Pro Techniques

Photos © 2004, Steve Bedell, All Rights Reserved

I love shooting outdoor portraits! As a matter of fact, it has become my "signature style." During my busy season, I may take over 400 outdoor exposures in a single day, so I'd better be able to do it well and do it fast. An element of my style is that I don't use flash. Many photographers do, and...

Belinda Burton is a portrait photographer who's fanatical about photography and expresses a "…passion to empower all women, no matter what age, size, race and occupation, that they are worthy of admiration." We had a chance to connect with her and share her story with Shutterbug readers.

I have always been fascinated by a photographer’s ability to turn a common subject into a work of art. Being a photographer means seeing the artistic potential in the elements that surround us on a daily basis. I travel all over the world seeking out amazing things to shoot, but I also find them at home—in the kitchen, in my backyard or even in my office. It’s always an exciting discovery to work with a subject to which I never gave a second thought, and then one day it turns into something that is visually arresting.

Jack Holowitz is the male half of the incredibly talented team of Jack and Nancy Holowitz from Springfield, Massachusetts. Nancy is known for her sensitive portraiture, and Jack has gained a great reputation for his eye-popping black and white work that includes nudes and...

"If you define your creativity by what the market wants, you're dead before you start."

When James Balog traveled to Banda Aceh, Indonesia, in January, he knew there was little chance of his photographs being picked up by newspapers or magazines. The tsunami, which struck the region on December 26, had been well covered by the media. But as a photographer...

It starts with the website, which is a key element in wedding photographer John Solano's business. John's goal is to be pre-sold before the client even meets him. "The ideal is that I don't have to show them a picture," John says. "I do that, of course, but the work kind of sells itself, and if they've seen it already, the selling is...

When the Virginia Tourism Corporation needed a series of illustrations, to help publicize tourism with imaginative style, photographer Keith Lanpher, based in Norfolk, was chosen for the job. This was a location project that called for seven days of shooting with numerous models as well as a passel of dogs and a large smoke machine.

Lanpher knew it would...