Portrait Photography How To

Does using social media as a marketing tool work for photographers? That’s what we aimed to find out by interviewing five photographers who have successfully used this particular marketing technique in very specific ways. Unlike advertising and direct mail, where you send out your material and wait for a response, and sales calls, which are more time-consuming, social media is a unique technique that can breed success, but only when properly and fully utilized. Many thanks to our photographers for taking the time and attention to share their thoughts and experiences (websites at end of column): Liz Cowie, Clark Dever, David Alan Kogut, Brad Mangin, and Chuck St. John.

What every photographer should own; add to that list an inexpensive collapsible reflector.

“Many of my portraits come out of the sense that it is a conversation with the person being photographed,” Donald Graham observes. “It’s important to look deeply into a person’s eyes and, in so doing, to understand better who that person is.”

Graham, who works around the world but primarily in Los Angeles and New York, did not arrive at this viewpoint overnight. A pro shooter since 1983, he focuses on fashion, movies, music, and advertising. “My specialty is clearly people.”

Portrait photographers are responsible for a lot of happiness among a wide variety of people, because well-done family pictures grow more valuable yearly. They usually portray infants, seniors, friends, and relatives, though sometimes portraits are interpretations of unusual subjects. Thomas Balsamo knows this because he has 30 years of experience photographing families and children. His work has also led him to a personal project that originated when his good will and curiosity were extended toward individuals or groups who found their portrait sittings emotionally and psychologically unusual, as well as uplifting.

“Earlier this year, I was invited by JIB TV in Tokyo and Olympus, Japan to help document the recovery taking place after the terrible earthquake and tsunami that hit the northeast part of the country in March 2011. I agreed to do it even though I knew it would be a traumatic experience.

Parades and other ceremonies are exciting and colorful, and always offer fun photo opportunities. If you enjoy photographing such events, they're worth going to some effort to locate. Some of the most famous of these include the Rose Parade, held in Pasadena on New Year's Day, and the Macy's Day Parade, held in New York on Thanksgiving. These annual events draw...

Robert Farber is renowned for his painterly images. Throughout the years, he's carved a niche with his romantic, illustrative approach to photographing nudes, landscapes and a variety of other subjects that have been featured in books like By The Sea and Farber Nudes.

He's continued this tradition with a new book, entitled American Mood...