There is just something about portraits of people looking out the window - doesn't matter if its in a building, train or car. Its something we do all the time, but never really pay attention to it. This is why seeing these awesome images capturing this quick-everyday-moment is really great. It makes you think. What are they seeing? What are they thinking of? are they happy? sad? maybe waiting for someone?.

When Nashville-based photographer Jake Harsh was tasked with coming up with an original photoshoot where he could flex his artistic freedoms, things turned slightly dangerous. His brave subjects for this shoot, the electro-pop band Hand of Hearts, would stand in a room with 18 pounds of fireworks being ignited and what transpired after that would be unpredictable. Here’s a behind-the-scenes video of what happened and the resulting images.

The Cooperative of Photography (COOPH) wants us to kick 2018 off with a bit of fun and inspiration. To help get our creative juices flowing, they've compiled eight ideas for taking some wonderfully weird portraits using common household items.

The idea of discounting our work is something most of us don’t even want to consider. We’ve spent a ton of time honing our skills and have more invested into our work than the consumer can possibly understand. That’s why mini-sessions are perfect — if you have the time.

Portraiture is one of the most versatile genres of photography, housing many sub-genres within it. One of the most impactful skillsets you can acquire for the craft is lighting and so it is important to know the basic setups and what different lighting styles achieve.

When it comes to portraiture, we most often choose light that is soft and flattering on the subject's features. However, that does not mean that direct sunlight is totally unusable for portraiture, and in fact, you can create great portraits with it if you know how to work with it. This excellent video tutorial will give you a wide variety of great tips to improve your portraits in directly sunlight.

A lot of photographers feel a bit overwhelmed by the prospect of learning how to work with flash, but once you learn the fundamentals of how light behaves and how to control it, you will find strobes are not that great a mystery and that they can open an entirely new creative world. If you are new to working with artificial light, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will get you up and creating images in no time.

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.

Natural, fuller eyebrows are a classic look that seem to be enjoying a resurgence recently. This fun and helpful video will show you how to easily create fuller eyebrows on your subject using Photoshop.

Tokyo is one of my favorite cities and I lived there for many years. While the crazy volume of traffic and crowds can be overwhelming at times, it's always an inspiring and surprising place to explore with a camera. So, where should you go if you only have a few days or less to shoot this incredible city? Here are a few of my favorite locations to visit with a camera, and the stories of some of the photos I have taken there.

In trying times, inspiration for the arts can be elusive. If that's the case for you, perhaps this video might help.

Shooting portraits outside of the studio requires a keen eye for finding good locations. If that is something you struggle with a bit, this excellent video tutorial will teach you how to find locations that make for stronger portraits.

One of the first things any portrait photographer should learn is how to create soft, flattering light.

With digital photography more accessible than ever, is film worth it? I picked up my film camera and shot my first roll of black and white film in over 10 years.

Focal length is by far one of the most important choices you can make when it comes to portraiture, as it makes a huge difference on how your subject is rendered. This helpful video will show you how five different common focal lengths render the same subject.

A lot of more advanced portrait styles require the use of multiple lights to fully craft the images, but you might be surprised by how much you can still accomplish with just a single light. This great video tutorial will show you how to light and shoot this eye-catching black and white portrait using only a single strobe.

Have you ever set up your lights, gone through the poses, gotten back to your computer, and realized you have taken some perfectly competent but uninspiring photos? If that is a situation you have recently found yourself in, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced portrait photographer sharing three different ways to reinvigorate your images.

Quite possibly one of the most overlooked aspects of lighting a subject is the rim light. Not only is it a great method to make your subject pop off the background, it's a quick way to give your portraits a very professional look. This helpful video will show you everything you need to know about creating proper rim lights.

The battle between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao coming up on May 2nd is of epic proportions. Alexis Cuarezma had the opportunity to photograph both of these welterweight icons for an HBO press conference back in March. Cuarezma told me he only had roughly 30 seconds with each fighter, and he sure made the most of it!

Unless you're specifically going for the hard light look, shadows can sometimes be a distraction in portraiture work whose impact you might want to lessen. This helpful tutorial will show you how to convincingly lighten them to help even out the luminosity across your subject's face.

The most classic portrait focal length is 85mm, but 135mm lenses have a special place in the heart of a lot of photographers. If you have not tried one in your own work, check out this excellent video that discusses the benefits of working with one and offers some helpful tips.

It’s always nice to work with a client that has as much invested in making a great image as you do. I recently had the opportunity to work with poet and academic Katie Schmid for some portraits. Outside of her own poetry, Katie writes for a few blogs and online magazines. Katie knew she needed a fairly standard image to use with those publications, but expressed interest in creating a second image that better captured her personality.

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.

Changing makeup color or the color of anything in Photoshop for the matter doesn't have to be a challenging task, although it can be very easy to mess up. In this tutorial I will show you three different ways of changing makeup color in Photoshop.

However, these techniques can be used to change the color of any portion of your image portrait or otherwise. The techniques in the video will range from quick methods that beginner Photoshopers users can use to the more advanced techniques retouchers can make use of.

You don't need a ton of equipment to create a number of looks in a single shoot. In this video, John Gress discusses which background you should go for if you're looking for maximum versatility, showcasing five different looks.

Sometimes sourcing good equipment for portrait photography simply isn't enough. You also need to learn how to connect to the people in front of your camera. But how can you improve that?

One of the great things about photography is that it can empower people to feel more secure or confident in themselves, which is exactly what this awesome project does. Check out how one photographer is helping bullied kids regain their confidence.

Makeup artists can be indispensable to raising the production value of a photoshoot. They make models fit the brief, they introduce important elements to the color palette, they make clients feel fantastic, and they bring the magic to conceptual photographs. Not all makeup artists bring the same value to the table though, so it's important for photographers to consider a few key elements before hiring an artist to their team.

As the phone rings, I breathe easy to calm my nerves. I'm about to interview one of the most successful modern portrait photographers in the world. I'm halfway through leaving a stuttering mess of a message when he cuts in. "Hello? Hi, I had the music going and didn't hear the phone ring..." Buck has built a career over the past 30-plus years photographing some of the biggest names in Hollywood and politics. He has carved out a space for himself in the upper echelon of photographers working today. And he has a land line. Somehow, given his old school, dogged approach to portraiture and his recent switch to digital, I think that's just perfect.