How Professional Portraits Tell Your Individual Story
Self-image is a concern that many people struggle with. It can be caused by a temporary issue or a more long-term problem. For instance, maybe you're embarrassed by crooked teeth or acne, or you just got a new haircut that didn’t turn out like you hoped. Whatever your area of self-consciousness, you may view the camera as more of a foe than a friend. But professional portrait photographers have the training and equipment to look beyond temporary blemishes and and capture the truer side of you. But good photography goes beyond just looks—a skilled photographer also captures your personality, so you can share your story with the world. I aim to do that!
Storytelling Through Photography
Whether you're trying to advance your career, celebrate a milestone birthday, or highlight an important life event, a photoshoot is all about you. Scheduling a photoshoot gives me a chance to get to know you. Having that extra bit of personal attention can boost your self confidence, which results in a better photo. Along with helping you look your best, a professional photographer can understand your goals and motives for scheduling a photoshoot. When I understand what you want out of the photo, I’m better able to use my experience and passion to create a portrait that conveys the right message about who you are.
Unlike movies, where a story is captured in hundreds of thousands of individual images, portrait photographers have only a handful of opportunities to represent the story. Therefore, I like to consider a number of factors when developing an individual's story through a camera lens, such as:
Minimizing visual distractions
Having a "why"
Planning
Capturing powerful emotions
Using colors
Unlike film photography, which contains a lot of background action, having too much going on in a professional portrait photograph is distracting. Since you are the subject, my goal is to draw attention to you rather than the background. While it may sometimes be advantageous to have props or visual cues, a photographer should know when and how to use them in a complementary manner that enhances your personality or appearance rather than detracting from it.
Next, having a purpose or a “why” for the photoshoot sets the stage for the subject's emotions and makes better use of our time together. Planning a story for the photo session has a similar effect.
Along with focusing on the big picture, I try to look at the finer details of a photograph to ensure the best results. One important consideration is color. Colors are broadly categorized as “warm” or “cool” hues. I try to consider the goal of the photograph and the subject's physical appearance to select the most fitting and confidence-inspiring composition and color scheme.
Emotions are tightly associated with color. Whether the photograph intends to capture an upbeat, melancholy, or contemplative time in the subject's life, using color and composition to portray those emotions will help me produce portrait photographs that will satisfy your need for self-expression.
Eye vs Camera
You may have noticed this before, but the human eye and the camera don't quite see the same thing. That's because although they have some commonalities, they also have some key differences. Both use a diaphragm that controls the amount of light entering the lens. This mechanism is the pupil in the human eye and the shutter in a camera. The human eye and camera also have a lens that concentrates light and creates an image. At best, the eye has a resolution of approximately 52 megapixels (the equivalent of 20/20 vision), while most digital cameras have a resolution of 20 megapixels at most. The human eye has the best vision at a point called the fovea centralis, which is also the location where the eye perceives most colors. Unlike cameras, the human eye can automatically adjust to changing light conditions.
Professional photographers understand these key differences between the human eye and the camera, which allows them to get the best results possible. The mind prefers the familiar, so my job is to make your portraits appear true to the image you’re used to looking at in the mirror. Because of the differing structure of photographic equipment and the human eye, simple point-and-shoot photography won’t have that effect.
Why Hire a Professional?
Thanks to the popularity of smartphones, most everyone has a fairly good-quality camera at their disposal. However, while equipment does matter, even the best camera can take bad pictures if the person behind it doesn’t know how to use it.
Professional portrait photographers have the equipment, training, and experience to take your vision and make it into reality. They know all of the tricks of angle, composition, lighting and color for achieving a desired result even before editing. However, a professional photographer is also an expert at post-production, so whether a photo needs a lighting adjustment or a little blemish removal, you can trust me to make the final result look natural and balanced.
Life is hard enough without the added challenge of a negative self-image. I want to help you recognize your own inner worth and preserve it in powerful, storytelling images that last a lifetime.
What drives my work is making people feel good about themselves through great photography. Book a portrait session with me today!