1/250 sec at f/3.2 and ISO 400

Look for indoor locations where the best light is found. While it seems obvious, many photographs are made in locations where the photographer or their subject decides to make it. This may works for outdoor locations (my next suggestion) but for indoor portraits you should place your subject where the light is best. Shoot the portrait with wide apertures to soften and blur the background and focus attention on your subject. In my former home, one of my favorite place to shoot portraits was a door in the dining room. The walls were painted a soft white and a window in the door provided light that can be modulated by opening and closing mini-blinds. You may have a similar location in your home and never thought a dining room would be a great place to make a portrait or two. Think about it now.

1/180 sec at f/5.6 and ISO 200

Search for interesting outdoor locations. Not long ago, there was an on-line discussion asking what inspires people to create new images. New things inspire me. It can be a new camera, new lens, or just a new place to make images. While traveling around the state, I make notes about locations that look like they would be a fun place to make photographs. Even better are those locations that can serve as a location for a portrait session. Recently I went to a state park that has a large lake looking for a beach-like location for swimsuit photographs only to find water levels at an all time high and the beach under water. I brought a point-and-shoot camera and while walking around the lake’s edge saw some other, less beach-like, spots that would produce portraits like this one.

Joe is the author of “Posing for Portrait & Glamour Photography” which is available at your friendly neighborhood bookstore or Amazon.com.

1/80 sec at f/4 and ISO 200

Inner-directed people are the Energizer bunnies of photo subjects. You tell them to stand “over there,” point the camera at them, and they will change poses as fast as you can click the shutter. You will get lots of good poses, some great ones, and a few that are not so good because the subject isn’t getting any feedback, except from themselves. The other downside is that you will also shoot more photos, which in turn takes more editing time and will require bigger memory cards. This type of subject probably represents 20% of the subjects that you’ll get to photograph.

Anna Lieb (above left) is one of the best professional models I’ve ever photographed and one way to increase you posing skills is to work with such subjects because it’s impossible to make a bad photograph of them, so watch what they do and remember the poses! That doesn’t mean you can’t direct them after they’ve thrown what they think is her best pose. It’s a collaborative effort and working together you’ll come up with that perfect pose. Image made with Canon EOS 50D and EF 28-105mm lens with an EX 550 speedlight used for fill.

1/60 sec at f/4.5 and ISO 100

Outer directed subjects represent the other 80% of photo subjects and expect you to tell them what to do. Shooting this type of subject takes longer but if you take the time to communicate what you want the subject to do. The best ones will respond better if you show them what the photograph looks like on the LCD screen—big screens really help with this. The bottom line is that it’s up to you to tell them how to pose and in order to do that, you need to know what you want but you also what that direction to be gentle and allow them to be who they really are. The photograph at right is a first shoot with an aspiring model. Her shyness is visible from the pose that she assumed when I asked her to lean up against this tree but her natural charm shines through and she went on to be one of the best models I ever photographed.

Joe is the author of “Posing for Portrait & Glamour Photography” which is available at your friendly neighborhood bookstore or Amazon.com.

1/8 sec at f/5.6 ad ISO 12,800

From an unpublished review of the Canon EOS Rebel T4i: Shooting the gazebo in O’Brien park (one of my favorite subjects) at night was fun with the Rebel T4i’s Handheld Night Scene and Canon’s EF-S15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens. When you select the Handheld Night Scene mode the camera makes all of the decisions—it’s like Program mode on steroids—and you can’t change anything—which didn’t bother me given the quality of the results. Original in color, this version converted to B&W using Nik Silver Efex Pro.

Today is my birthday, a milestone of sorts. Now straddling geezerdom and the wisdom that comes with old age, I want to share some of the useful tidbits and tips that have helped my photography business over the past twenty plus years.

Apply the golden rule to employees but never loose sight of what they owe you as well. You should expect honesty as well as a fair day’s work for wages paid. In return, you owe them loyalty and flexibility to help them through the ebb and flow of their careers and family life. Cutting them slack when the need it, giving them paid time off for family emergencies will repay you many times over what it costs in the short run.

Apply the golden rule to clients. The same goes for clients but never forget someone who doesn’t pay their bills is not a client; they’re a deadbeat. From time to time, all clients have cash flow problems and as long as they keep you in the loop and send partial payments, you should try to work with them. When their current crisis passes, they’ll remember those who helped. Otherwise I think bad clients, like bad employees, should be fired.

Technology is your friend, embrace it. When you hear of any technology or anything new that could increase your operation’s productivity, decrease overhead, or allow you to expand into new markets, put it in place and start making and saving money right away.

Never, ever stop marketing. Keep your website fresh, start a blog and update it on regular basis. Send traditional mailings to clients that respond to that kind of marketing.  Sponsor a golf tournament or health drive, so when people think of your product or service your name is the first to come to mind.

Be a joiner. Networking pays big dividends. Join the local Chamber of Commerce, professional group, and make community involvement part of your business and marketing plan.

Write a book. It will increase your credibility in the local business community as well as with your clients. Consider it a part of your marketing program. Read a book: Start with Celebritize Yourself by Marsha Friedman. It’s the best $15 you ever spent.

Stay informed. Make time to read about what’s going on in the world around you, looking for trends that affect present and future business opportunities. Check in regularly on this Blog for news that can help you accomplish your goals and objectives. Lastly, I’d like to pass on advice that legendary photographer Don Feltner gave me years ago when I started my studio in the spare bedroom of my condo: “Expect the best, but prepare for the worst.”

Special Note: Missing “Studio Tuesday“? It’s been moved to Thursday this week.

Last week Think Tank introduced a new line of camera bags that were designed specifically for small mirrorless cameras. I own several Think Tank bags and I love the attention to detail in their products down to the included rain covers. I know this may sound crazy but they use the best zippers of any camera bag I’ve ever used. (I agree—Joe) As you can see in my photo (below) these bags even have magnetic clasps in case you forget to or don’t want to zip it closed. The cases range in price from about $35 to $70.

I saw the cases on the day they arrived at my local camera store here in Portland—Pro Photo Supply— and had a hard time choosing which one to buy first. I decided on the $34.75 Mirrorless Mover 5 since I already had a case for my Panasonic Lumix GH3. When I’m out shooting I don’t like to keep my camera in a case unless it’s raining but I do like to carry an extra lens and a couple of extra SD cards. As you can see in the above photo the Lumix 45-200mm lens and my SD cards fit perfectly in this very small case.

If you’re like me and can always justify a new camera case then check these out. Now I just have to remember to give away the old cases that are filling my closet.

Mark Toal works for Panasonic as a training representative in Portland, Oregon. His views on this blog are his own and do not represent Panasonic. You can see more of Mark’s photos on his photo blog at www.mtoal.wordpress.com or at www.mtoallumiximages.wordpress.com. Mark can be contacted at marktoalphotography@gmail.com

The theme of the March 2013 issue of Shutterbug magazine was new lighting gear and in it I tested the Flashpoint DG-series monolights calling them “Big, ’Blue and Affordable.”

Farace’s Laws of special effects applies with lighting too: No matter what technique you use, a portrait’s look is always subject dependent and will depend on the person, what they are wearing and background used. I used a two different approaches to photograph Ms. Simpson wearing her grandmother’s 70 year old wedding dress. While the same two Flashpoint DG monolights were used in each shot, the background is different and I used dissimilar lighting set-ups to produce completely different effects.

1/125 sec at f/13 and ISO 100

A simple traditional lighting set-up was used for my first portrait of Pam Simpson wearing her grandmother’s wedding dress: The main light is a DG600 with 28 x 28-inch PZ Softbox mounted. Fill was provided by a Flashpoint DG400 with 60-inch white Adorama parabolic umbrella. Shot with Canon EOS 5D and EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens (at 109mm.) Nik Software’s Glamour Glow filter was lightly applied to the finished image.

For a more contemporary lighting setup and the photo that was selected for the cover, I kept the a FlashpointDG600 with 28 x 28-inch PZ Softbox mounted in the same location as the previous shot but moved the DG400 behind Ms. Simpson with its reflector removed allowing light to scatter around the studio. No background was used, just the studio wall. Exposure with the EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens (at 109mm) was 1/125 sec at f/13 and ISO 100. Nik Software’s Vignette Blur filter was lightly applied to the finished image.

If you prefer to capture in color and convert to monochrome later in the digital darkroom that’s not a bad idea either. The biggest differences is that all of my favorite retouching tools such as Imagenomic’s’ Portraiture and Anthropics’ Portrait Professional work better with color files, so more often than not I shoot in color and convert to monochrome later using Adobe Photoshop and/or Nik Software’s Silver Efex Pro.

1/250 sec at f/11 and ISO 800

N is for normal. Normal as in 50mm lens, anyway. Subject is Tia Stoneman photographed outdoors in the doorway of an old building that has since been remodeled into something nicer but with decidedly less character. I asked Tia to set, resting her back against the wall and also wanted her to pull up her skit a bit to show her great-looking legs. Then the pose was refined having her first place her left hand on her leg and tried different hand placements—always looking for a natural look— before arriving at this shot after eight different variations. Image captured directly in monochrome mode using a Canon EOS 50D with an EX550 speedlight  used for fill.

Joe is the author of “Posing for Portrait & Glamour Photography” which is available at your friendly neighborhood bookstore or Amazon.com.

1/800 sec at f/9 and ISO 320

Palm after crossing the Seven Mile Bridge on the way to Key West. Shot with Olympus E-P3 and 17mm f/2.8 lens and processed in Nik Silver Efex Pro.

1/125 sec at f/14 and ISO 125

There is an old photographer’s expression—ESP—Expression Sells Portraits. The expression on a subject’s face tells the story of who they are. If they only have one look on their face, their portfolio will look monotonous. Be sure to look at both sides of a subject’s face. Most people—even supermodels—have one side of their face that photographs better than the other side but don’t let that stop you from posing them one way or another

Old Question: Eyes open or closed? This was the first of a sequence of nine images made with the subject and I tried several variations with smiles but the shot with her eyes closed produced the best expression. The lighting set-up used one Elinchrom monolight with Portalite lightbanks at camera right and close to the subject. The second Elinchrom monolight with a Portalite mounted was placed at camera left and at the very back of my (not all that big) camera room. Shot with a Canon EOS 5D with EF 135mm f/2.8 lens.

1/200 sec at f/5.7 and ISO 500

One of the best pieces of advice that I ever got was one provided by the late Leon Kennamer. When he would bring a subject into a portrait session the first thing he would do is make a Polaroid test shot of them and then hand it to them asking “how do you like your hair?” And the truth boys and girls, is that if a subject doesn’t like their hair they’re not going to like the portrait no matter how skillfully lighted or posed it may be. This was back in the film days so we have it even easier now: So make a test shot and show the camera’s LCD to the subject and ask “how do you like your hair?” If they don’t, think about a hat. Hats can change the look of a subject’s portrait too; look for fun and interesting hats in thrift and discount stores.

H is for Hat. A combination of a two good props adds something extra to this portrait. The subject is relaxed because she’s leaning on a split-rail fence and I just asked her to bring her hand under her chin and notice that I had her make a fist so there’s no dangling fingers near her face. Yes, there are some dangling fingers resting on the fence rail but some burning using Photoshop Burn tool lowered the tones. I used a Canon EOS 5D with an EX 550 speedlight to add light under the hat brim, otherwise part of her face would have been in shadow.

Joe is the author of “Posing for Portrait & Glamour Photography” which is available at your friendly neighborhood bookstore or Amazon.com.

I can hear some of you now, “in the studio!” I’m convinced that Micro Four-Thirds is a versatile system that belongs in the toolbox of any working pro and the more I shoot with in in my 11×15-foot home studio, the more I like it. Oh sure, there’s the lightweight easy-to-shoot nature of the cameras but my favorite feature is that when you make a photograph, the images you just captured is visible in the viewfinder enabling you to keep working without having to flip the camera over and chimp. I am convinced this means better portraits as well.

1/125 sec at /6.3 and ISO 200

Sigma’s 30mm f/2.8 DN turned out to be a perfect compliment to my old Panasonic Lumix G2 that I used to photograph a test shoot with Anastasia. First there’s the bright view you get in the viewfinder from the lens’s (relatively) fast f/2,8 aperture and then there’s the lack of zoom that mean you spend less time fiddling with the camera, instead moving your body back and forth, left to right to get precisely the framing you want making the experience more interactive between you and the subject. And unlike my experience with the 19mm the lens hood stayed fixed during that session and others and didn’t jump off at an inopportune time. Because my lighting can get contrasty it invites flare but there was no flare with the 30mm f/2.8 DN and it’s well designed lens hood.

Like the 19mm f/2.8 DN, the Sigma 30mm f/2.8 DN is a well crafted piece of gear and well worth the $199 asking price.