Portrait Photography How To

When discussing photography gear, Joe Edelman likes to say “Keep it simple, stupid.” That’s exactly what he does in this quick video tutorial that will teach you how to make dramatic portraits and beauty shots with one monolight or speedlight and a single reflector.

Chris Porsz is a paramedic and long-time amateur street photographer who came up with an enchanting project: He tracked down the subjects of the street portraits he shot almost 40 years ago, and recreated the images with the people as they appear today. 

We often turn to Joe Edelman for easy-to-follow tutorials enabling readers to shoot like a pro without a lot of fancy gear. In the video below, you’ll learn how to create beautiful bikini glamour photos in less than five minutes.

Ask a Pro is a Q&A column from professional photographer, writer, and educator Scott Kelby. Scott is here to answer all your photography-related questions, so if you have something you’d like to know, e-mail him at editorial@shutterbug.com (with “For Scott Kelby” as the subject line) and your query could be featured in the next edition of Ask a Pro.

In this episode of the Last Frame, Joe Edelman demonstrates how to capture some great fashion photos without a lot of expensive gear. As he explains in the video below, all you need is a single strobe, a 50mm lens, and a couple “gobos” or light modifiers you can easily make yourself.

Victoria Will is an accomplished New York-based photographer specializing in celebrity portraiture and lifestyle photography, and she utilizes an effective “back–button” focusing technique to achieve faster and more precise results. Watch the quick video below with her tips on this easy and effective method and you're sure to start shooting like a pro.

As a photo rep, I have always had great admiration for the portrait photographer. You are catching people at their worst (“I hate having my picture taken!”) and at their best (“Yes, this is really who I am!”). Whether it is a toddler, high school senior, or CEO, you are responsible to keep people calm, work fast, overcome technical and travel obstacles, and manage all the details of composition and lighting. In this column, we talk about all these issues as well as marketing your portrait photography business, the skills required for business success.