3 Ways To Take A Better Business Portrait

Remember back in grade school where you would wait patiently in line to have your class picture taken? You would hop up onto a bench in front of a backdrop, smile at the camera, and be presented with one of the worst pictures possible a few weeks later?

That’s the business of taking quick, class photographs. But it’s not the business of taking a business portrait.

By the time we grow up and become a professional, we want more than just a quick “say cheese” portrait to put on our websites, business cards, brochures and social networking sites. We want something that’s a little classier. Something that showcases us in our best light. Here are a few ways you can bump up the quality of your professional business portraits – and charge more for them in the process:

1. Step away from the backdrop. Don’t do the standard images. Head out to the great outdoors and find variety in your portraits. From a city street, to an overgrown walkway, an environmental portrait will give your client more variety, and make him or her less stressed with the entire process.

2. Use high key lighting. With today’s technology, sometimes a backdrop isn’t the first choice. People today like to use cutaways for their websites and brochures, and have the ability to make their brochures and other marketing materials pop. Start by asking what they hope to accomplish with their business portraits. Then give them a wide array of options.

3. Build up their business. What does your client do for a living? Why not incorporate that into their business portraits? Be creative with all of your executive images, and give them a selection to use for different reasons. While the average client may be looking for one good image to use on a business card, once you present more options, they may end up buying more to have more uses. An image of a baker surrounded by her high-end wedding cakes may be just what she needs for an article in a trade magazine. Or a framed wall print in her bakery.

How To Photograph Babies

You can’t pose them. They won’t sit up. They may cry if you scare them. They won’t smile. They won’t even look at the camera when you want them to.

So how can you capture great photographs of a baby that the parent will want to buy?

What starts out sounding like a negative actually can be worked into a BIG positive from selling your photography.

A baby won’t pose, but they will only be little for a very short time. They won’t sit up, but they have the tiniest hands and feet.

This is a once in a lifetime moment. Wait a month and it will change. Put it off for a few months, and you lose the opportunity forever.

Now that’s a sales technique. But before you start selling, you have to take the photographs.
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7 Tips To Help Break Your Fear Of Photographing People

When you have bride and groom waiting for you for formal portraits, or are meeting a client in a local park for a portrait, what goes through your mind? Do you have a moment of fear, wondering how you’re going to pose them for a dramatic effect? When you look at your images, do you wish they “popped” like the images you see from photo greats online?

Everyone faces that, especially in the beginning. But there are some tricks to help you create a more natural portrait experience for you and your clients.

1. Start by having fun. If you are happy and enthusiastic, your clients will be too. Don’t make things too posed, too drawn out. Get your clients involved in action, and they’ll remember the experience as a happy one – so the photographs will automatically be better because they remember it as so.
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7 Tips To Use Natural Light In Your Photography

We’ve always preferred natural light. You don’t have to carry around a ton of equipment – just your camera bodies and lenses. And for the most part, what you see is what you get – you will never be surprised by the way a flash hits your subject matter.

1. Control when you shoot.
Concentrate on using the sweet light for all of your photographs. Sweet light is the light at daybreak and at dusk – the beautiful light that highlights the detail, yet doesn’t overwhelm you with harshness.

2. Avoid mid-day sun whenever possible.
Mid-Day sunshine gives you your harshest shadows, and provides glare on both your subject and the background around you. If you will be shooting mid-day for something unavoidable – a wedding or event – scope out the area before hand to find your best areas. Look for trees and buildings that you can use in your background, and will block out the majority of the sun’s glare.

3. Be flexible in your posing.
In outside locations, it’s easy to have a favorite place to photograph. But depending on the time of day, you may be facing harsh sunlight and lots of shadows. Be flexible and have other areas that meet your needs. Move your subjects until you get them into the best position.

4. Use gobos and reflectors.
Always make sure you have a variety of gobos and reflectors ready to use to block, reflect and manipulate the sunlight. Reflectors are made from a variety of materials, and can help you do everything from blocking out the heavy sun rays, to adding a soft, warm glow to the skin.

5. Always focus on the face.
Even if you’re creating an environmental image, and the subject is just a part of the final scene, make sure your subject has a natural look. If you place them directly in the sun, they may be squinting and have a distorted face.

6. Use buildings and trees as natural gobos and reflectors.
A white building can make a great reflector, and brighten up a subjects face, or give highlights to the overall scene. Or tuck your subject back into a group of trees to soften the look, and provide nice highlights for the portrait.

7. Don’t reschedule on cloudy and rainy days.
Clouds can create natural light boxes, and give you soft filtered light anywhere you go. Though you do need to be careful not to get your camera wet on rainy days, the rain can enhance a portrait, and give you a totally new perspective with your subject matter. Learn to play with what you have, and be creative with the opportunities given.

7 Tips For Photographing Children

Be patient with them.
Some kids will warm up to you immediately. Some won’t. Work on the child’s schedule, not yours. Instead of picking up the camera right away, sit down at their level and play with them or read them a book. Become their friend first, and they’ll trust you the rest of the day.

Capture who they are, not a standard photograph.
One of my favorite photographs of my daughter was when she was two. She was staring out of our living room window, thumb in her mouth, twirling her hair with her fingers. That was so her at that particular moment of her life, and I can’t imagine not being able to remember her like that. Just looking at that image brings back a ton of memories. That’s who she was at that moment, and that’s what we strived to capture.
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How A Clothing Consultation Can Raise The Revenue Of Your Portraits

Without a little coaching for you, your clients will show up in just about anything for a family portrait. Some may think of trying to match, while others will show up in whatever is comfortable – making for a truly “memorable” portrait experience.

Instead of leaving clothing choices up to your clients, teach them about clothing instead. Even a few minutes over the phone, or a few minutes browsing your website for ideas can make all the difference in the world.

Overall, there are 7 tips you should share with your clients, and have samples ready to show to illustrate the point.

1. Choose one color hue per portrait. People stand out if they are different from the norm of the photograph. If the majority of the people show up in black sweaters, and one shows up in red, the photograph will be dominated by the one in red.

2. Wear similar styles. Long sleeves are usually preferable. In all cases, the less distraction the better, and the more focus will be put on the faces. Again, if the majority shows up in long sleeve black sweaters, and one shows up in a purple tank top, you’ll focus on both the color of her shirt, and on her bare arms. It will also confuse the overall look – is it summer or fall?
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8 Keys To A Great Engagement Portrait

The holidays are upon us. The time for celebrating, spending time together – and gettin’ engaged.

Engagement portraits are more than just a quick shot to have something available for an announcement or a display at the wedding. They are a way for the bride and groom to get to know you as a photographer. It’s an open invitation to learn more about how you operate, and what type of customer service you bring to the table.

Keep these 8 things in mind before you book your next appointment for an engagement portrait session.

1. Never include your engagement session as a part of your wedding package. By making it a separate entity, you are giving it more value, and you are also taking away the bargaining chip for wedding clients that may not want or be able to use an engagement session.

2. Many photographers have different pricing structures for weddings and for portraits. Keep your pricing structure the same for any enlargements within the engagement shoot as you have for your weddings. The last thing you want to do is confuse a bride and groom on pricing when they are deciding on whom to hire for their wedding.
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How To Find A Portrait Location Anywhere

One of the most difficult things for some photographers is finding great locations to shoot a portrait. When you are photographing one person, or even a couple, the world is your backdrop – you just have to look a little.

On a recent outing, I was looking for a new business portrait to use for a few new things we’ve been working on. So we thought it would be fun to show you how any location can become an amazing backdrop for you.

We started just a couple of miles from our home in a strip center mall on a Sunday so the walking traffic was at a minimum. Here’s the location we settled on:

Choose a location for the lines, columns, stairs, color and decorations. Because its winter, there are no flowers in the pots, and snow was lying around in different areas.

By concentrating on just a few of the areas, and watching the angles, we came up with dozens of different images I’ll be able to use.

Any location makes for a good backdrop – you just have to see beyond what most people see. The easiest way to “see” differently is to head out and practice.

Make sure you’re in a location where security won’t stop you – public places are your best choice. And have fun with it.

10 Tips For Taking Portraits In The Cold and Snow

1. Choose your location before the clients arrive. In the summer it’s nice to walk around, shooting in several places. In the winter, the cold can get to you quickly. Have places picked out ahead of time, and walk your clients there quickly. Keep them bundled in coats or close to the car until the shoot, then move quickly. Avoid the red noses and cheeks if possible.

2. Wear all the snow gear. Your clients will be in a fairly comfortable place. But to get the best shot, you may need to head into a snow bank, lay down on the snow. Make sure you have boots, gloves and a warm hat, and maybe even snow pants to keep you warm and dry.

 

3. Have your clients dress for the snow too. It may seem silly to remind your clients to dress for the snow. But the last thing you want them to do is show up with a 3 year old in a holiday dress and shoes, crying because she’s freezing. Give them a clothing consultation, and have them dress similarly and appropriately.

4. You don’t need a ton of snow to create a great backdrop. Look for interesting viewpoints – tunnels, pathways or backdrops. Then move your subjects in the scene to complete the image.

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Photography Lighting Tips

How can you take a few photography lighting tips, and change the way you look at images forever?

Wedding Photography
Weddings are by far the most difficult to shoot, and will test your true capabilities as a photographer. In one event, you may have to deal with harsh, bright sunlight streaming onto the wedding party, and trying to capture the bride and groom in a nearly dark reception hall. All with the extremes of a bride in a white gown and a groom in a black tux.

Start by finding the perfect location outside to take advantage of natural light. Whether you are at a church or a reception site, get there a few minutes early and walk around, noticing the direction of sun movement. Find one side with a lot of shade, look for interesting architecture, or a grouping of trees. Remember, you aren’t capturing the entire area in your photographs; you can find great areas that will deliver what you are looking for. Fill in with reflectors and diffusers to soften the light even further.

For your inside images, use a combination of on camera flash and stand alone light sources. Use diffusers to bounce the flash, giving your images a softer look. If the ambiance of the reception site is a dark, romantic look, you don’t want to flood it with harsh, unnatural light. Yet you can set up one or two light sources on the dance floor for all the main action images, and still leave the reception room as the bride and groom intended.
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