Portrait Photography
What is Portrait Photography?
If you’re a social person and you love to capture the essence of people in real-life shoots, then portrait photography might be the discipline for you.
Unlike candid shoots, portrait photography sees your subject posed in front of a specific backdrop.
History of Portrait Photography
Portrait photography is one of the oldest photographic disciplines in the world, first arising thanks to the affordability of daguerreotypy in the 1840s. These early cameras had long exposure times, and as such, early subjects often look expressionless and are posed very simply. As photography advanced and cameras started to have shorter exposure times, it gave photographers more ability to experiment with poses, lighting, and costume.
Approaches to Portrait Photography
There are four key archetypes of portrait photography that are in use today:
Creative
Creative portrait photographs are staged shots where the photograph is manipulated to change the final output. This is what we commonly think of when we talk about portrait photography, as modern creative portrait photographers use programs like Photoshop to change the subject’s appearance or setting.
Candid
Candid portraits are taken of people in their natural environment and without their knowledge. While this can produce stunning images that showcase the subject’s personality, this use of photography has been widely condemned as the paparazzi have made it more exploitative and invasive for the subject.
Environmental
Environmental photography is a less invasive form of candid photography, where subjects are captured doing something that relates to them. These shots have been popular throughout history and as such photographs from this discipline are considered a vital source of historical information.
Constructionist
In a constructionist portrait, subjects are photographed working in a situation that pertains to a certain idea that the photographer wants to capture. These kinds of portraits are popular in technical environments, for marketing purposes, and in business.
See the latest portrait photography news, tips and tutorials in the articles below.
Add Bokeh to Your Portraits Using Skylum’s Luminar AI
Bokeh is the out-of-focus blur in a photograph from a shallow depth of field. It’s nearly ubiquitous in portraits and ...
Special Effects Photography With the Ring Of Fire Technique
You’ve likely already heard of the “Ring of Fire,” a special effects photography technique popularized by famous photographer, Sam Hurd. ...
15 Adventure Couples Photos That Push the Boundaries
Never underestimate the potential of a client that is willing to risk it for an epic shot! Couples who love ...
Creative Photography Props to Level Up Your Portraits
A simple and effective way to add production value to your images is through adding props. Even simple props can ...
Lightroom Editing Tips for Environmental Shutter Drag Portraits
Last week, we walked through how to capture an environmental shutter drag portrait. A shutter drag portrait is a portrait ...
How to Add Depth to Your Photos Using Mixed Light
Last week, we talked about Mixed Lighting and How to Fix It. However, it’s important to know when mixed light ...
Behind the Scenes: Urban Fitness Photoshoot Tips
A good fitness portrait shows off form and figure. In this video/article, I’ll be walking through a fitness photography shoot ...
Location Tips: Parking Garage Portrait Challenge
We’ve teamed up with Adorama to bring you a series of photography tutorials called “Master Your Craft” to be featured on their Youtube Channel. Subscribe ...
Dramatic Portrait Lighting Setup Made Simple
We’ve teamed up with Adorama to bring you a series of photography tutorials called “Master Your Craft” to be featured on their Youtube Channel. Subscribe ...
Mobile Photography Lighting | Dramatic Off-Camera Flash with an iPhone
Profoto recently made a tremendous leap forward when they introduced the ability to sync their lights with the phone via ...
The Minimalist Challenge: The iPhone Portrait Edition
We’ve teamed up with Adorama to bring you a series of photography tutorials called “Master Your Craft” to be featured on their Youtube Channel. Subscribe ...
4 Different Ideas for High School Senior Portraits
The first semblance of senior portraiture appeared in the 1880s, and what a progression it has seen since. The trend ...
