Photographing a Singer/Songwriter for an Album Cover

Photography Tips

Portraiture is perhaps the biggest field in photography. Portraits are taken for newspapers, books, magazines, business profiles, family albums, art, etc. And being a photographer, it’s not hard to get pulled into this field sooner or later in your career, whether for a short or long period of time. Portraiture is also a challenging field and the pressure increases when you’re photographing a well-known person. In this video, photographer Scott Miller shows you his process in photographing singer/songwriter Tasita D’Mour. He explains his setups with lighting diagrams and discusses the outcome he’s looking for:

Miller uses a Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 24-70mm 2.8L lens for his work in this video.

Tips for Preparing a Portrait Shoot

• Test Your Equipment. Make sure all of your strobes, extension cords, cameras, and other electrical equipment are charged and ready to go. Don’t make the mistake of bringing a broken lamp on a five-hour trip to a location shoot.

• Scope Out Locations. Look around for backdrops for your portraits. Notice colors and textures that you might want to use. Alleyways and outside building walls are often popular but don’t constrain yourself to what others do.

• Create a Schedule. Make a list of places you want to visit and how long you want to be at each location. Factor in time for setup and break down to get an estimate of how long your shoot will last.

• Confirm Everything. Make sure your model and crew are aware of the date, time, and location of the shoot meet. Also, make sure you have confirmed proper use of all locations.

A powerful strobe is used here to cancel out a lot of the ambient light

Above all else during the shoot, make sure you stay confident. Nothing will make your subject more uncomfortable than your hesitation and perceived inability to take photos.