As a working photographer, most of my shoots are for other people. Whether it's weddings or commissioned portraits, I don't get a lot of time just to explore my own creativity. But I recently had the perfect excuse to set up a shoot just for fun, and I ran with it.
If you have seen me speak on business topics, you have heard me say, “Try it. Test it. Use it or leave it behind.” The same thing holds true with gear. My first SLR was a Canon AE1 Program that my wife and I purchased over 40 years ago.
As photographers, it’s easy to get sucked into the mindset that it takes tons of fancy equipment to create stunning studio images. The truth is, killer images can be created on the smallest of budgets. It’s all about how you use your gear and understanding how to refine the light you create.
Senior portraits are what really kicked off my photography career and made me fall in love with photography. I’ve been in business for four years now and have been using only natural light with all my senior portrait shoots since the beginning!
It’s rare that someone figures out what they are going to do for a living in middle school, but I did. Ever since I used to design Nike shoes in history class instead of paying attention to my teacher, I loved two things: art and sports.
Before I jump into the meaty topic of in-studio posing, I want to begin with a premise from which all of my tips in this article emanate. I believe all posing can be broken down to the same fundamental goal: honour who the subject is that’s standing in front of your camera and make them look damn good
I found that the best way to use strobes is to either bounce it, diffuse it further, or even both. I would use that rule at any setup, with some adjustments depending on the concept itself. Here I will be talking about different ways of using your lights, which will keep your body of work looking consistent yet diverse.
If you’re a portrait photographer, you know how important it is to master posing, especially if you work with clients who are not professional models. As a portrait photographer specialized in maternity portraits, my eye is trained to look for poses and angles that flatter every woman’s body shape while showing the belly and the curves of pregnancy.
You can create your own magic anywhere you want with a battery-powered light and a small softbox or umbrella. When shooting outside, I love using the sun as my hair light and a softbox as my main light. No matter how bright the natural light is, placing the sun behind your subject will either create a subtle rim light on a cloudy day or a brilliant one on a sunny day.
As photographers, one of the things we gravitate to is light. Makes sense right? Light is the foundation of an image. How you use light is what starts to help you develop your identity as a photographer.
