Take a quick look at your boudoir photos. Are you finding that a majority of your images are too similar and you are lacking variety in those shots? If so, here are a few ways you can mix things up in your shoot to add more variety to your work.
Update: The results are in. Patrick and I are once again competing to see who can photograph the same model best. It's up to you to decide.
Lightroom isn’t as powerful as Photoshop when it comes to retouching portraits, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use it to get good results. This guide will get you started using Lightroom and also give an idea as to why it can be faster and more effective than diving into Photoshop.
Mustering the courage to shoot posed portraits of strangers on the streets is a challenge. This excellent video from respected street photographer, Frederik Trovatten, gives you some great tips on how to approach people and ask them to pose for a picture.
No doubt, portrait photography takes the confluence of a lot of technical skills and creative ideas to be successful, and there are a lot of common mistakes we all make at one time or another. This excellent video details three common portrait photography mistakes and how you can avoid or fix them.
Lighting is one of the most fundamental aspects of a successful portrait, and while we most often focus on getting the key light just right, the accessory lights can be what take a portrait from good to great. This excellent video will show you how simply adding a kicker light can make your portraits better.
During such a brief and important period of a person's life, maternity shoots have grown in popularity, but they're far from straightforward. This video will guide you through some posing ideas, as well as foundational elements to pregnancy shoots.
When you are a new photographer, it can be easy to be tempted by a wide variety of products that promise quick shortcuts to better or more memorable images. But a lot of these products will not do you any good or could even cause harm to your work. This excellent video discusses five things you do not actually need as a new portrait photographer.
The 200mm f/2 lens is normally thought of for things like sports photography, but it has found a second home in the hands of portrait photographers. Are the magical images it creates worth the price? Check out this great comparison video to find out.
Sometimes, we like to frame and hang our vintage snaps of the family around the home, but the photos are torn or faded. Here, we'll be going through some steps to help restore the photos so they're ready for display on our walls.
Knowing the purpose of and controlling each light casting on your model is instrumental in portrait photography.
There's a lot that can be done with portraiture, even if you don't have an arsenal of studio lights at your disposal. Here's how you can create iconic, black and white portraits with just one light.
Portraiture is by far one of the most popular genres among photographers, both amateur and professional, and that tends to generate a lot of myths and misconceptions that can be harmful to your progress. This fantastic video discusses five common misconceptions about portrait photography and the truth about the genre.
If you want to practice portraits at home, but don't want to spend a fortune on peripherals for a home studio, this is for you.
Our local high school had an idea to get senior photos taken for the young adults that have been working their whole life to achieve something, only to have it turn into an afterthought overshadowed by a serious global pandemic.
Corporate portraits can not only be shot in a number of different ways, but they are often required to be shot in different ways by your clients. Here are four different lighting setups, depending on how many lights you want to use.
When you are lighting portraits, you might sometimes notice unflattering shadows created on your subject's face. It does not take much to fix that, however; often, just adding a reflector can fix those issues, and this great video tutorial will show you how to do that.
When you think of lighting for portraits in a flattering way, you probably do not immediately gravitate toward the harsh contrast of midday sun. However, you might be surprised by just what you can accomplish when shooting in the midday sun, and this great video tutorial will give you three helpful tips for creating better images with it.
There are many staple techniques for creative portraiture, and one of my favorites is shooting through glass and reflections.
I recently purchased the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art lens. It is the fastest lens that I've ever had, and I've been working on getting accustomed to the intricacies of shooting with a very wide aperture.
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?
Have you ever wondered how portrait and family photographers get those wonderfully rich cinematic tones in Lightroom? Check out this video for a few simple but effective methods.
Capture One and Photoshop make for a powerful combination for editing portraits to produce professional results. This fantastic video tutorial gives a complete guide to editing a portrait from start to finish using both applications and a wide variety of creative tricks and techniques.
One of the easiest and most beloved methods of color correction is a simple swipe of the white balance temperature slider. It can change the whole tenor of a scene. There are limits to what it can do, however.
Specular highlights on the face of a subject will be something every photographer encounters. So, you may as well know a few ways to deal with it.
Lightroom has enjoyed dominance in its area for over a decade and has been the go-to raw processor and catalog tool for many photographers. However, rivals have been creeping up and improving gradually, with Capture One 20 now being considered by many to be better in some regards.
If you've ever wanted to create more dramatic portraits with minimal effort or even completely in-camera with no Photoshop, this video is for you. In this photoshoot, I set out to create a dramatic editorial image that looks like it was shot late at night. The catch: I'm actually going to be taking the photo at 4 pm.
Portrait photographers don’t always have the luxury of working in a nice large studio with loads of room to shuffle strobes and modifiers. If you’ve ever wondered how to get classic, timeless results when shooting in cramped, often improvised spaces, check out this short video.
Portrait photography is a challenging genre that takes the confluence of technical skills, creative ideas, and the ability to work with people to produce a successful image. If you are new to portrait photography and want to increase the quality of your work, be sure to check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you how to improve your portraits no matter what light you are working with.
By far, one of the most common types of portraits you will be asked to shoot are those with a clean, white background. It is a simple, elegant, and versatile look that will never go out of style. If you struggle with artificial lighting, this excellent video tutorial will show you how you can easily shoot high-quality portraits with clean, white backgrounds.
Have you ever dreamed of using photography to recreate your favorite superhero scenes?
Changing a subject's face or expression from one image to the next isn't as difficult as beginners think it will be. Here's a quick tutorial on exactly how you do it.
It’s no secret that 2020 has thrown the world a few curveballs. But while the majority of events are either canceling or postponing, Sue Bryce and her team have hit the ground running in order to keep the Portrait Masters Conference alive and well.
I will be the first to admit that shooting at super-wide apertures like f/1.4 is a lot of fun. But like many things in life, just because you can do it does not mean you always should. This great video discusses why there is more to life than wide open shots and why you should consider stopping down more often.
One of the most important things a photographer needs to learn to understand is lighting. Without it, it's essentially not possible to do any kind of conventional photography. Learning how to use different kinds of light sources is also important. Although natural light can be great, being able to use flash effectively is extremely useful.
For prime lenses, most of us want the fastest we can get. Well, Fujifilm have launched a 50mm that has a widest aperture of f/1.0, and it has autofocus.
I stumbled across this video online a week ago and thought it more than worthy of a share. The video highlights what we get lost in as photographers and what is really important in making a great portrait.
There are times when you can get away working with a friend or someone willing to model for you for free, but then there are those times where you save yourself money, time, and effort by simply booking a professional model! How to decide which one to go for?
There are many tips that have improved my portraiture, but if I had to pick one, it would be this.
Shooting good portraits at home can be done with the simplest of setups.
If you managed to break your filter, perhaps give it one last outing before you throw it away; you never know what might be possible.
These were the two cameras I considered endlessly before finally opting for the Canon EOS R5. Here, we see them both put side by side, taking portrait photos in an identical setting for all intents and purposes. Can you tell the difference between the two?
Even in the most tumultuous of times, life still goes on and people are still getting engaged and planning their weddings. If you've had an inquiry for a surprise proposal, here are some things you may want to consider as you prepare for your shoot.
If you have ever wondered how to pose your subject for headshots but are stumped at the first hurdle or perhaps you're photographing someone who is not used to being in front of the camera, then these handy techniques will improve your outdoor portraits.
Weather can dictate a lot of elements of a shoot, and in some cases, it can ruin it altogether. That doesn't always have to be true though, and you can even use the elements to your advantage.
No doubt, it is crucial to get your subjects' eyes in focus in any portrait, but that can be a bit difficult, particularly since a lot of photographers love to shoot at very wide apertures. If that is something you struggle with, this great video will give you five helpful tips for getting sharper eyes in your portraits.
Headshots should be simple, direct, and effective, with a clear view of the subject, but also a simple but professional backdrop. So, which focal length lens should you use, and how does it affect the final image?
The eyes in a portrait often make or break the whole image, so when you're retouching them, it's worth going the extra mile. Here are some advanced techniques for making sure the eyes in your images pop.
Do you always hide yourself and your camera as soon as the first raindrops appear? Check out this photographer and model braving it for a shoot in Chicago during rain!
This week, I borrowed a $12,000 600mm lens and decided to shoot portraits with it. Random? Yes. Weird? Of course. But I learned some things I never would've experienced had it not been for this, so here's my review of the 600mm behemoth for shooting portraits.
