Portrait Pro


Book Description

It’s easy to say, “I want to be a professional photographer!” but too many would-be pros see their businesses collapse within a few months or years—or never get off the ground at all. In this book, acclaimed photographer, photo-educator, and successful studio owner Jeff Smith shows you how to avoid the pitfalls and set a course for creative and financial success—right from the start. Every aspect of the field is covered, from developing a style that’s on-target for your unique marketplace to maximizing client satisfaction at every stage of your interaction. You’ll learn to make your shoots more productive, your sales sessions more profitable, and your business more desirable to new and existing clients. Whether you’re launching a new photography business or seeking to re-invigorate an existing studio, this book is packed with ideas to help you succeed!




Professional Portrait Retouching Techniques for Photographers Using Photoshop


Book Description

Each year, Scott Kelby, Editor-in-Chief of Photoshop User magazine and the #1 best-selling Photoshop author, trains literally thousands of photographers on how to retouch portraits using Photoshop through his live seminars, online classes, DVDs, and standing-room only workshops at the Photoshop World Conference & Expo. Now you can learn the same techniques he uses in his own retouching workflow, in the only book of its kind–one written expressly for photographers who do their own retouching. As a pro photographer himself, Scott understands that photographers make their living shooting, not retouching. But, delivering fully retouched images is now expected by clients. That’s why Scott put together this amazing resource for teaching photographers the quickest, easiest, and most effective ways to create professional-looking, retouched final images without spending hours grinding away at painstaking, detailed techniques. LEARN HOW THE PROS DO IT It’s all here–the step-by-step methods for fixing, enhancing, and finishing your portraits in Photoshop. Using the techniques in this book, you’ll create images that will absolutely wow your clients. You’ll learn: • How to soften skin and still retain detail and texture • The best tricks for beautifully enhancing eyes, eyebrows, and eyelashes • How to selectively sharpen portraits without complicated masking • How to create gorgeous-looking lips • How to remove blemishes fast and keep the most detail • The pros’ tricks for body sculpting • How to make your subject’s hair look fabulous • How to give your retouches that natural look that sets them apart • Plus, you get Scott’s complete 5-minute, 15-minute, and 30-minute start-to-finish workflows If you’re ready to learn the “tricks of the trade”–the same ones that today’s leading pro photographers use to retouch, tuck, tighten, and tone their images for that pro-retouched look–you’re holding the book that will do exactly that. It will radically change the way you retouch your portraits from here on out, and give you the best-looking, most natural retouches you’ve ever done.




iPhoneography Pro


Book Description

The iPhone is revolutionizing photography. Never before has a camera been so portable yet powerful, so versatile and ubiquitous. Yet, as this book shows, this amazing device has untapped potential for taking jaw-droppingly detailed, sharp, professional-quality images. In this book, commercial photographer Robert Morrissey investigates the photographic capabilities of the iPhone, right out of the box, then moves to advanced uses that will surprise even seasoned photographers. Starting with the basics, Morrissey teaches readers critical strategies for taking great pictures—from how to properly hold your phone, to how and why to use the flash. You’ll learn simple ideas for improving your photos—from crafting a strong composition to posing subjects for flattering results. Next, you’ll learn to use the iPhone’s panoramic and HDR features to take your imaging to the next level. You’ll also get some great insights into how to photograph action, scenes with non-average tones, landscapes, and much more—with natural light and flash. The power of the iPhone grows exponentially when the photographer downloads applications (“apps”)—incredible free and/or inexpensive software programs that add a mind boggling array of photographic options and features to the phone. Morrissey shows how to choose and use apps that allow for the use of ultrafast frame-per-second capture rates, old film (Tri-X and T-Max) emulsions, incredible filter and lens effects, unique borders, and much, much more. There is a large market for iPhone accessories, and many of them are geared toward pros. Many shooters are now using bracketing systems that allow for the attachment of professional DSLR-type camera lenses, an invention that takes their capture capabilities to surprising new heights. Accessories are also available that allow the iPhone to be mounted to a tripod or even a dolly for video shoots. Armed with this book, you’ll learn to create technically sound, artistically inventive photos of any subject for any end use—from web use, to wall-size prints, to gallery presentation.







Secrets of Great Portrait Photography


Book Description

In this sexy, bold book, Pulitzer-Prize winning photographer Brian Smith tells the stories behind the photos and lessons learned in 30 years of photographing celebrities and people from all walks of life. Smith’s long list of famous and infamous subjects includes pro basketball players Dwayne Wade and Shaquille O’Neal; billionaires Bill Gates, Richard Branson, and Donald Trump; tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams; actors Anne Hathaway, Antonio Banderas, Christopher Walken, Taye Diggs, Jane Krakowski, and William H. Macy; and many more. You’ll get the inside scoop on what goes on at a celebrity photo shoot in this gorgeous guide to making professional portraits. Smith has mastered how to make a meaningful portrait on a magazine’s budget and on a celebrity’s schedule, which can sometimes be 15 minutes or less. Smith reveals his tips on connecting with people, finding the perfect location, telling a great story through portraiture, getting the ideal pose, capturing emotion and gestures, arranging unique group shots, and lighting the scene just right. You might not be photographing the rich and famous, but after reading Smith’s tell-all guide, you’ll know how to give everyone who makes their way in front of your camera the star treatment.




The Dramatic Portrait


Book Description

Without light, there is no photograph. As almost every photographer knows, the word “photograph” has its roots in two Greek words that, together, mean “drawing with light.” But what is less commonly acknowledged and understood is the role that shadow plays in creating striking, expressive imagery, especially in portraiture. It is through deft, nuanced use of both light and shadow that you can move beyond shooting simply ordinary, competent headshots into the realm of creating dramatic portraiture that can so powerfully convey a subject’s inner essence, communicate a personal narrative, and express your photographic vision.

In The Dramatic Portrait: The Art of Crafting Light and Shadow, Chris Knight addresses portraiture with a unique approach to both light and shadow that allows you to improve and elevate your own portraiture. He begins with the history of portraiture, from the early work of Egyptians and Greeks to the sublime treatment of light and subject by artists such as Caravaggio, Rembrandt, and Vermeer. Chris then dives into a deep, hands-on exploration of light, shadow, and portraiture, offering numerous lessons and takeaways. He covers:

    • The qualities of light: hard, soft, and the spectrum in between
    • The relationships between light, subject, and background, and how to control them
    • Lighting patterns such as Paramount, Rembrandt, loop, and split
    • Lighting ratios and how they affect contrast in your image
    • Equipment: from big and small modifiers to grids, snoots, barn doors, flags, and gels
    • Multiple setups for portrait shoots, including those that utilize one, two, and three lights
    • How color contributes to drama and mood, eliciting an emotional response from the viewer
    • How to approach styling your portrait, from wardrobe to background
    • The post-processing workflow, including developing the RAW file, maximizing contrast, color grading, retouching, and dodging and burning for heightened drama and effect
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    • How all of these elements culminate to help you define your personal style and create your own narrative




Pricing Your Portraits


Book Description

Portrait photographers agree that one of the most important yet shrouded aspects of running a successful business is accurately pricing your products for profit. Some charge too little, then scramble to photograph and edit photos for throngs of clients, only to become overwhelmed and burn out. Others price too low initially, just to get people in the door, but soon mark up their prices and lose clients to new photographers who charge rock-bottom prices. There are still others who price themselves out of the game right out of the gate. Jeff Smith, owner of two thriving portrait studios teaches you how to tackle one of photography’s most vexing problems—working out a pricing structure that allows you to cover your costs and clear a profit that you can live comfortably with. Smith begins by showing you methods that he—and countless other pros—have used in a misguided attempt to reap a great cash flow, helping you avoid time-and-revenue-burning missteps. Next, he walks you through the process of figuring out where your money goes—How much should you shell out for new equipment? What falls into the category of “overhead?” How much do you need to pay your staff and yourself?—and then moves on to show ways to cut costs, price individual prints and packages, maintain your desired business volume, retain existing clients, and delegate tasks in order to work smartly toward profitability—all while enjoying your work and achieving professional and creative satisfaction.




Maximizing Profits


Book Description

If you’ve got great camera skills and want to take the plunge and make your passion a career, you’ll need to build a solid business foundation from which your passion and creativity can take flight. If you’re like most artists, the business side of things seems a bit dry—and it may be something you dread. Fortunately, Lori Nordstrom takes the sting out of your studies and gives you all of the skills you need to plan your business, attract the attention of the clientele you want to serve, recruit a staff that supports your creative and financial objectives, create a top-notch customer-service experience, and show and sell your unique images to happy clients, time after time. Lori Nordstrom is an award-winning photographer and an active lecturer and blogger who inspires other photographers to make smart business decisions that positively impact the children-and-family portrait industry as a whole. In this book, she’s compiled her hard-won tips, sharing clear, simple ideas for developing your personal style; identifying your ideal client base, creating a referral system, constructing displays, getting media coverage, and hosting events. She’ll also help you understand how to hire a staff, create a budget, schedule your time, manage your workflow, and establish a sense of value and a cost structure that allows for a nice profit. Because all of your pre-session efforts should lead to a successful photographic experience for your clients, special attention is given to cultivating a standout studio experience that allows clients to feel relaxed, happy, and yes, pampered. Nordstrom also helps readers work through some issues that are notoriously challenging for photographers—breaking free of pricing set points, selling their products, and overcoming client objections to close the sale. This book offers a fresh, exciting, and friendly approach to building a sustainable business that affords photographers the opportunity to confidently create—and make a great living.




Mac Life


Book Description

MacLife is the ultimate magazine about all things Apple. It’s authoritative, ahead of the curve and endlessly entertaining. MacLife provides unique content that helps readers use their Macs, iPhones, iPods, and their related hardware and software in every facet of their personal and professional lives.




Foundations of Posing


Book Description

With tips for posing the young and old, males and females, singles, couples, and groups in both indoor and locations and in reclining, seated, and standing poses, from full-length to close-up, this book will walk you through all aspects of posing and balance with examples and easy to follow instructions.