 down in the Bahamas you will want to act fast. With only 6 seats left in this class, Pye and Justin will be covering proper exposure and how to shoot in manual, how to pose your couples, how to modify natural light, on and off camera flash, and much more. If you have seen the wedding work of Lin and Jirsa Weddings then you know Pye, Justin, and the rest of their team are at the pinnacle of the wedding genre. Their 101 workshop takes place May 13th through May 14th.

For some, having a wide variety of poses can be challenging. The model is limited by what they are wearing, what they have to hold or interact with, or even the vision or mood of the shoot. Beauty headshots provide their own limitations, here are some posing tips for your next beauty shoot.