Video: Photographing Siblings

It’s the one single picture that parents want most of all: their children together, looking happy. However, the perfect sibling shot can be challenging for photographers to achieve, particularly when it comes to posing: how do you place sisters and brothers together without making them look like a couple? You’ll get three totally different posing ideas from this video, and you’ll see how I achieved each of them. You’ll learn why I chose each location, how I posed a teenage brother and sister together and – most importantly …

Image Critique 13

Another four images to enjoy, another four authors who have submitted their work. We create these critiques to try and help portrait photographers with different viewpoints and ideas. Some you’ll agree with, some you won’t (of course) but watch it through and let us know what you think! If you would like your images critiqued, please use the Image Critique menu option above to submit a file (or more than one of you wish). JOIN NOW to view this and …

Using A House As A Reflector

Sometimes the best light is from an unexpected source: find out how I used the white wall of a house near my studio as a giant reflector for this portrait. I frequently use reflectors in my work to soften shadows and bounce light back on to my subject’s face. The bigger the reflector, the better, as a broader light source is softer and more natural-looking (you also don’t have to watch out for the edge of the reflector’s bounced light). …

Topshade & Frames Within Frames

You can find top shade and framing devices in most natural and urban environments. These give your portraits great lighting and a stronger composition. This portrait of Bryony was taken in the outdoor area that backs on to our studio; part of international architect Peter Aldington’s Turn End Gardens. I am incredibly lucky to have such easy access to a varied choice of spaces, but no matter where you’re shooting, you can almost always find top shade and framing devices …

Super-Simple Daylight Portrait

You don’t need studio flash to achieve a clean, simple portrait with great lighting. This was taken outdoors at the end of the shoot, and is ridiculously easy once you know the trick. I had nearly finished a family shoot and wanted to get a simple portrait of each member of the family. I asked Willow to sit on the curb at the road side so her face tilted slightly towards me as she looked up towards the camera. This meant …