For the last two years, I've spent much of my free time listening to podcasts, reading articles, combing through books, and talking and working with other photographers in order to learn how to be a better portrait photographer. While the foundation of photography is pretty simple, taking that foundation and creating something beautiful and meaningful is much more difficult.
The article I published today on Improve Photography outlines a ton of the things I constantly think about as I photograph clients and my family. The article doesn't come close to covering everything it takes to make a great portrait, but it's certainly a good start, especially for someone just getting into portrait photography.
One of the reasons it's worth paying money for a good photographer is that they are constantly cycling through a list like the one in my article in their minds. No photo session is ever the same, so a good photographer needs to be able to adapt to each unique situation and apply the best technique to make a good portrait.
A big thank you goes out to every podcast host, article author, and photographer who helped me gain the knowledge to be able to write today's article.
If you'd like to see the other photography article's I've written for Improve Photography, take a look at this link. Enjoy!