What’s the difference between a common snapshot and a portrait? What does it take to transform a portrait into fine art? Some say that a portrait has to be oriented vertical. Others believe that the subject must look straight to the viewer or that the photo must be black and white. All these are far from being reliable criteria for judging the artistic value of a portrait.

Snapshots are candid photos taken randomly without any intent of making art. There is no or very little planning, no attention to lighting and composition. Snapshots are good for capturing everyday moments and sometimes a portrait make come out by accident. But this happens very seldom and is rather an exception. Portraits generally have a lot of creative work behind. For the artist, this work begins at the first contact with his customer. This can happen over the phone, e-mail or face-to-face. Meeting the customer in person if possible is the best way to go. This allows you to study his/behavior, gestures, posture, learn about his/her personality, likes and dislikes etc. All this information will help you in planning the photo so that it says something about the subject. It is also important to have some sort of chemistry or at least be able to work together. However, it is very common that the first face-to-face meeting takes place at the moment of the photo. While this is not optimal, it can be done. After all, not all portraits have to be works of art. Picturing the person realistically in his/her best pose is a portrait.

Good portraits are achieved by paying attention to every element including camera technique, lighting and posing. It is also important that it reflects the personality of the person being photographed. This is not typically achieved in chain store photo studios. It is much better to schedule a couple of interviews to find out more about the person. Then you can build on the conceptions for the portrait, evoking personality traits. You should portray the person in such a way as to allow the viewer to feel something about what that person is like just by looking at the photo. If you’re including more people, like families or group, it is important that the photo reflects the relationships between them.

Good portraying also require post-production or finishing work. Before digital photography, retouching used to be made on the negatives and prints and there were limited changes you could make. Complicated chemical processes were used to improve the photos. Nowadays, everything from dodging to burning, blurring and highlighting is done on the PC using photo editing software. While it is certainly much easier than it used to, it still requires artistic vision, planning and expertise, as well as work. A photographer spends about 15-30 minutes on a photo featuring one or two persons before it is ready for print. The time is longer if you have more people in the photograph or you need to make a collage of several images.

All in all, the ingredients of a great portrait include getting to know the subject (usually through pre-interviews), thorough planning, mixing the information you have on the subject with your own artistic vision, good lighting and camera technique and guiding the subject into poses to portray his/her personality. You also need cooperation from the subject.

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Many people don’t consider getting involved in the fine art of nude photography. This doesn’t necessarily mean they are against this form of art, rather they just haven’t seriously considered it because they didn’t know of anyone who would want to pose for them. Asking someone to pose for a nude photo can be a very difficult task. However, there is a different between nude photography. Be sure you differentiate the difference when asking someone to pose. You don’t want a risqué or explicit photo rather you just want to take something tasteful. Once you have someone who is willing to pose for you photos then you can begin. Consider the following tips to get the best possible nude photography.

The first step in nude photography is to be prepared. Look up some examples in magazines or on the internet of how to pose for the shots you want. Decide on a pose you want and a part of the body you want to focus on before you start shooting. When you know the type of shot you want to achieve you will have greater success in nude photography. You can’t simply grab a camera and start taking pictures; rather you need to take some time to properly prepare.

Next consider doing your nude photography is black and white pictures. Even the most beautiful of model you can find will have some blemishes on their skin which can come out in photos. For this reason it can be a good idea to shoot nude photography in black and white. This will completely change the look and feel of your photos. The shots will become more about the shape, lighting and shadows rather than on the body in the shots.

When it comes to nude photography anonymity can work for the photo as well as the model. Often photos with the face turned away or not shown will help make the pictures more photogenic. This doesn’t mean the model isn’t pretty it is simply the fact that the face can detract from the fine art of the photo. It can also add mystery to your photos. For the first time model this can also make it a little less uncomfortable for them as well.

It is also helpful if the mood in the room is as relaxed and enjoyable as possible. Even under the best of circumstances, nude photography can be a nervous experience for everyone. Even if you are friends with the model it can be a good idea to make the location as relaxed as possible. Make sure the environment is warm and funny this way it will be a lot easier to move beyond the awkward stage and be able to get comfortable with the situation.

Doing nude photography is a great way to expand your photography horizons and learn new experiences. You may decide not to nude photography again or you may choose to continue exploring this fine art form. Either way it can be helpful to use the above tips to get the best possible nude photos.

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