What’s my favourite trick for relaxing a client while generating a variety of opportunities for beautiful daylight portraits? Going for a walk together. The exercise helps release adrenaline the client may be feeling if they are a little nervous about being in front of the camera. And the changing backgrounds and light conditions help create a range of looks for the final portrait set. It’s a win-win. Join me for a walk with Megan as we tour the streets of …
How to build texture and shape into your portraits using light and location. For this portrait, I needed to make a choice about whether or not the positives of the location outweighed its limitations. However, I loved the dappled sunlight, and wanted to use it like a spotlight on my subject, so couldn’t pass up the opportunity to stop and shoot. Watch the video to find out why you shouldn’t trust your camera’s meter to expose correctly in a lighting situation …
Your location doesn’t have to be a limiting factor: with a little creativity, you can achieve a lot in a space most people would pass by without a second glance. In fact, you don’t even need to change or move much to achieve a varied set of portraits in one small area. In this short video, Paul shows how he created seven very different portraits of our young model, Kai, in ten minutes, JOIN NOW to view this and hundreds of …
How do you get a couple to relax when you’re pointing a camera at them? How can you evoke genuine smiles in your engagement and wedding portraits? How does light, location and posing come together in a successful couple’s portrait session? Join Paul behind-the-scenes as he creates beautiful portraits of an engaged couple in everyday locations, including on a garden lawn, under a pergola and in front of a street doorway. Paul shares tips for working with light and shade …
I invited Steve into the studio so I could create some portraits for our book, Mastering Portrait Photography. I was specifically looking to capture portraits that illustrated different angles for photographing guys. Steve turned up wearing jeans and a jacket, so I wanted a pose that worked well with that combination. This crouch is quite striking and masculine while still being relaxed and informal, which is in line with his outfit. I particularly like a crouch as it allows for …
If it’s hot outside, here’s a newborn portrait that you can replicate. Everything is a potential source of inspiration: this one was inspired by a 1980s poster. It’s a rare day that photographers in the UK can shoot a nude newborn outdoors – the weather just isn’t warm enough most of the time. If you’re lucky enough to time a newborn shoot with that one balmy summer day we get, or if you live in more exotic climes, here’s a …