0:01 over the years of shooting creative
0:04 portraits I've probably shot around 100
0:07 000 images give or take comprising of
0:09 many different styles locations and
0:11 lighting conditions while I'm still
0:12 learning new things every single day
0:14 this is what I've learned so far [Music]
0:23 different is better than good and what I
0:26 mean by good is that the photo adheres
0:28 for the most part to all of those hard
0:30 and fast rules of Photography things
0:33 like rule of thirds having even lighting
0:36 using the correct portrait focal length
0:38 not shooting at too high or too low of
0:39 an angle to create perspective
0:41 Distortion things like that to give you
0:43 a demonstration here's one of the first
0:45 portraits that I ever shot it follows
0:47 all of those technical rules definitely
0:50 and it is a good image but it doesn't
0:53 mean that it's going to stand out in a
0:55 sea of other photos that look exactly
0:57 the same and that's what I mean when I
0:59 say different is better than good even
1:01 something as small as using an element
1:03 in the background of your image to frame
1:05 your subject can add something just a
1:07 little bit more interesting to your
1:08 frame when I began experimenting with
1:10 shooting from completely different
1:12 angles creating focus and shape with
1:14 lighting and framing in a way that's a
1:16 little bit more unconventional my photos
1:19 became way more interesting to look at a
1:21 photo that breaks a pattern can cause
1:23 people to linger just a few seconds
1:26 longer examining the photo and its
1:28 meaning but those few seconds are
1:30 actually what differentiates a photo
1:32 that is kind of forgettable from a photo
1:35 that is truly memorable
1:38 emotion comes first so many of my photos
1:39 when I was starting out in portrait
1:42 photography lacked any kind of direction
1:44 or goal and being a little bit
1:46 frustrated by this it forced me to
1:49 really examine my favorite portrait
1:50 photographers to sort of figure out why
1:52 their images really struck a chord with
1:54 me and what it eventually boiled down to
1:57 was that each and every photo carried an
2:00 emotion they made me feel something and
2:02 over time I realized that what separates
2:04 an average photographer from a really
2:06 great photographer is not just their
2:09 ability to create visual impact but
2:11 their ability to create emotional impact
2:13 through their images I think a really
2:15 great exercise when you're planning a
2:18 shoot is to think in terms of the viewer
2:20 and what kind of emotion you want them
2:22 to feel when they're looking at your
2:24 photos and it's something that you
2:25 really don't have to overthink at all
2:28 just start very simple you can start by
2:29 looking at Portrait photos by
2:31 photographers that you really love and
2:34 just writing down the emotions that you
2:36 think the image is conveying what do you
2:37 feeling when you see this photo and then
2:39 separate those individual elements of
2:42 the photo what is it about the pose the
2:44 lighting the background the location is
2:46 it the overall darkness of an image that
2:49 gives it a brooding Vibe is it the pose
2:50 of the subject that makes you feel a
2:52 little bit uneasy or is it the energy
2:54 and the movement in the photo that makes
2:57 it feel fun and liberating and then you
2:58 can take these lessons into your own
3:00 photography work think about lighting
3:03 and posing as one idea and not two
3:06 separate things the reality is that they
3:07 always work together one of the most
3:09 important things to remember is that the
3:13 viewers eye will always be drawn to the
3:15 brightest or the most contrasty part of
3:17 the image one big mistake that I see
3:19 some portrait photographers making and
3:21 definitely a mistake that I have made in
3:23 the past is having bright and detailed
3:26 elements in the background or in some
3:27 part of the frame that completely
3:29 distracts from the person that they're
3:31 photographing the goal here is that the
3:33 light and the way it falls on your
3:35 subject and that comes down to posing as
3:36 well which whichever way your subject is
3:38 facing will cause the light to fall
3:39 differently that lighting should not
3:42 draw attention to parts of the frame
3:43 that aren't important or don't
3:45 contribute to the story I could probably
3:46 take my own advice right here there's
3:48 some sunlight coming in from the window
3:50 if you can see it Falling on My Shoulder
3:52 here this is kind of distracting it's
3:54 very bright and it takes away from the
3:56 main focus which should be my face here
3:57 but I'm filming in a hotel room so
3:58 there's not much I can really do about
4:00 it right now think about your photograph
4:03 as a dance between the light and the
4:05 pose as a side note soft lighting will
4:06 give you much more freedom when it comes
4:08 to posing as there's less contrast
4:11 overall so difference between light and shade
4:12 shade
4:13 Simplicity is the ultimate
4:15 sophistication you might think that a
4:18 quick fix for a boring photograph is to
4:19 just add more complexity whether it's
4:21 adding a prop putting some fairy lights
4:23 in the background or changing to a more
4:25 colorful or eye-catching outfit but if
4:27 these things don't add to the overall
4:29 impact and emotion of the photo then
4:31 they are just clutter I think it's nice
4:34 just to strip it back to complete Basics
4:37 what do we actually need to create a
4:39 portrait photograph you need light a
4:41 subject and a background and that's it
4:43 one exercise I've used to really
4:45 simplify the planning for a photo shoot
4:48 is to just list out a whole bunch of
4:50 lighting ideas it could even be
4:52 something as simple as shooting in blue
4:54 hour or using the light from a Street
4:56 Lamp and then I will go ahead and
4:58 brainstorm a whole bunch of locations or
5:00 backgrounds and then I'll go through and
5:02 simply link them together I'll find
5:04 potential combinations that could create
5:06 a certain emotion and once you've got
5:08 this really simplistic idea really
5:10 stripped it back to just lighting and
5:13 location then all of your decisions from
5:14 here on should be pretty easy who's
5:16 going to be the model or subject in the
5:18 photo what kind of outfit should they
5:21 wear what expression is going to be on
5:22 their face what kind of pose will they
5:24 be doing all of these decisions should
5:26 line up with the mood that you created
5:28 through that lighting location combo
5:31 remember to start with a very basic idea
5:33 and you can add some complexity to it
5:35 but only if it adds to the overall
5:37 meaning of the photo trust your gut and
5:39 keep it simple if you need to add things
5:42 you can add things but my suggestion is
5:45 subtract subtract subtract always take
5:47 things out of the photo and make it as
5:49 simple as possible alright that's it
5:51 some of the most important things that I
5:52 have learned after shooting a hundred
5:54 thousand portrait images I really hope
5:56 you guys enjoyed this video leave a like
5:58 down below if you did and subscribe to
6:00 see more videos like this remember to
6:02 make a story worth telling and I'll see
6:04 you guys in the next video foreign
