Are you a new portrait photographer? If so these are some photography mistakes beginners make. In this video I will give you some photography tips that will help you get more confident when working with people during your portrait photography sessions.
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27 responses to “my problem with new portrait photographers. | Beginner photographer mistakes”
That is good advice, don't burn bridges by working with pros that you will want to work with when you are better.
I suggest a beginner to visualize a finished image before picking up the camera… and take 1 shot then figure out why it does not look as you imagined. Don't take random shots because one might look close but you do no know why.. Before working with live models,,even if just friend, don't waste their time until your confidence is justified.. Go to a beauty supply house and buy a wig styling head, a good one that has eye and noses contours like a face. practice with that, then add a wig. That is a good way to learn how to apply light to get what you intended. Shoot everything in full manual. Vary the light intensity and direction until you can visualize the result before clicking the shutter. After a few hundred single frames where you get what you intended, invite friends who are patient and get used to directing them in the fewest words, or have them mimic your positions.
If you invest in strobes, make sure you master one… Only when you can visualize what you intend before adding a second light source. Strobes are cheaper than ever so even hobbyists can build up a quality studio in a garage. In a large studio space you can control light better than a small space so to reduce the bleed over light bouncing from nearby ceiling and wall, use max sync speed as sthutter speed then stop down the aperture to drop the exposure to black or very near black so your added lights control the exposure. That makes it much easier since you do not have to factor in ambient light. To get even better practice go to a store that sells displays, mannequins because the might have used one. that are full length with jointed limbs yes, there is a market for used mannequins because some stores want to trade ii existing models to keep poses fresh..If youu live in a moderately large city you can find modeling schools where students get extra credit for experience for free. later you can get experienced models who want to freshen their portfolio trading her time for your prints or files. If you find a few model s who enjoys working with you for trades, and you are efficient…setups and smoothly staying in her flow you can get a lot done very quickly as she flows between poses ever 3-6 seconds. You can really improve your portfolio quickly that was.
Find a good but not great pro makeup artist.. A great one only when her higher rate would make a difference. A skilled makeup artist is your best friend. She needed to be used to this type of work not a general MUA, who might be good for street but only knows lighting, color temperature and oil control. A stage MUA is used to the look from the 12th row of seats, but you need one used to being seen at 1-3 feet and light temperature… After a few months of learning seriously, consider publishing your portfolio which for most viewers will be youu only chance to impress them. Even if you twice as good in 4 months, their impression of your work is that earlier version.
Models can really impact your reputation..Treat them like they are a star, have the studio looking nice, any dressing room well appointed, nice snacks and be a complete gentleman. Word will travel fast, bad or good.
Contrary to Internet lore, your camera is good enough. Because your sharpest work is in the studio so you have control of the background, a 1.2 lens is not needed stopped down, many portraits and fashion images were f/8 or slower and almost any lens is impressive at f/8. A full frame camera is better than crop for this but if you have decent lenses for a crop camera,, itt will be fine.. Outdoors or where you need subject isolation an f/1.8 lens can be low cost and give the isolation you want.
Good luck, and have fun.
the tip to use the worst outfit first is priceless, thx so mucho!
Great advice. Going through the process myself.
This video is fantastic! I agree with taking advantage of photo meetups with other photogs and models. We all should step out of your comfort zone too. I did not too long ago and did street photography which is something I don't normally do. My fellow photogs in my local group that are street photographers gave me pointers. It was a great experience. We have started holding peer competitions to push each other.
When I started out I took photos of my good friends, husband, parents. Even before that I started with self-portraits. I do think people (at least that I know) are out here experimenting, but maybe because I live in a LA so more people are willing to collab and create. Great video and good points though. 🌸✨
100% agree brother
Appreciate the advice brobro
Getting the best from what you have to work with is a very rewarding experience. Some really beautiful girls have modeled for me but to leave a girl after a shoot thinking she is far more amazing than she ever thought she was is a very rewarding experience.
This also works for figure studies when the girl finds out she is far more shapely than she ever thought she was.
Community is everything, when you start, and even during the levels of professionalism you establish. Initially, you are working on your craft, then gravitating to knowing the business and establishing market value. Great vid my friend.
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽big facts, i need my wife to see this because she’s always asking why I’m trying to take so many photos of her. I think she honestly hates it.
Real rap 💯
I agree that it is important for a beginner photographer to learn how to take special portrait photos before thinking they're ready to make it a business.
I disagree that models expect the photographer to be at their level of expertise. The key is to have the conversation with the model, being honest, and make it clear that the goal is to learn how to be a better portrait photographer. Many will be fine with this. The rest will probably decline the collaboration.
In general, "just try" is a very inefficient way to learn. We seem to be stuck on the myth of "I can just do this" rather than "Who can help me learn how to do this." To learn how to play basketball, to just go to the court and shoot is a recipe for failure, the person will develop poor form and habits. Going to a basketball clinic or camp is much more useful.
I think newer photographers need to learn how to see qualities in everything vs finding the new face
Great advice. I love shooting. I tell other photographers I am not competing with you. I just want to enjoy the journey. Thanks for sharing. So many in this craft don’t have that heart or confidence
I'm a wildlife and portrait photographer.. feels like i have a camera in my hand 24/7 … constantly putting in practice, doing "content days" (basically getting models to help me by letting me shoot them) , experimenting almsot everyday …and so far, its been fantastic!
I recently had a model that told me mid shoot that they really appreciated how comfortable i made them feel …that made my day, by the end of the shoot we were having so much fun
It's fun connecting with so many different people and being able to be part of their special moments …but I have to admit that wildlife is my passion
Nice video. Portrait photography I snot about capturing 'beauty'. It about telling a story – who is this person? What's their story? Pointing a camera ate someone do this, Neither does lighting, The skills required are much more subtle
Many thanks, Ryan.
Great content.
Thank you for your honesty and mentorship.👍🏾
As a wildlife photographer, I have to agree on most of what you said. I will say though we have absolutely zero control over our lighting and subjects we shoot. Unlike portrait. We can wait hours, or even days in the field and come away with nothing. Overall, great video 👍📸
You just gave a full horse meal compared to a snack. Very powerful information for upcoming photographers. I have been shooting for a few years, but always Learning. You can never learn enough.
The issue is not in new/newbie photographers, the issue is in the new generations and ''modern day'' portraiture becoming skill-less, art-less and pointless. It's literally like people are just taking snapshots at f1.2 and calling it ''photography.'' There's not a single creative and artistic thought behind modern day portrait photographers heads when they take photos. People are literally shooting portraits like it's a 9-5 job. Not putting any thought, creativity or twist to their photography. No artistic expression. No trying out new things. No limit testing. No innovation. Nothing. People nowadays just check composition, check lighting, check everything else, set up a prop or a pose or two and press a shutter button, then go home and slap a Lightroom preset onto their photos and call their photography (snapshots) ''art'' and call themselves ''professionals.'' It's like… No. Just because you basically shot phone snapshots and sold it to poor clients for the past 10 years, does not make you a professional and it does not make your snapshots covered in Lightroom presets ''art.''
I agree, a lot of great tips here for newer photographers. I've actually never shot with a professional model and now my day to day clients aren't models so I have no real need to ever shoot with one.
You took me back to my initial stages of photography. My wife was my only model and I practiced with her for 6 years and learned a lot before I did my first model shoot.
Thanks for a great tip : make the model wear the worst outfir first. This I'm gonna remember for the rest of my life. First 15-20 minutes of every shoot with new model is always bad because of our missing vibes. So its a great idea to take pics in the worst dress.
Great video bro 👍🏼 😍🤗
Anyone can take a photo of a beautiful person, but to take a beautiful photo of a person is a completely different skill set.
There is a serious lack of accreditation of photographers, mostly those Instagram / internet photogs. Most of whom you are speaking of are simply "guys with cameras" looking for the easy in to take pictures of attractive, nude or semi-nude women to either meet them or exploit them. They are not professional photographers and their work shows that.
Nothing but facts. I really like this video. It needs to be shared and seen by a lot more people!
I blame Youtube, IG, social media in general, modern cameras that makes it easy to get a decent exposure, camera marketing, the iPhone and how it created the iPhone way of using the real camera and it's instant satisfaction… I agree with you 100%. With practice you develop your own style and look, your mastery of lighting any situation in portrait photography and not fall for the cookie cutter IG look. I'll put it this way; I have been photographing people for going on 45 years and I am STILL practicing and most of all I am Still Learning, I want to keep improving to this day. Never settle for mediocre or look alike because you and your work will get lost in the crowd and that crowd is getting bigger every day… oh and stop obsessing about what new camera to get because in the end, it's all the same especially if you don't practice and grow.