Portrait Photography How To

Sometimes working with natural light is the best way to create a stunning portrait. I love lighting, don’t get me wrong and I use artificial light almost always. However, sometimes, the opportunity is right to allow natural light to be the only source.

If you’ve ever shot portraits in front of a seamless white background or a cyclorama, you’ve probably had to deal with pesky background shadows. They’re fine if you’re going for a dramatic look in your portraits, but what if you wanted something cleaner as your background to draw attention to your subject?

The flash vs natural light debate is almost as old as photography itself. (Or at least as old as flash photography itself.) Photographer Craig Beckta recently jumped into the fray with the below video, which is titled “7 Reasons Why Flash Is Better for Portraits Than Natural Light.”

Even top pro photographers can have trouble achieving ideal sharpness for portraits. Photographer and YouTuber Jessica Kobeissi has been there before, so she devised a 6-point system to help her get sharp portraits every time.

There's a mantra attributed to event photographer Michael Weeks:

• If you don't take it, you can't sell it

• If you don't show it, you can't sell it

• If you can't print it, you can't sell it

• If you can't take payment, you can't sell it

Last week we shared photographer Pierre T. Lambert’s “7 Secrets to Get Sharper Images Every Time You Shoot” and now he’s back with five more secrets for capturing sharp photos for street photography and portrait photography.

First off, photographer and model Sorelle Amore apologizes for the title of this video, which is: “Why You Look Fat in Photos – And Six Ways to Fix It.” She admits she picked it mostly to attract attention on YouTube, and it definitely worked. The below video which, despite or, perhaps, because of its incendiary, Clickbait title, has already racked up 57,000 views (and counting) on YouTube.