Portrait Photography How To

(Editor’s Note: Exploring Light is a monthly Shutterbug column featuring tips, tricks, and photo advice from professional photographers in Canon’s Explorer’s of Light education program. This month's column is by Gregory Heisler on his approach to creating an environmental portrait. 

Boudoir is one of the fastest growing segments in photography. But if you really want to up your game as a boudoir photographer, you're going to need to learn a thing or two about lighting.

One of the main questions that beginner boudoir photographers ask established pros is about their lens choices. It's something that Critsey Rowe of Couture Boudoir gets asked so often she decided to make a video about it titled "Undisputed BEST Lens for BOUDOIR Portrait Photography: Beginner Tips."

One characteristic of great portrait photographers is the way they employ empathy to develop a strong rapport with their subjects, and the New York-based visual artist known as Shotti is a great example. He says, “My process relies heavily on communicating with my subjects on an emotional level, and through that connection I am able to get an insight into our shared experiences.”

You'd think that Photoshop would do a better job of making it easy to create vignettes for your images, but it doesn't, according to Blake Rudis of f64 Academy. And he's right.

If you’ve ever tried shooting nighttime portraits against a bright city skyline, you how difficult it can be for a subject to remain motionless for a 30-second exposure so both she and the background are properly exposed. Fortunately, there’s a simple solution to this type of portraiture, as you’ll see here.

Those considered “past their prime,” are familiar with the adage that “you’re only as old as you feel.” But I can tell you from personal experience that there’s another way to think about aging, especially when peering in a mirror; namely, you’re also as old as you look.