Portrait Photography - Skin, Love It Or Leave It?

By Danny Eitreim

Today's photo tip is about including skin in your portrait photography.

Actually, since portrait photography generally involves the area from the chest and up, the issue of skin is mostly concerning bare arms and low cut bodices.

Here is a golden rule that you should put in your notebook right now... "In a photograph - any photograph not just portraits - the eye is immediately drawn to the lightest areas."

Now consider a typical portrait, it has a background that is usually darker than the head being photographed. So, that makes the skin from the face, arms and chest area the lightest areas.

With all that skin drawing attention, the viewer's eye is bouncing all over the place!

BTW - in a high key portrait, in our minds the background disappears. The focus shifts to the subject - and the skin is still the lightest area.

In a portrait, you want all the focus to be on the face - nothing else! But, all that skin pulls the eye away. Not to mention that the arms are generally going down and out of the photo frame and will pull the eye completely out of the photo.

In other words, you could conceivably end up with a portrait where no one actually looks at the face!

An additional negative would be that as we age we put on additional weight. For many women, the weight shows up in the arms first. No one wants a portrait that makes them look fat.

"But", I can hear you say, "all the fashion magazines show all the top models posing in skimpy outfits and showing LOTS of skin!"

They are being photographed by the top photographers, so what's up?

Keep in mind that fashion photography and portrait photography have vastly different goals.

In portrait photography, we want the attention focused on the face. Later, if the viewer can describe the clothing worn, we've failed.

In fashion photography we want the attention focused on the fashion! If no one can later identify the model, that's actually a good thing. (Except in the case of celebrity models -which is a whole different ballgame.)

So all of this has been to say - cover up the arms and chest in portraits. Your clients will like them much better!

If you are planning on going into the upcoming holidays without your camera - you are missing out on some amazing photo opportunities!

Parties, family gatherings and so on are the perfect opportunity to get some portraits where your friends and family will look at them and say, "Wow, you did that?"

It's time to finally shut down that "uber-successful" blow hard that is always bragging about the latest deal he single handedly put together that saved the company.

Believe me, he won't be able to make portraits like you, and EVERYONE would rather look at portrait photography of themselves than listen to another of his adventures! Use this photo tip starting today! For more information, check out the resource box!

posted by michaelabela.weebly.com

Common Photography Courses

By Eric Johnsan

Photography training can seem simple but it is quite advanced and takes different kinds of courses to complete thereby changing you into the professional that you need to be with your camera. The different courses now made available makes it possible for all to get the kind of training which is in relation to their photography needs. There are common photography courses you will find in most training institutions.

The beginner's course: this is a short photography course only needing two weeks to complete. It is a course which will help you learn much more about the camera and how to handle it without the need to delve deeper into the subject. It is a great course for all photography beginners as it introduces them to the wide photography world. It is most ideal for those with no photography experience looking to be in better position to use their cameras.

Intermediate photography course: it is also classroom based as the beginner course but takes longer since there are different things which need to be covered within the period. It is a great course to improve your photography skills and introduces you to a whole new perspective of looking at the world. Some of the things that are covered in the course include picture composition, basic digital imaging, light and artificial light as well as portraiture.

Advanced photography course: it is a course which is most suitable for those who have already gone through the beginner or intermediate courses. Those who have a level of understanding or experience in photography technique can also join the course. It goes deeper into photography covering different topics and areas of photography. It can take up to six weeks to complete and will cover topics such as advanced portrait posing, panoramic digital shooting, location portraits and even painting using light techniques.

Digital imaging course: it is an advances imaging course covering subjects such as exposure adjustments, multi layer montage, contrast and color. It can also involve more complex subjects and can take several weeks to complete. It is an interesting course just like the rest and is most suitable for those looking to be professionals as far as photography is concerned.

When thinking of joining photography training course, it is important to check all available options so that in the end you take up something matching your photography needs. It is most advisable to go through all the courses for those with the need to be professionals with their cameras.

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Portrait Photography Guide

By Mar Kumar

When I first started doing portrait photography, I wished there was a straight forward guide that explained to me what I needed to do to take awesome portraits. Every book that I read seemed like it contradicted the previous book. One Author would say, you should do things this way and another one would say you should it that way. Since I didn't know much about portrait photography at the time; they all seemed right. However, if everyone was right, then who should I have really listened to?

I decided to find a way that worked best for me. I had a lot of trial and errors and made a number of mistakes. If there is a thing that you are thinking of trying, chances are I may have already done it. I feel the best way to learn something and actually remember it, is to make a lot of mistakes!!!

For this guide, I am going to assume that you are a beginner and can't wait to get started. I hope that after you are done reading this guide, you will be able to take great portraits and hopefully get a paying gig.

I have divided beginner's guide to portrait photography into the following sections:

Picking Your Camera

Different Camera Modes

Finding Your Style

Picking Your Camera

As a beginner portrait photographer, you might get caught up in the "Megapixels" (aka - MP) hype. Some people might tell you - you NEED at least 8 MP for a good quality. Others might say - you MUST have at least 15 MP for a good quality photo. Then the camera company will say - you need this $10,000 camera which is 21 MP to take fantastic photos.

As a beginner, you might think more "Megapixels" means better pictures, right? I thought the same thing, but found out that's not always the case as there are other factors that are involved; such as camera exposure, light and so on.

I believe the better question you need to ask yourself as a beginner portrait photographer is what size pictures do you plan to print? Are you going to print - 4x6s, 5x7s, 8x10s, or 11x14s?

If you are only going to print 4x6s, you will need at least 800x1200 Pixel Resolution and 3 MP.

Different Camera Modes

Sometimes many beginner portrait photographers get confused about which camera mode they should use. Should they use P, AV, TV, or M? Let's find out what each of these modes can do.

In P (aka - Automatic or Professional) mode, your camera does everything for you. All you have to do is just point and shoot. In AV (aka - Aperture Priority) mode, here you can change the ISO and Aperture. In TV (aka - Shutter Priority) mode, here you can change the ISO and Shutter Speed. In M (aka - Manual) mode, here you can change everything (Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO).

I would suggest that you start of with "Professional Mode". This will allow you to focus more on building your own personal style. As you will learn later, building your own style is more IMPORTANT (in my opinion) than learning all the technical side of camera. i.e. camera settings.

After you feel comfortable enough to shoot in P mode, then you should move on to different modes. Your goal should be to feel comfortable enough to shoot in "Manual" mode. This is my favorite mode!!!

Finding Your Style 

There is a famous saying that I love and that's "what's being said is not as important but the way we say it is!!! It's not the subject of the photo, rather the way we take it, show it, and make it our own. If you take a group of 30 photographers to a location and ask them to take a picture, assuming that all of the photographers have the same cameras, you will get 30 different unique photos. But you will know which photo belongs to which photographer because of his/her unique style.

I believe one of the reasons why my clients hire me is because of my photography style. In my style, I try to show my personality and try to capture emotions (smiles, laughs, serious editorial looks, and so on) that I want to photograph.

When trying to find or build your own style, you might want to ask yourself what it is you love about the photograph or frame before actually taking a picture; then try to capture that. This could be a head shot, full body shot, just the face and so on.

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4 Fun and Creative Ways to Display Your Photos

By Adam Z Holt

Photographs are special, they help us capture moments in time, unique moments, important moments, moments that we wish to cherish. As technology continues to advance we have seen photography go through some similar exciting and innovative developments. With this has come some interesting and creative ways in which we can display and present our photographs. This post will explore some of these new and creative ways to display your photographs.

The world is digital, huge advances in technology has propelled us into a world where information can be shared and viewed at an alarmingly fast rate. Photography is an industry that has heavily evolved with the growth of new technology. Most people have access to a digital camera, be it integrated within their phone or as a stand alone device. As a result people are no longer printing photos, instead it is more easy to store them on their computers or use a digital photo frame to display a select few. In my opinion a photograph should be physical, something that you can touch, admire and interact with. A great way of displaying your photos is by turning your photo into a Canvas Print. Canvas Wall Art is a huge current trend amongst the interior design industry. Canvas Prints can be used to add excitement, character and dynamic to an otherwise dull and monotone space. You can transform any image or photograph you wish into a glorious Canvas Print, and through a bit of creativity the results can be spectacular. The benefits of this to a photographer is the chance to see your photographs in a large scale. By printing to this scale you can bring out the most within your photograph and present your work in a more unique and eye-catching fashion. Canvas Photo Prints also make for fantastic gifts suitable for wedding gifts, and celebratory occasions such as the birth of a child or an anniversary.

Another new and unique way of displaying your photography is through 3D Glass Art. This is a fairly new concept but has been rising in popularity. This clever and spectacular service allows you to display your photographs within a glass object, using bubbles to re-create the pixels of your digital image. 3D Glass Art can make the perfect gift, and is ideal for wedding gifts or to celebrate the birth of a child. The process is surprisingly cheap and quick to create, whilst the results can be absolutely breathtaking.

Some photographs such as those of small children and pets make for wonderful gifts. So why not get creative and turn your photographs into a fantastic T-Shirt or huggable cushion? Printing on fabric is a great way to present your photography. Through being creative it is relatively simple to turn any image into a Warhol style Print, or perhaps a stencil print in the style of Banksy, both of which make for unique and personalised designs which can look great on a cushion or t-shirt. Printing to fabric is a brilliant way to permanently display your photography in a personal and interesting way that will stand out.

Finally, if you really want to make a bold statement with your photography and display it in a way for all to see, you could explore the addictive world of Stencil Wall Art. World famous street artists such as Banksy, have contributed to the creation of an entire art movement through their stencil grafiti. Prints by these artists can be found almost everywhere in today's society, and are hugely popular all around the world. As a result many have taken to creating their own stencil art, and this can be applied to photography too. It is rather easy to create your very own stencil art, stencils can be created using any photograph or image. If you are not confident however it is possible to seek help from a stencil art specialist. The joy of displaying your photographs through stencil is the creativity you can explore, and the scale that you can display your photographs. Any dull or plain wall can be instantly transformed into a magnificent piece of wall art, and the wonderful thing about stencilling is that, once you have your stencil, you can repeat the process over and over again.

There are many creative ways that you can display your photos. Create unique Canvas Wall Art, make the perfect gift or decorate and personalise your home. With a little creativity and the right photograph you can create something unique and special out of your own photography that is sure to turn heads and catch the eyes of all that view.

posted by michaelabela.weebly.com