Portraiture

Given the current state of technology, a case could be made that a photographer could exist today with only two lenses--a wide angle to moderate zoom, and a short tele to long tele-zoom. That would be a mistake. For as good and flexible as today's zoom lenses are, there are some compelling reasons to choose fixed focal length lenses on occasion. I'll admit, 90 percent...

There's something about a good black and white image that makes it jump off the page. It should be simple, direct, and hit you right between the eyes. It stands on its own. It doesn't even need color to make it stand out. It has a full range of tones from a true, deep black all the way to a clear white...with detail throughout.

What kind of...

Alex Webb's world is a vision of color. Each place he visits offers a new and expressive luminance. His joy in color is apparent as he speaks about Latin America, the Caribbean, the particular color note to the brown of Africa in the early morning and late afternoon light and the red tones where the aluminum in the soil brings forth the warm hues of the earth.

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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...

I take portraits of people every day. They pay me (hopefully) to create an image that says something about them. Perhaps it's a family who loves the ocean; we'll take a beach portrait. Maybe it's a mom who wants me to closely match a portrait done of her when she was 2. Or it could be a high school senior who wants to show how he's making the transition...

All Photos © 2004, Woody Walters, All Rights Reserved

Ansel Adams once told me that it is the background that makes or breaks the image. The background is what will tie all the key elements of a photograph together. I learned very early in my career that it's true whether you're shooting large format landscapes or even if you're shooting digital senior...

You might think in the digital age that anyone out there hawking traditional portraiture would be a dinosaur, pleading for people to have their portraits done. After all, it's now possible to put people on the moon without them setting foot out of the studio. You would be wrong.

There are portrait photographers out there who command high fees who have clients...