Although it may not always seem possible, you can create great people pictures using the gear that fits into one camera bag. The tricks are knowing how to use the equipment you have, learning how to put the environment around you to work, and taking the time to interact with your subjects so you can tell their story. In this ebook, Kathleen Lavine discusses the minimum equipment you need for an effective shoot and how to combine the elements of the environment, situation, or scene to capture great portraits. And she’ll show how to engage your subjects and work together so that you can make your people photos exceptional. Follow along with Kathleen and you will: Explore how to work with light—using the light that is available and adding to it to make better photographs Create strong compositions in your images by using the architectural and natural elements that surround you and your subjects Learn techniques to help tell your subject’s story, such as starting a conversation, using props, observing and capturing emotion, and asking them to perform an action

This unique book is a photographer’s guide to the powerful medium of the environmental portrait. It explores in lucid detail the many "moving parts" of this imaging style, including the techniques and creative processes that drive some of this genre’s finest contemporary practitioners. In Environmental Portraiture, author Jim Cornfield puts his readers behind the viewfinder to help them successfully master what he calls "the portrait photographer’s most high-powered tool." In a series of detailed tutorial chapters and study models, Cornfield unpacks every practical aspect of the environmental portrait scenario, including research, location scouting, lighting interior and exterior environments, props and wardrobe, lens selection, composition, color, and after-capture. Along with this wealth of comprehensive nuts-and-bolts information, the book probes the deep structure of environmental portraiture—the blend of a sitter’s backstory with the meaningful visual clues in their surroundings. He introduces such concepts as "portraitcraft," "cognitive weight," and "the ideas and emotions quotient," among the many dimensions of an environmental portrait that create eye-opening revelations about the person in front of your lens. A separate section of the book is devoted to a prestigious roster of contemporary environmental portraitists, specifically recruited for this book to explore in-depth selected samples from their diverse portfolios. They bring with them a score of insights, tips and fascinating anecdotes that demonstrate their individualized approaches to this versatile branch of the photographer’s craft. Written for professionals, amateurs and serious students of photography, this book is both a guide and inspiration to creating powerful, communicative environmental portraiture.

Scott Kelby, author of the top-selling digital photography book of all time, is back with an entirely new book in his popular series that picks up right where part 4 left off. It’s more of that “Ah ha—so that’s how they do it,” straight-to-the-point, skip-the-technojargon stuff you can really use today that made part 1 so successful. In parts 1 through 4 of this series, the most popular chapter in the book has always been the last chapter: “Photo Recipes to Help You Get ‘The Shot’.” In each of those chapters, Scott shows a final image and then describes how to get that type of shot. Here, in part 5, he gives you what you’ve been waiting for: an entire book of nothing but those amazing photo recipes. But, he took it up a big notch by adding a behind-the-scenes photo for every single recipe. Now you can see exactly how it was done, so you can get that exact same look every time. In these extra pages, each spread allows you to dig in a little deeper and really unlock the power of these recipes. Scott breaks each spread into four segments: (1) he explains exactly what you’re seeing behind the scenes, (2) he lists all of his camera settings, and lens and lighting info—it’s all there, (3) he gives you his thought process, so you learn exactly why he does it this way, and (4) he shares all the post-processing in Lightroom or Photoshop that goes on after the shoot (this is something other books leave out). Plus, the whole book is packed with tips and insights you won’t find anywhere else. This isn’t a book of theory, full of confusing jargon and detailed concepts. This is a book on which button to push, which settings to use, and exactly how and when to use them. With around 100 of the most popular photographic “tricks of the trade,” the entire book is designed to get you shooting like a pro starting today. You’re gonna love it.

What would your life be like if you could shoot absolutely amazing portraits? If you could be in any natural lighting situation, indoors or out, and know that you’d be able to create an amazing image every time? If you’ve ever dreamed of making such incredible portraits that your friends and family say, “Wait a minute, this is your photo!? You took this?” then you’re in luck.

Award-winning photography book author Scott Kelby teaches you exactly how to shoot and edit gorgeous natural light portraits. Scott shares all his secrets and time-tested techniques, as he discusses everything from his essential go-to portrait gear to camera settings to the portrait photography techniques you need to create absolutely stunning images. From window light to taming harsh outdoor light, from the tools and accessories you need to capture beautiful portraits in any lighting condition, Scott has got you covered.

Among many other topics, you’ll learn:

• The secrets to getting super-sharp portraits every time without breaking a sweat.

• Exactly which camera settings work best for natural light portraits (and which ones you should avoid).

• How to create separation with a silky smooth, out-of-focus background no matter which lens you have.

• How to tame even the harshest light and turn it to your advantage to create soft, beautiful, wrapping light.

• Which lenses will get you the best results and why.

• What gear you need, which accessories work best, and a ton of killer tips that will help you create better images and make the entire experience that much more fun.

It’s all here, including an entire chapter on post-processing and retouching, and another with detailed portrait recipes, and best of all, it’s just one topic per page, so you’ll get straight to the info you need fast. There’s never been a natural light portrait photography book like it!

Infuse your images with glowing, luminous light From high-profile wedding and portrait photographer Elizabeth Messina comes this beautiful guide to shooting lush, romantic portraits exclusively in natural light. Whether you’re photographing children, weddings, maternity and boudoir, or portraits of any kind, The Luminous Portrait will inspire you with Elizabeth’s personal approach and award-wining images, sharing the art to making flattering portraits that appear “lit from within.”

Environmental collapse. The betrayals and alliances of the animal world. A father who works in a timber mill. The celebrities in our feeds, the stories we tell ourselves. Loss, never-ending loss. Self-Portrait with Cephalopod—selected by francine j. harris as winner of the Jake Adam York Prize—is an account of being a girl, and then a woman, in the world; of being a living creature on a doomed planet; of being someone who aspires to do better but is torn between attention and distraction. Here, Kathryn Smith offers observations and anxieties, prophecies and prayers, darkness and light—but never false hope. Instead, she incises our vanities and our hypocrisies, “the bloody hand holding back / the skin,” revealing “the world’s inner workings, / rubbery and caught between the teeth.” These are the poems of someone who feels her and our failings in the viscera, in the bones, and who bears witness to that pain on the page. Self-Portrait with Cephalopod is an urgent and necessary collection about living in this precarious moment, meditative and resolutely unsentimental.

The most successful portraits take us well beyond the surface of how someone looks and show us the inner essence of who someone is. They reveal character, soul, and depth. They uncover hidden hopes and profound truths, revealing that authentic and deeply human light that shines within. And while technical expertise is undoubtedly important, it’s not the light, camera, or pose that creates a great portrait. It’s you, and it’s the connection you create with the subject that makes all the difference. In Authentic Portraits, photographer Chris Orwig teaches you that the secret to creating meaningful portraits is simple: curiosity, empathy, kindness, and soul…plus a bit of technique. While Chris spends significant time on the fundamentals of “getting the shot”—working with natural light, nailing focus, dialing in the correct exposure, effectively posing and directing the subject, intentionally composing the frame—he also passionately discusses the need for personal development, creative collaboration, and connection with the subject. Because who you are directly and deeply affects what you create, and it is only through cultivating your own inner light that you will be able to bring it out in your subjects. Filled with instruction, insight, and inspiration, Authentic Portraits is an honest and personal book about creating better frames. It’s also about becoming your best self. Take the journey, and you’ll learn to find your vision and voice, bring intention to your photography and your life, embrace mystery, and understand the importance of gratitude and empathy. Along the way, you will teach the camera to see in a way that replicates how you feel, and you’ll find you have all you need to create work of lasting significance.