Make your subjects look their best with our professional portrait photography tips, covering lighting setups, location scouting and tips for working with models.
Harsh, contrasty lighting works for edgy and highly-stylized portraits, but the majority of the general studio photographer’s portrait gigs call for soft, flattering, and evenly-distributed light. Soft studio lighting can be created in many different ways, but portrait photographer Daniel Norton prefers using large silks coupled with reflector panels. In the following video, Norton demonstrates his methodology […]
You may not think that speedlights are the most versatile when it comes to shooting portraits. There isn’t a lot that you can do with them, right? Wait until you see photographer Jeff Rojas create this dramatic hard-lit portrait using nothing more than two speedlights with two Rogue 3-in-1 Flash Grids: The trick is in […]
It’s one thing to shoot a portrait—prime lens, nice bokeh, diffused light—but it’s a whole other ordeal to shoot a portrait the way Jake Hicks does. His style of fashion-forward photography is aimed specifically to make his models stand out from a crowd. In the tutorial video below, he shows viewers his unique setup to create those shots: […]
You might think you need an abundance of expensive lighting gear in order to create a high key lighting setup for commercial quality images like those seen in hair and make-up ads. But that’s not true. Sure you need at least two or three lights, but you could work with a set of inexpensive speedlights and […]
Window light can be some of the prettiest light when shooting portraiture. It provides a nice, soft, natural light around the model, if used correctly. Photographer Daniel Norton explains that not all window light is the same. If you’re going for softness, you won’t get it on clear, sunny days with the sun shining directly […]
Humans have been creating portraits of one another since the beginning of time, when rocks served as canvas and paints were made from charcoal and animal fat. Throughout history, portraits have been used to document appearances, but photography has drastically changed the medium, opening up new opportunities in expression and exploration. Watch this video to […]
For Jay P. Morgan, a portrait shoot normally takes four hours, several lights, and at least two reflectors. Today, he’s aiming for one hour, one light, and one reflector—a quick and breezy outdoor shoot to give a real estate agent a new professional headshot: Though he winds up taking an hour and a half (and bringing […]
Getting that one stunning portrait of the bride where she looks her absolute best is probably the hardest thing to achieve for a wedding photographer. A typical wedding unfurls at break-neck speed, and that leaves very little room to maneuver and get the bride (or the groom for that matter) for an individual portrait session. […]
Using the bright setting sun as a backlight can be intimidating for some photographers when shooting portraits outdoors, but it’s not impossible to get some great shots out of it. Check out the video below for some useful tricks and tips on shooting portraits at sunset, including how to use a xenon flashlight to create a warm, complementary […]
Industrial portraits typically involve the most precious assets of a business—its workforce. These are the people who carry a business on their shoulders as they move the heavy machinery and keep the gears rolling. When a photographer is assigned to shoot industrial portraits, it’s important that they make the workplace and the staff look good. […]
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