Portrait Wednesdays: Back to the Sixties
In the book, One Face Fifty Ways by YouTubers Imogen Dyer and Mark Wilkinson demonstrate lighting, posing and other portrait techniques to capture the many looks and moods of a single person. This is similar to the approach Gary Bernstein used with Kay Sutton York in their 1988 book, Burning Gold, that I mentioned last week. With Wordy Wednesdays running for many years I thought it was time for a change and inspired by Burning Gold...
Portrait Wednesdays: Using an LED Ringlight
“I used to whiz down Sunset Boulevard in my open Kissel, with several red chow dogs to match my hair. Today, they’re sensible and end up with better health. But we had more fun.”—Clara Bow With Wordy Wednesdays running for so many years I thought it was time for a change and inspired by Gary Bernstein’s book Burning Gold decided to see how many Wednesdays I could publish a different portrait of the same model, in this case...
Portrait Wednesdays: The Many Moods of Pamela
“Look, I’m not an intellectual – I just take pictures.”—Helmut Newton With Wordy Wednesdays running so many years I thought it was time for a change and inspired by Gary Bernstein’s book Burning Gold decided to see how many Wednesdays I could publish a different portrait of the same model, in this case Pamela Simpson. Over the next who-knows-how-many Wednesdays I’ll be showcasing a different image of her...
Why You Need a Mood Wall
A mood wall or board is a collage consisting of images, text, and objects built around upon set topic. A mood board can be used to give a general idea of a specific topic and may be physical or digital. I was having breakfast with a couple of photographers when one of them, an accomplished glamour photographer, said something about the ideas he gets from his mood wall. “What’s a mood wall?” I ask and he gives me an answer similar to...
Basic In-Studio Posing Tips
“With modeling, you pose. You want to look your best all the time. With acting, you have to be aware of the camera, but the more you show your imperfections, the better you’re going to be.”— Diane Kruger One of the most important elements in creating salable portraits is knowing how to pose your subjects. You may be able to photograph a man, woman or couple but if their pose is awkward or clumsy, it will reduce your...
Putting Your Best Face Forward
People’s faces are not symmetrical and most of us really do have a “good” and “bad” side that photographs better or worse than the other side. Experienced models know this and will only give you what they think is their best side but they can be wrong. That’s why it’s a good idea to shoot a few test shots and determine which side of their face looks best. Keep in mind any pose is lighting dependent, so what looks great under...
A Few Basic Portrait Posing Tips
One of the most important elements in creating saleable portraits is knowing how to pose your subjects. You may be able to photograph a beautiful woman but if her pose is awkward, clumsy, or just unattractive, it will reduce your ability to sell prints. And because often you’ll often be working with people that have not been photographed since their wedding or senior portraits, it’s important to develop an understanding of posing...
