portraits

Imitating Hazy Backgrounds with Diffusion Gels

Shooting in a studio has its advantages. But although being warm, dry and convenient are greatly appreciated, shooting between the same four walls can get a little boring if you’re constantly using them as backgrounds for your shots.

Mirrorless vs DSLR: Is Canon’s New RF 85mm f/1.2L Lens Worth It?

Ever since Canon and Nikon debuted their latest lens mounts, there's been a lot of talk about the "optical advantages" of the shallower, wider Z and RF-mounts. Canon even released a video more-or-less shaming their own EF lenses by comparison. But does this translate into meaningful real-world results?

This Software Can Undistort Faces at the Edges of Wide-Angle Photos

If you've ever found yourself at the edges of a group photo captured with a wide-angle lens, you may have noticed some strange stretching, squishing, and/or skewing that distort your face. Researchers have now created software that can automatically fix these wide-angle face distortions without affecting other parts of the photo.

3 Ways to Use Plexiglass for Creative Portraits

As a portrait photographer, it can often be difficult to keep thing interesting in the studio. Adding a unique element to your images can help them stand out while also allowing you to have little fun. The unique element that I added for my most recent shoot was just a simple piece of plexiglass. Here are three ways you can use a sheet of plexiglass and some simple household supplies to unleash your inner creative.

How to Shoot Pro Portraits on a Budget with Just One Flash

Shooting professional-quality portraits with artificial lighting doesn't have to weigh heavily on your bank account. Here's a 22-minute video in which photographer Sean Tucker shares how to shoot great portraits using a single speedlight and a cheap modifier.

How to Shoot Light, Airy, High-Key, Minimalist Newborn Photos

That title is a mouthful, but I didn’t know how to better describe the style. Over the years, I’ve been refining and perfecting my newborn photo technique to get the specific light and airy high-key look I want. While every home I visit is different, and some are more challenging than others, these strategies have given me the best and most consistent results.

How to Pose Men Who Are Not Models

Australian fashion, portrait, and lifestyle photographer Julia Trotti made this helpful 11.5-minute video that provides tips and tricks for photographing men who don't have any experience with posing and modeling.

Portraits of Tribal Cultures in Myanmar

The diverse culture of Myanmar is part of the country’s unique identity. I was honored to visit different tribes that amazed me by the variety of their traditions, beliefs, and practices. What I witnessed in Myanmar exceeded my expectations even though I had done my research before I traveled.

Getting Creative With One Light

So you have just picked up your first light or you have had one light for a while now, and you are wondering what more you can create with just that one light. Well, you can create loads.

Shooting Portraits Wide Open Versus Stopping Down

If you have a fast and expensive lens, it may feel like a waste to shoot portraits stopped down to f/8, f/11, or f/16. But in this 20-minute video, photographer Miguel Quiles explains why he often opts to shoot stopped down instead of wide open for increased depth of field and finer details and textures.

A Photographer’s Tips on Preparing to Pose for Actor Headshots

Your actor headshots, combined with your actor showreel, are the foundations of your actor profile. They are without a doubt a key marketing tool for your acting career. It’s important to prepare yourself in order to get the most out of your session.

6 Headshot Tips: Advice to Give Your Clients for a Portrait Shoot

I am an experienced corporate/commercial photographer, and I've written this article to help guide my clients into how to prepare for a headshot or portrait session. Most people don't like having their photograph taken, they find it awkward or can't stop thinking about one of their perceived weaknesses.

Portraits of People in the Remote Himalayan Villages of Bhutan

Bhutan is a small landlocked country in the Eastern Himalayas of South Asia located between Tibet and India. Photographer Andrew Studer of Portland, Oregon, traveled to the country in 2017 and 2018 and spent weeks shooting photos of the places and people he encountered. His project is titled, "Faces of Bhutan."

Trading Portraits for Backstage Photos with My Favorite Celebrities

I've been fortunate enough to present portrait work to some of my favorite personalities. Initially, I figured it would just be a clever way to use my artwork to meet some of my heroes. A year later, it has turned into an on-going project that has resulted in unique encounters, constant hustle, and endless Photoshop.

Randomizing Photo Shoots to Stretch My Creativity

I am a fan of light (honestly what photographer isn’t?). Hard light; reflected light; dappled light; low-key light; colored light -- I love it all. Light makes or breaks not only my images but my mood. I’d venture to say that light is sandwiched between “belonging” and “safety” on my hierarchical pyramid of needs.

7 Easy Portrait Lighting Setups

Here’s a simple breakdown of 7 different lighting techniques you can implement next time you shoot portraits with studio lighting. For these examples, we used continuous lights to better illustrate it, but you can strobes as well, of course.

UV Portraits That Reveal What’s Beyond the Visible

For my latest project, titled RAW, I shot a series of UV portraits revealing the true appearance beyond the visible. Composed of twenty photographs divided into ten diptychs, the series illustrates the raw and natural character of the human being, revealed by the technique of ultraviolet photography.

Photographer Captures Hikers as High-Fashion Models on a 2,653-Mile Hike

Photographer Tommy Corey spent months thru-hiking the 2,653-mile Pacific Crest Trail that spans California, Oregon, and Washington. Along the way, he photographed his fellow long-distance hikers as though they were high-fashion models. The project is called Hiker Trash Vogue, and Corey's beautiful 7-minute video above tells the story of how it came to be.

3 Lessons in Photographing People I Learned from My Favorite Shooters

I like to be very aware of my influencers and the effect they have on my work. When I find that I particularly like an image from another photographer, I will give it a lot of thought before I try and apply any of my analysis to my own images.

Photos of Dogs Jumping with Colorful Powder Trails

Toronto-based animal photographer Jess Bell has been shooting a wonderful series of photos showing dogs jumping and leaving colorful powder trails in their wake. The photos aren't the result of Photoshop compositing -- they were actually shot with dogs and powder.

Portraits of Federal Workers Affected by the Longest Government Shutdown

The following is a photographic essay of 21 real people – 21 of 800,000 workers – affected by the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Federal workers have become unwilling pawns in the shutdown. Perhaps most dehumanizing, the media and certain politicians relegate these great individuals to being part of a blind number -- “800,000 federal workers.”

Using a Single DIY Globe Modifier for Simple, Stunning Portraits

It’s not often I get to shoot very simple, clean white light shots, but in a recent shoot the model asked if she could get some updated ‘Polaroids’. For those of you not familiar with the term when used in reference to a model shoot, it’s actually not the now-obsolete and ludicrously expensive single-shot film, but a request for very basic portraits of the model for their agency.

5 Ways to Use Umbrellas to Shoot Stunning Portraits

If you're looking to expand your skill set in shooting portraits with umbrellas, check out this 8-minute video by photographer Miguel Quiles. In it, he introduces different types of umbrellas and then shares 5 different ways he uses them to create stunning portraits.

How to Shoot Portraits in Dappled Light

I’ve been photographing weddings for 10 years now, so I’ve seen and dealt with nearly every lighting scenario possible, from a dark church with no windows, to a wedding ceremony at high noon with not a cloud in sight. But one thing most photographers don’t know is how to photograph in dappled light!

Shooting Portraits with Colored Shadows

Finding new ways to create isn't always easy, so you have to keep your eyes open for inspiration. One day while making my way down the rabbit hole of YouTube, I stumbled across a video. These guys had created 3 colored shadows off this pencil while keeping a perfectly white background. What in the world was this sorcery? Turns out it wasn't sorcery, it was science.