Powerful Advice From Women in Portrait Photography

Photography Tips  •  Portrait Photography

In what has historically been a male-dominated profession, two female photographers want to sit down and talk about what drives them as photographers. They share the insights they have gained throughout their years working their way to the top right alongside the men. Join host Marc Silber as he talks photography with Bambi Cantrell and Anna Kuperberg:

Keys to Successful Portrait Photography

Cantrell has been working as a portrait photographer for over 25 years, and she contributes a lot of her success to her ability to look beyond the equipment and tech talk and focus much of her attention on making a genuine connection with the people she is photographing. She shares a couple of valuable insights during her interview:

Photo by Bambi Cantrell

• Realize that cameras do not take pictures. People take pictures. Invest in quality gear, but know that a good photographer can take compelling images with any camera.
• Have an interest in people. Portrait photography is not just mechanical. You need to have a desire to capture personality in your images.

“Yes, I think you need to know f-stop from a bus stop, but you really do need to go far beyond that and have an interest in people.” – Bambi Cantrell

Photo by Anna Kuperberg

Kuperberg, also a portrait photographer, feels similarly to Cantrell in that she thinks making a connection to the subject is a vital part of her success. Her advice?

• Be curious. Look for ways to bring out your subject’s individuality and try to connect.
• Tune in. The key to capturing a person’s personality is to focus wholly on that subject so you see everything.

“It’s the job of a photographer, whether you’re a photojournalist and you’re letting events unfold or whether you’re a portrait photographer and you’re more in charge of setup—both of those scenarios you still have the same job of creating a framework in which the person is allowed to be.” – Anna Kuperberg