Boudoir photography is an intimate form of portraiture that tends to be themed around private bedroom or dressing room locations, featuring subjects wearing nightwear or lingerie.

True boudoir photography centers around empowerment, not provocation, conveying the elegance of form and shape, always prioritizing a tasteful and artistic mood.

Even so, boudoir photography can feel intimidating to newcomers. But these tips from professional photographer, Emma Finch, help to dispel any trepidations and are proof that the foundations of portraiture will stand you in good stead to capture elegant and artistic boudoir images.

The following is an excerpt from PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine’s Apprentice feature (issue 165), where award-winning professional photographer Emma Finch took reader Tom Becker under her wing during a day-long boudoir photography shoot. To see more of Emma’s incredible work, visit her website.

1) Full-frame camera and lens
While Emma has she's since upgraded to a Canon EOS R5 Mark II, she has also used a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV for portraiture. For most of her work she pairs it with the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM, which is razor-sharp, fast to focus in low light and has a great zoom from wide angle at 24mm to short telephoto at 70mm.

2) Be ready to shoot
Make sure that your Canon camera and exposure settings are all good, and your lights and location are set up before you ask your model to get in position.

3) Brightest part of the shot
Although boudoir photography can often feature lingerie, it’s still portraiture – and the subject’s face is the most important part. Make sure the face is nicely lit and you’ve focused on the eye closest to you.

4) Make a pinboard
Emma loves to browse Pinterest for vintage ideas and inspiration. She creates pinboards that she can share with models, giving them an idea of the sort of theme and style she wants to achieve in her photoshoots.

5) Good crop, bad crop
You can accentuate an hourglass figure by changing composition. Make sure the shot doesn’t crop off the bust or hips, as you want to keep these areas – crop at the waist or thighs. Never crop on a joint like a knee or elbow; choose to crop either side of the joint. Above, Cherie’s hand and tip of her shoe have been cut, which makes this shot look messy. It’d be better to have a wider or tighter composition instead.

6) Experiment with lighting
Change up your lighting between flash and natural light to achieve different looks. Remember, you can always add a small amount of flash ‘fill’ to naturally light shots if need be.

7) Turn the beep on!
Emma loves to shoot with the classic Canon AF beep noise on, as it reassures her that the camera has acquired focus before firing the shutter.

8) Use a model release form
Model release forms are readily available online and are a good way of outlining your agreement with the subject and what you’re allowed to do with the images, as well as documenting the shoot details.

9) Be aware of insecurities
If your subject has an insecurity such as their short stature, you can shoot from a low angle or with a wide-angle lens to make the legs seem much longer. Also be aware of how you’re lighting your subject, so that any areas they’re self-conscious about are dark and in shadow, not having attention drawn to them.

10) Check the shot
The rear screens on Canons are great for enabling you to zoom in on shots and double-check that they’re sharp. With portraits you may be shooting with a shallow depth of field (using apertures like f/1.8 or even f/1.4), so it’s crucial that you get the focus spot-on. It only takes a few seconds to do.

11) Show your subject your shots
Communication is a key part of getting your subject to feel relaxed. Be sure to share some of your best shots with them throughout the shoot, so they can see what’s being achieved – they may also have suggestions that you hadn’t thought of.

12) Lead-in limbs
The arms and legs can be positioned to use them as curves or leading lines that draw the viewer in and lead their eye through the image, just like with landscapes.

13) Have fun!
Boudoir photography can be quite moody and serious, but it doesn’t have to be! Moments where your model is smiling or laughing can work brilliantly well, too.

You might also like...

If you're into portrait photography then you'll probably be interested in the best lenses for portraits and the best camera for portraits. If you're thinking of jumping into the world of artificial lighting, here are the best photography lighting kits.

I've been a professional portrait photographer for over a decade – and learning about the "trinity primes" for portraiture changed how I used my camera.

If you've ever wondered why your people pictures don't quite look or feel right, there's a pretty good chance that you're using the wrong lens. Or perhaps, using the right lens in the wrong situation.

Even the best lenses for portraits are only effective if you use them appropriately. Shooting with a lens in a circumstance for which it wasn't designed can distort features, warp proportions and cause chaos for your composition – and that's before you get to things like subject separation and depth of field.

If you want to improve your portrait photography, this is the single best piece of advice I can give you – and I always carry these three focal lengths with me for portrait work.

You don't have to own all three, but understanding how to use each one will make a world of difference to your portraiture – and perhaps help you decide which one you need to add to your kit bag.

Knowing the right tool for the job is the surest start to getting the shot you want…

Full-length

When photographing a subject full-length, use a 35mm wide-angle lens. When shooting, your lens should be in line with the subject's navel.

(For medium format cameras, this will be around 44mm; for APS-C bodies, it's 23mm (unless you're on a Canon, in which case it's about 21mm); for Micro Four Thirds cameras, it's a 17mm lens.)

An equivalent 35mm focal length will flatter full-length figures, keeping the body in proportion. But it's important to shoot level with the midsection and in alignment with your subject; shooting up will lengthen the legs and squash the torso, shooting down will do the opposite.

Moving in closer than full-length with a 35mm will start to distort the subject; if you've ever taken a headshot with a wide-angle lens (or your standard phone camera), you'll know what I mean! This is not a lens designed for close-ups, unless you're doing so with intention – and your subject doesn't mind having elongated features.

Half-length

When photographing a subject half-length, use a 50mm lens. When shooting, your lens should be in line with the subject's chest.

(For medium format, this will be around 63mm; for APS-C bodies, it's 33mm (or 31mm for Canon); for Micro Four Thirds cameras, it's a 25mm lens.)

Again, a 50mm lens when shooting a half-length (or a three-quarter or torso shot) will naturally flatter the figure and features. Moving in closer with a 50mm to shoot a headshot will not distort your subject as severely as a wide-angle lens, but it will still introduce unnecessary optical effects.

Headshot

When photographing a subject's headshot, use an 85mm lens (or 90mm, if that's more common on your system). When shooting, your lens should be in line with the subject's nose.

(For medium format, this will be around 107mm; for APS-C bodies, it's 55mm (or 52mm for Canon); for Micro Four Thirds cameras, it's a 42mm lens.)

An 85mm lens is specifically designed to photograph a frame-filling headshot with minimal distortion. In crude terms, as I was taught while I was an apprentice, a long lens "makes noses shorter".

All things being equal, it can also inherently render shallower depth of field – which can create separation by blurring the background and making your subject stand out (provided there is sufficient distance between them and what's behind them).

Break the rules (after learning them!)

I can, of course, hear immediate umbrage and uproar. "You can use any lens you like! You can take a headshot with a fisheye lens if you really want to!"

Yes, I know. In fact, I shot the above half-length portrait on an 18mm fisheye. And the below full-length on a 300mm. And the environmental shot below that with a 40mm.

You can, indeed, use any lens you like – but only, as I said earlier, if you're doing so with intention. A 35mm lens is perfect for environmental portraits, but I've seen far too many photographers trying to take a headshot with one. And sometimes that's because they've been using a 35mm on a crop sensor camera, where it becomes a nifty fifty so you can get away with it.

So again: you need to know what your lens is designed for, how it behaves on the camera with which you're using it, and whether you're using it "right" or "wrong" you need to do so consciously to get the effect you need.

My "trinity primes" are ideal for use in a studio or commercial setup – which is where I started using this setup – because not only do they each flatter the subject for their respective shots, they can each be used interchangeable to retain the same perspective without having to move yourself, your subject or your lighting.

I can stand in the exact same position and take a full-length, half-length and headshot without moving my feet – just by changing the lens on my camera.

But the truth is, if space and moving things is no object, you should shoot everything on the longest lens possible. When I can, I love shooting full-length shots with my 150mm lens because it offers the most flattering, least distorted reproduction of what's in front of me with the greatest amount of (and usually greatest quality) bokeh.

However, its magnification also affects the background; so while it's great for carving out and isolating a subject, it obliterates or obfuscates your environment. (And the working distance makes communicating with your subject a challenge!) Which is why shooting with a wider lens – like 40mm in the example below – is useful as it captures the scene while also flattering the subject.

But 90% of the time – especially with most of my client work being indoors, with limited working distance – sticking to the trinity prime portrait lenses will never let you down.

You might also like…

Check out the best cameras for portraits along with the best portrait lenses. I would personally recommend the Olympus M.Zuiko 75mm f/1.8, the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM and the Zhongyi Optics Mitakon Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95.

There's a quote in the new Taschen monograph, Arnold, that every portrait photographer needs to read.

Reflecting on the experience of being shot for film campaigns and magazine features, Schwarzenegger says: "They always shoot up, so the camera is right there in front of you, making you taller, more impressive, and the results are always terrific.

"You might go in your trailer, look in the mirror, and say, 'I look like shit,' but it doesn't matter. The way they shoot, you will always look like a stud."

It's a line delivered with his characteristic chutzpah, but it also contains a genuine insight: camera angle is everything – and the right photographer with the right perspective can make any subject look extraordinary.

That insight runs through this remarkable book, which lands on July 14 and is edited by Dian Hanson for Taschen's XL format.

At 528 pages and $150 / £125 (Australian pricing to be confirmed), it's a serious investment, but what you're getting is one of the most comprehensively photographed lives in modern history.

Schwarzenegger didn't just happen to be photographed well; he understood, instinctively and early, that the relationship between subject and photographer was a collaborative one, and he brought the same competitive intensity to a studio session that he brought to the stage at Mr Olympia.

The book traces his story from an impoverished childhood in Thal, Austria, through his rise as a young bodybuilder, his conquest of Hollywood and, eventually, the California Governor's office.

Along the way, an extraordinary cast of photographers found in him a subject who was, quite simply, unlike anyone else they'd worked with: a body that defied credibility, a face that was simultaneously strange and magnetic, and a personality that filled a room.

The results, gathered here across seven decades, amount to one of the great photographic records of any single human being.

The Pumping Iron effect

The turning point, photographically, came with the 1977 documentary Pumping Iron, which introduced Schwarzenegger to an audience far beyond the bodybuilding world – and, crucially, to a new generation of photographers and artists who found in him something they hadn't anticipated.

As he recalls in the book: "Pumping Iron brought the photographers and painters: Elliott Erwitt, Robert Mapplethorpe, Francesco Scavullo, Jamie Wyeth, Andy Warhol, Leroy Neiman; one after the other they photographed and painted me."

That's a roll call worth thinking about. Erwitt, one of the great humanist documentary photographers; Mapplethorpe, whose formal rigor and interest in the male body made him a natural fit; Scavullo, the defining portrait photographer of celebrity in that era; Warhol, who understood better than anyone how to transform a person into an icon.

Each brought their own language to the same subject. And the contrast between their approaches, all visible in this collection, is itself a masterclass in how differently the same body can be read by different eyes and lenses.

It was also where a long professional relationship began with Annie Leibovitz. "At the time, we thought she was super cool and kind of a hippie photographer that was game for anything," Schwarzenegger recalls.

She would, of course, go on to become the definitive chronicler of US celebrity, and her sessions with Arnold across the decades form some of the book's most compelling material.

A subject who understood the craft

What separates the photography in Arnold from a standard celeb retrospective is the sense that the subject was never passive.

Look at the early images shot on Austrian hillsides: a young man in blue trunks against a sky of improbable blue, relaxed in his body in a way that reads as complete self-knowledge.

These weren't candids, they were collaborations – and they show a subject who understood intuitively how to give a photographer what they needed.

The later studio work, particularly Herb Ritts' stark black-and-white portraits and the monumental Sante D'Orazio images, demonstrates what happens when an exceptional photographer meets a subject with no inhibitions and no bad angles to avoid.

The low-angle shot that Schwarzenegger describes isn't just a trick of perspective; it's a recognition that the camera can reveal what the eye misses, that the right position transforms.

For photographers, this is ultimately what makes Arnold worth the investment. It's not a celebrity biography with pictures, but a genuine record of photographic collaboration across half a century.

The range of approaches, from intimate personal snapshots to monumental studio productions, from grainy documentary to the precise glamour of a Mapplethorpe formal study, covers almost every mode of portrait photography.

The subject changes across those decades, and so does the photography around him. Together they tell a story about how a face and a body can be read differently in each era, by each new pair of eyes behind a lens.

Arnold XL by Dian Hanson is published by Taschen on July 14, priced $150 / £125.

You might also like…

Take a look at the best cameras for portraits along with the best portrait lenses. See how Arnold's tome compares to the best books on photography – and where the greats who shot him rank among the 50 best photographers ever.

If you’re a fan of Marilyn Monroe then you’ll know that the Hollywood and cultural icon wasn’t always known as Marilyn. She was born Norma Jeane Mortenson, a name she would use during the early years of her career as a model. CBS New York has reported on the unveiling of a plaque to mark the site of one of her formative photoshoots, while commemorating the location’s role as an important stepping stone in her legendary rise to superstardom.

Then-23-year-old Norma Jeane visited Long Island’s Tobay Beach with her long-time collaborator, Hungarian-born American photographer André de Dienes, in June of 1949 to capture a series of pin-up style portraits against the locale’s blue skies and sandy shoreline. According to the new plaque, Marilyn was quoted as stating “Let’s make history!”

André certainly took her literally, because the photographs are said to have piqued the interest of casting directors, helping to catapult the start of Norma’s Hollywood film career where she would be introduced to the world as Marilyn Monroe.

The Some Like it Hot and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes star would become one of the most photographed people of the 20th century, not to mention the subject of some of the most recognizable images of all time, such as Sam Shaw’s photograph of the billowing white dress from The Seven Year Itch set and Gene Kornman’s promo portrait of the star for 1953’s Niagara, which was the inspiration of Andy Warhol’s world-famous diptychs.

The news of the Tobay Beach plaque coincides with a series of celebrations surrounding the centenary of the legendary actor’s birth, whereby photography exhibitions are being held at London’s National Portrait Gallery and Los Angeles’ Academy Awards Museum. ACC Art Books has also published Marilyn Monroe 100: The Official Centenary Book, the only official book that celebrates the icon in photos.

You might also like...

If you're interested in portrait photography, here are the best portrait lenses and the best photography lighting kits. And for more imaging stories, here's the latest camera news.

Few musicians shaped their visual identity as carefully as David Bowie. From Ziggy Stardust to Aladdin Sane, his collaborations with photographers helped create some of the most iconic images in rock history.

So when six eminent photographers got together at the atmospheric Lightroom centre in London, England, to talk about their photos of Bowie to rock journalist Miranda Sawyer, it made for a fascinating event for fans and creators alike.

Richard Young, one of the most famous celebrity photographers alive, showed a photo of Bowie jokingly sparring with Beatles star Paul McCartney backstage at Live Aid in 1983, relaxed and jovial, but also a more vulnerable shot of Bowie playing the Elephant Man on stage in New York in 1980.

"And as you know, in most theaters around the world, especially in America, they do not like you taking a camera into the theater... you know you're going to be thrown out," explained Young. So he had to take the photo by stealth.

When Bowie found out later, he complained that Young should have told him he was there "and I would have done something special for you". But Young wanted to catch him unawares to get that intimate portrait.

Punk photographer Denis O'Regan was next, and talked entertainingly about going on tour with Bowie in order to compile a book of photos. He showcased a striking shot of the artist in front of the Berlin Wall, unaware that 18 months later the wall would be torn down.

He also told a story about Bowie chastizing him for throwing the photos he rejected away in the bins in his hotel rooms, from which hotel cleaners could collect them: "He'd built up all the evidence. So then I had to destroy them." O'Regan had to lug the rejected photos around in his suitcase.

Then we heard from a friend of Bowie's from school in Bromley, Geoff MacCormack, who was self-deprecating about his photographic skills but showed us my favourite photo of the night – a redhaired Bowie smoking in front of a loans shop in New Mexico, caught off-guard.

"What a beautiful shot that is," Sawyer enthused. "David was doing his job beautifully," McCormack said. "He was a kind of machine." He also shared a striking picture of the late Rebel Rebel singer asleep on a Trans Siberian Railway train after a hard night of drinking with Russian soldiers.

After a short interval, we heard from venerated rock photographer Kevin Cummins. The first time he shot Bowie, he said, "he was wearing this absolutely terrible Versace satin jacket", which was not how he'd imagined him. Sawyer asked for more detail on the jacket but Cummins couldn't oblige, though apologized to anyone in the audience who might be wearing a similar jacket.

However, in the rehearsal, Bowie took off the offending garment and Cummins managed to get a moody silhouetted picture of the star smoking.

Fashion photographer Tony McGee came next, showcasing three very similar yet unique studio shots, with Sawyer praising his "strong aesthetic".

McGee spoke about trying to get Bowie to stop drinking one night before an important shoot, imploring Bono and other stars for help with this, but all the musicians refused as they said they'd never seen Bowie so happy.

McGee apologized for name-dropping, and Sawyer reassured him that it was fine – that in anecdotes featuring Bowie, there were bound to be a ton of celebrities.

Last we heard from Chris Duffy, the photographer son of famous photographer Brian Duffy (styled as simply Duffy). The latter took the iconic and seminal photo of Bowie as Aladdin Sane, complete with painted flash down his face, which was used by hundreds of outlets to illustrate the news of Bowie's death in January 2016.

"I think that the connection between David and Duffy is very special," said his son. The resulting spectacular photos of that collaboration are certainly some of rock's most memorable.

You might also like…

Take a look at the best cameras for portraits and the best portrait lenses.

Many portrait photographers would dream of shooting someone influential and world-famous. Pretty good for the résumé, right? But at the same time, it's a tricky ask. How do you go about photographing someone who's already an icon? Your subject walks in carrying every image of themselves that already exists. How do you come up with something fresh?

Shirin Neshat had exactly this dilemma when the National Portrait Gallery commissioned her in March 2018 to photograph Malala Yousafzai, the youngest Nobel Prize winner in history. Her answer was to put the camera down and pick up a pen. Or rather: to use both.

An inventive process

Neshat, an Iranian-born artist based in New York, is known for work that examines women's lives within Islamic culture through photography, video and film. She won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Biennale in 1999 and has directed feature films screened at major international festivals.

When she photographed Malala, she took a series of images during a sitting in London. Then, working from the selected prints, she hand-inscribed in calligraphy a poem written in Malala's honor by the Pashtu poet Rahmat Shah Sayel, writing it directly onto the photographic surface.

The poem, titled Malala II, was written in 2011, when the teenager had already become well known as an education activist in Pakistan's Swat Valley. It draws a connection between her and the legendary Malala of Maiwand, a 19th-century Pashtun heroine said to have inspired her countrymen in battle.

Neshat inscribed the text in Farsi script, using exaggerated calligraphic accents that she acknowledged go beyond strict linguistic correctness, describing them as a visual choice rooted in the aesthetics of her own practice.

The resulting portraits, of which there are two in the National Portrait Gallery collection, are harder to categorize than a straight photograph. They're photographic in origin but layered: the script covers the background and, in places, the subject's face.

In the shot shown here, Malala is shown seated at a school desk with an open book, hands folded across the pages, her expression direct and composed. The dense calligraphic text that surrounds her functions both as context and atmosphere; a kind of visual map of the political and cultural territory she lives and breathes.

The day of the shoot

Neshat admitted she felt intimidated in the lead-up to the shoot. Malala had survived a Taliban assassination attempt at 15, won the Nobel Peace Prize at 17 and gone on to study philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford. "Yet as she arrived at the studio," Neshat later said, "I was immediately taken aback by her timid, gentle and innocent demeanour."

The gap between the public figure and the person in the room is something photographers often speak about. Neshat found it profound here, and it informed every compositional decision she made.

The school desk portrait was also unveiled in Birmingham, UK, in 2020 as part of the NPG's Coming Home initiative, travelling to Malala's adopted city as one of 50 works loaned to locations across the UK. It's also now showing as part of Stories – Brought to Life, a new immersive collaboration between FRAMELESS and the National Portrait Gallery in London, running until September 12 and included in the standard entry ticket.

Projected at enormous scale across floor-to-ceiling screens, with animation, archival material and original sound, the 15-minute experience also features imagery of Nelson Mandela, Amy Winehouse, Queen Elizabeth II and William Shakespeare.

At this scale, Neshat's calligraphy becomes architectural. The Pashtu script fills the walls around the image of a young woman sitting quietly with a book – which is, in essence, exactly what the portrait is trying to say.

South African leader Nelson Mandela (1918–2013) was photographed more than almost any political figure of the 20th century. Yet in truth, most of his portraits look pretty similar. Beaming smile, thumbs aloft, the warm glow of a man who survived 27 years in prison without losing his humanity. In February 1997, Jillian Edelstein decided to do something about it.

Then working as a freelancer in London, she had flown to Cape Town to document the work of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the body tasked with confronting the crimes of the apartheid era. As part of this, she was asked to photograph Mandela, by then three years into his presidency, at his official residence. This was the same house, on the same balcony, where solely white presidents had lived and governed during the Apartheid system of racial segregation. Edelstein, who was born and raised in Cape Town during that era, understood the weight of the moment.

She waited. In one moment of pause, as Mandela reflected on the reconciliation process unfolding around him, his expression shifted. "In that moment," Edelstein later recalled, "he suddenly looked reflective and almost downcast... it was very powerful."

The result, a bromide fibre print taken on 6 February 1997: now part of the National Portrait Gallery's collection and one of the most arresting photographs ever made of the legendary 20th century figure.

An outsider with an inside view

Edelstein didn't arrive as a neutral observer. Born in Cape Town during the apartheid years, she'd started her career as a newspaper photographer in Johannesburg in 1981, before moving to London in 1985 to study photojournalism. For her, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission wasn't just an assignment; it was a deeply personal reckoning. Her book Truth and Lies, published in 2000, drew on her years photographing the commission's work and won much critical praise.

The portrait itself is spare and direct. Mandela sits in three-quarter view, head angled slightly downward, wearing a dark shirt with a light-colored repeating pattern. There's no theatrical lighting, no obvious drama. The power comes from what's withheld: the smile the world expected is absent, replaced by something heavier and more considered.

It's a textbook demonstration of what portrait photographers often describe but rarely achieve: the image that tells you something the subject wasn't necessarily trying to say.

Knowing that almost every existing photograph showed Mandela at his most exuberant, Edelstein deliberately held back from prompting or directing. The patience that produced the image is as much a photographic decision as any technical one.

Now shown at scale

The portrait is now getting another chapter as part of Stories – Brought to Life, a new 15-minute immersive experience at FRAMELESS London, developed in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery and running until 12 September.

Included in the standard FRAMELESS ticket, the experience transforms portraits of Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, Amy Winehouse, Queen Elizabeth II and William Shakespeare into building-scale projections, surrounded by archival footage, animation and original sound design.

At this size, Edelstein's photograph offers new insights. The pattern on Mandela's shirt, barely a detail at print size, fragments outward across the surrounding space like a constellation of tiny symbols. Visitors standing in front of the image are dwarfed by his face, recreating something of the emotional scale the photograph already carries, but rarely gets to show.

There's a line in Avedon, Ron Howard's new documentary movie about legendary New York photographer Richard Avedon (1923-2004), that really hits home for me. A former studio assistant recalls, matter-of-factly, that Avedon "wasn't technical".

For a man who defined the visual language of the 20th century, who shot decades of Vogue and Harper's Bazaar covers, who photographed Marilyn Monroe, Pablo Picasso and a teenage Lew Alcindor (aka basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), that's a remarkable thing to hear.

And it suggests that everything you think photography is about might be exactly the wrong thing to focus on.

The film, which had its world premiere at Cannes this week and is made in collaboration with the Richard Avedon Foundation, runs for 104 minutes and covers a 60-year career with impressive breadth.

There are contact sheets, home movies, archival interviews and a roster of talking heads including Lauren Hutton, Isabella Rossellini, Twiggy and Calvin Klein.

For anyone who picks up a camera, though, the most interesting thing here will be the film's exploration of Avedon's method. His signature was a plain white background and nothing else: no props, no environmental context, no impediments between the photographer and the person in front of him.

What filled that emptiness was rapport. Avedon charmed, cajoled, played and waited. He'd catch a weary, unguarded Marilyn Monroe when the sparkle had gone flat, or coax something brittle and anxious from the Duke and Duchess of Windsor rather than the regal composure they'd rehearsed.

A sitting with Wallis Simpson and Prince Edward became, in his hands, a study in barely suppressed misery. He got there not through technical brilliance but through the same skills that a good interviewer employs: patience, attention and a talent for making people forget they were being watched.

What the contact sheets reveal

The press images for the film are worth studying in their own right. The Marilyn Monroe contact sheet from May 1957 shows a half-dozen frames, each subtly different: arms raised in delight, chin resting on a hand, arms folded, a glance away from camera.

The final selected image would have been one frame among dozens, perhaps hundreds. This is Avedon's real craft on display – not the technical act of exposure but the editorial intelligence of selection: knowing which millisecond tells the truth.

The contact sheet from 1967 of German model and actress Veruschka von Lehndorff makes the same point differently. Twelve frames of a model in a wide-brimmed hat, each one a variation on energy and movement. Avedon famously invited his subjects to dance and move while he shot, understanding that a static pose was a kind of lie.

Motion, Avedon believed, broke down performance and revealed character. That instinct is now so embedded in how photographers work that it's easy to forget someone had to pioneer it.

Why it's worth a watch

Ron Howard's film is a respectful and occasionally cautious portrait: made with the Foundation's co-operation, it skirts some of the more contested territory of Avedon's personal life. But what it does give us is a portrait of a photographer who was, at heart, a people person who happened to hold a camera.

Avedon was sent to Paris in 1947, barely out of his teens, and photographed a new Dior collection. The swirling hems of post-war haute couture were, in his framing, an act of defiance: Europe insisting on beauty after devastation.

That political instinct ran through everything he did, from his Civil Rights-era portraiture to his large-format panoramas of American military brass exhibited alongside images of Vietnamese napalm victims.

The gear didn't do any of that. The eye did, and behind the eye, the relationship. Avedon is screening now at Cannes and seeking US distribution. It's worth catching whenever it lands.

You might also like…

See where Richard Avedon ranks among the 50 best photographers ever. To follow in his footsteps, take a look at the best cameras for portraits and the best portrait lenses.

There's a particular kind of vision only photographers seem to possess. The conviction that if you drive far enough, knock on enough doors, and press the shutter often enough, you can make a country reveal itself.

Robert Frank did it. Dorothea Lange did it. Now British photographer Mahtab Hussain is preparing to do it with a 90-day road trip across America, and he's asking the public to help fund it.

The project is called Muslims in America, and Hussain has been building it since 2021, when he began photographing Muslim communities across six cities: Toronto, New York, LA, Baltimore, Syracuse and Dearborn, Michigan. The work combines formal portraits with video interviews, giving each sitter space to speak plainly about faith, identity and what it feels like to grow up or grow old in a country that has, since 9/11, often regarded Islam with suspicion.

The resulting images are striking precisely because they resist the obvious. There's a Dearborn police officer in hijab. A tattooed Afghan-American actor. A halal barbecue chef who dreams about spice combinations in his sleep. A convert from Nevada who says her blonde hair confuses people into assuming she cannot possibly be Muslim.

Emerging from the shadow

"With 9/11, a long shadow fell," Hussain says. "For years, many Muslims felt they needed to be invisible to survive. But two decades on, a new generation is not hiding."

That's the conceptual heart of the work, and it explains why the road trip matters as much as the images themselves. Hussain describes the series as a "collective self-portrait," and those words are chosen carefully. These are not documents. They are collaborations. The sitters, as he puts it, are co-authors.

The road trip, planned for 18 June to 16 September, will take Hussain from South Paterson, New Jersey (home to Arab-American communities settled since the 19th century) through Islamberg, a rural Muslim hamlet in upstate New York founded in the 1980s, down to Islamville in South Carolina, across to Houston's fast-growing Latino Muslim community, out to the Grand Canyon and finally north to Vancouver.

The itinerary in itself has something profound to say: Islam in America is not one thing, not one ethnicity, not one geography.

For photographers, meanwhile, there's a lot to admire in Hussain's methodology. He works across stills, video and audio, building each portrait into something closer to an archive than a single image. He's also frank about the practical challenge of the form. Portraiture at this scale requires extraordinary levels of trust, and trust requires time. Ninety days, dozens of communities, hundreds of potential sitters: the logistics alone are formidable.

Crowdfunding rewards

Which brings us to the Kickstarter. Hussain launches his crowdfunding campaign on 18 April, running for 30 days, and the rewards are well-considered. At the higher end sits a limited portfolio of 30 giclée prints on Canson Platine Fiber Rag, cloth-bound and signed, in an edition of 12.

There's also a limited-edition journal of 250 copies, combining road trip diary entries with finished portraits, published with London art book house Bemojake. The first public showing of the completed work – a digital projection – is planned for December, with a children's book and exhibitions to follow.

The Kickstarter campaign opens 18 April 18 2026 at kickstarter.com. Learn more about the project at mahtabhussain.com.

Ever since I came across Passport Photo Service: An Unexpected Archive of Celebrity Portraits, I've been thinking about portrait photography differently. Published by Phaidon, this new book brings together more than 300 photographs taken at a single London studio between 1953 and 2019.

Its subjects include Muhammad Ali, Sean Connery, Mick Jagger, Joan Collins, Madonna, Kate Winslet, Tilda Swinton and David Hockney. Yet none of them were there to get publicity shots. They were there to get a travel document.

Consider what that means, technically. No stylist, no lighting rig, no art director whispering adjustments. Just a plain backdrop, a fixed flash and about ten seconds to look like yourself, or at least a version of yourself that a border official will accept. For ordinary people, the results can border on humiliating. For the famous, they offer something far rarer: honesty.

An unlikely portrait studio

The studio was founded in 1953 by Dave Sharkey, a former professional boxer, and his wife Ann. Before opening on Oxford Street, Dave had cut his teeth shooting tourists on a Trafalgar Square pitch run by the Dove family, cameras slung around his neck, working fast in the open air. That grounding in speed and instinct would define the business he went on to build.

Its Oxford Street location was key: close to the US Embassy and Selfridges, it was a junction where the famous and the ordinary rubbed shoulders daily. The studio's promise of prints "ready in 10 minutes" was a genuine innovation at the time, drawing a steady clientele for more than six decades until it closed in 2019.

Dave's son Philip eventually took over, and it is his voice that runs through the book's captions and anecdotes. And he has some stories to tell. Joan Collins visited three times between 1971 and 1988. By her third visit she was at the peak of her Dynasty fame, and left the customers in the waiting room open-mouthed as she greeted staff with "Darlings, how are you? It's so nice to see you all again," before announcing she never goes anywhere else for her passport photos. She also knew exactly how she wanted to be posed.

Bianca Jagger came in wearing a wide-brimmed hat. Philip politely advised her it would not be accepted for a passport. "They will for me," she replied, and never came back for a retake. She was, apparently, right. Muhammad Ali stopped by en route to The Rumble in the Jungle. Uri Geller bent the studio's only spoon. They had not asked him to.

What photographers can learn

For anyone who shoots portraits, this archive raises a quietly provocative question: what happens when you strip away every advantage a photographer usually brings to a session?

Passport photos operate under rigid rules: neutral background, flat and even lighting, no shadows on the face, look straight ahead, do not smile. The format exists to identify, not to flatter. The subject cannot perform, because there is nothing to perform for. The photographer cannot manipulate, because the format does not allow it.

Speaking to me from Torquay in Devon, where he's since retired, Philip explains that the technical demands were once considerably higher than they are today. "When we used our Micropress and later our Sinar large format 5x4 cameras, we had to relax, pose and snap our subjects just right, as they only got one chance," he points out. "It was much more of a skill. When digital came in you could take hundreds of shots for no extra cost. Negatives were half the profit, so we had to get it right first time."

That pressure sharpened his eye in ways that are visible throughout the archive. Sean Connery in 1977 glowers at the lens with the intensity that made him a star. Van Morrison, photographed in 1988, stares into the middle distance with magnificent indifference, barely acknowledging the camera or apparently anyone in the room. Nancy Spungen, just two months before her death, fixes the lens with an expression no conventional portrait session could have manufactured.

The passport photo is not a lesser form of portraiture. It is, in many ways, a purer one. What the format removes, it turns out, is mostly noise.

An accidental archive

Philip Sharkey did not set out to build a celebrity portrait archive. He set out to run a photography business. The famous faces were simply customers who needed visa photos, and the studio treated them accordingly: politely, efficiently, without fuss.

That unselfconsciousness is what makes the archive so compelling. These are not portraits created with posterity in mind. They are working documents that happened to feature extraordinary people, photographed by a family more interested in getting the exposure right than in the significance of who was sitting in the chair.

As Stephen Fry, a regular customer, writes in the book, those lucky enough to have sat before Philip's lens always left feeling they had participated in a ritual that elevated them to a special kind of club. He calls this "wonderfully produced memoir" a vivid evocation of a vanished time in the capital.

He's right that it captures a vanished time. But it also captures something relevant to photographers today: the idea that the best pictures of people are sometimes the ones neither party was trying very hard to make.

Passport Photo Service: An Unexpected Archive of Celebrity Portraits is published by Phaidon on April 15, priced $24.95 / £19.95.

Preorder at Amazon.com
Preorder at Amazon UK

As an extremely lazy person, my favorite shoot location is my kitchen. Clients travel to me, and all I have to do is move from my bed to the dining table, where there's most natural light. But I live out in London's Zone 3, and sometimes my clients are equally lazy (or just have hectic lives) and want to stay in Zone 1. So, as a compromise, I shoot in a coffee shop in Central London – a large and busy branch of LEON in the Brunswick Centre, Russell Square.

It might be most photographers' idea of hell. It's noisy, with the coffee machines grinding and whirring, and customers and staff shouting over the din. It has a ton of people walking around in the background. I don't have permission to shoot there. I've never asked for it, because why ask when the answer might be a no?

Then again, how many people do you see asking for permission when they use the best camera phones to take photos?

The coffee shop is a refuge away from the wind and rain, which there is a lot of in the UK, especially in the autumn and winter months. It has great natural light from two whole sides of large windows. Conveniently, it also has a toilet where my clients can change their outfits, so all the photos from their shoot won't look the same.

When they arrive, I always buy them a drink so they can chill out before I start snapping away. As they sip their hot beverage of choice, I ask what they're hoping to achieve from the shoot – what vibe do they want? What will they use the photos for?

I also ask about their work and we have a good chat about nothing and everything. If they feel comfortable with me, they'll look more natural in the pics.

When I begin to direct my client into poses, the noise and busyness of the coffee shop actually works in our favour, because there are so many people that nobody's paying attention to them. And if the staff have ever spotted me taking pictures, they can't care much, as they've never stopped me. Perhaps it would be different if I'd just snuck in and started shooting without buying anything, but I'm a paying customer.

Sure, there are random people in the background of my shots, but I use an aperture of around f/1.8 - f/2.4, so they blur into insignificance – and I can always remove them in Photoshop using the AI Remove tool. I have been asked to remove the LEON sign before, which is fair enough; not everyone wants to advertise a coffee shop in their LinkedIn profile picture!

I'm profoundly grateful to LEON for turning a blind eye to my trade. It's my new favorite coffee shop, and that fact has nothing to do with the drinks, and everything with not having to pay to hire a studio. Plus, it's a more natural and less sterile environment – so what's not to love?

You might also like

Check the best lens for portrait photography – if you save money on studios, you might have a bit left for gear. You might also want to look at the best camera bags, or to stay subtle, the best messenger bags for photographers.

I recently photographed an older lady and demonstrated to her how I could use FaceApp to alter and beautify her features. She was stunned and gratified by her improved appearance, saying in a surprised tone, 'I look fantastic!'

'Oh yes,' I chuckled. 'You'd be amazed by what you can do with AI these days.'

Suddenly her face darkened. 'Oh, it's AI? I don't want you to use AI to edit my photos!'

I frowned. I wanted to ask her: "What exactly do you think AI is? Do you realise Photoshop has incorporated AI tools for nearly a decade now? Do you really think these are likely to lead to the death of humanity as we know it?"

But, not wanting to lose the commission, I told her I wouldn't use AI to alter her features – "I'll do it manually in Photoshop."

She still wanted me to erase her wrinkles, though, so, ironically, I had to use Photoshop's AI remove tool in order to do that, because the clone tool just isn't as quick or effective.

She's not the only person to have objected to my use of AI: potential clients often say, 'I like your photos' and then ask if I use artificial intelligence to create them. When I say yes, they walk away or I never hear back.

Basically, clients want all the results of AI, but they don't want you to employ it when editing their photos, so they can feel less guilty. I'm not sure if their opposition to artificial intelligence is based on a dislike of the results not being entirely human-made or a fear that robots will take over the world and keep us as their slaves, but it leaves photographers in an impossible position – because AI greatly enhances photos and if we don't use it, our competitors still will. They'll get more work as a result, and our businesses will suffer.

As for the elderly client, she was delighted with the results of my Photoshopping, so I kept schtum about my use of the AI Remove tool. I think that's the key to keeping clients happy: just don't mention the dreaded AI – or claim it stands for 'Aesthetic Improvement'. It's only a tiny white lie.

You might also like

We've been looking at the latest AI features in Photoshop, including Photoshop's new AI Assistant chatbot.

The myth of American photographer Diane Arbus (1923-71) is remarkably durable. Mention her name and a familiar shorthand materializes. The documenter of "freaks", of outsiders, of those on the very margins of American life.

It's a theme that's calcified into received wisdom, reinforced by decades of critical writing and gallery retrospectives. But the problem with received wisdom is that it tends to stop us actually looking.

Consider three photographs from the collection of Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner, coming to auction at Bonhams New York this April. Together, they make the case for a different Arbus entirely.

The first is Courtship, Teenage Couple, Hudson St, 1963, the collection's headline photography lot. A boy and a girl stand against a brick wall. He has his arm around her shoulder with the studied casualness of someone who has been practising. She holds herself slightly apart, not quite leaning in.

Neither of them is a freak. Neither is marginal. They're entirely ordinary; two teenagers on the verge of something, uncertain of their footing, performing couplehood for a camera and perhaps for each other.

What Arbus captures here is not otherness but self-consciousness: the universal, slightly excruciating experience of being looked at before you have decided who you are.

Defying categorization

The second, Two Ladies at the Automat, NYC, 1966, tilts the argument further. Two older women sit in a diner booth, dressed with careful formality: elaborate hats, jewellery, patterned jackets. One holds a cigarette.

Both look directly into the lens with an expression that resists easy categorization. It is not warmth, nor hostility, nor the blank stare of the unwitting subject. It is composure.

These women have chosen how they wish to appear in the world and they are not about to be talked out of it by a camera. If Arbus was hunting vulnerability, she found the opposite here. What she found was armor.

The third photograph is perhaps the most revealing of all. Four People at a Gallery Opening, NYC depicts the kind of scene Arbus is rarely associated with: evening dress, cocktail glasses, chandeliers.

These are establishment figures in an establishment setting. And yet Arbus finds in them the same quality she found everywhere.

The slight awkwardness of the social performance. The gap between the role being played and the person playing it. The man on the left grins too broadly. The woman looks a little lost and detached. They are not outsiders. They are all of us, caught in the act of trying.

Seen together, these three images reframe everything. Arbus' subject was not deviance. It was the experience of being observed, and the extraordinary variety of ways that human beings meet that experience.

Illuminating the strangeness

There is something fitting about the fact that these particular photographs were owned by Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner.

These two celebrated women, who'd spent careers being looked at, understood instinctively what Arbus was doing. Not pointing at the strange, but illuminating the strangeness that lives inside the ordinary. Every social occasion a performance. Every portrait a negotiation.

To truly collect Arbus is to understand that she was never really interested in outsiders. She was interested in the inside of everyone.

Lily Tomlin & Jane Wagner: Wit, Women & The Art of Collecting takes place at Bonhams New York on April 08 2026. The accompanying online sale runs March 31 - April 9.

You might also like…

See where Arbus ranks among the best photographers ever, and take a look at the best cameras for portraits and the best portrait lenses.

There's a lesson buried in the story of Irving Penn's Cuzco project, and it's one that every photographer working today would do well to absorb. It has nothing to do with technique, equipment, or artistic vision. It's simpler than that: when the assignment ends, keep shooting.

Penn arrived in Lima, Peru in December 1948 on a fashion job for Vogue. Standard brief, standard destination. But instead of catching the next flight home, he kept going; boarding a small plane to Cuzco, the ancient Inca capital sitting at an elevation of 3,400 metres in the Andes.

He had no commission, no art director, no brief. What he did have was a Rolleiflex and a frantic 72-hour window. In that three-day marathon, Penn produced more than 2,000 exposures; a staggering volume of work in a pre-digital age that suggests a photographer working in a state of pure, uninterrupted flow.

What followed has since been recognised as a landmark moment in portrait photography. And now The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles has announced the acquisition of 189 prints from Penn's Cuzco series, gifted by The Irving Penn Foundation.

The collection includes 178 gelatin silver prints and 11 platinum-palladium prints, along with a book maquette and two original issues of American Vogue in which the images first appeared in 1949. It is, by any measure, a significant moment for photographic history.

What photographers can learn

What makes the Cuzco project so instructive for photographers isn't just the quality of the resulting images; it's the method.

Penn didn't wander the streets with his camera hoping for decisive moments. He rented a local portrait studio, invited people in (market traders, children, couples, laborers) and photographed them against found backdrops, using natural light filtered through the studio windows.

The image below tells that story beautifully. You can see the large-format camera in the foreground, the painted studio backdrop behind the subjects, the skylight overhead doing the work that no amount of flash equipment could replicate. It's a behind-the-scenes photograph that doubles as a masterclass in controlled simplicity.

Penn would later refine this approach into a full working methodology, travelling to Crete, Morocco, Nepal, New Guinea and beyond with what he called an "ambulant studio"; essentially a portable set of canvas backdrops that he'd erect wherever he found himself. The results became the 1974 book Worlds in a Small Room, one of the most quietly influential photobooks of the last century.

There's another lesson here for anyone who thinks the work ends when the shutter fires. Penn made over 2,000 exposures during those three days in Cuzco. He then spent the next five decades returning to the negatives, printing and reprinting selected images between 1959 and 2002.

The platinum-palladium prints in particular (among them the portrait of two Andean children, which we've featured at the top of the page) represent a level of craft and considered reflection that sits at the opposite end of the spectrum from the instant-share culture much of society now inhabits.

Penn carefully labelled each print with titles and print dates. He treated the archive as a living body of work, not a closed chapter.

Why the Getty acquisition matters

The Getty already holds Penn’s Small Trades series (acquired in 2008), which represents the second major chapter of what would become the Worlds in a Small Room project. By uniting these two pillars, the Getty has become one of the most comprehensive repositories of Penn’s work in existence. Moreover, the museum intends to use the Cuzco holdings as a springboard for building its collection of Peruvian and Latin American photography.

Penn was 31 when he landed in Cuzco with his Rolleiflex and an open schedule. The photographs he made there – straightforward, formally rigorous, deeply respectful of their subjects – are still teaching photographers how to see today.

The detour turned out to be the destination.

The Cuzco series is now part of the permanent collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. Admission to the Getty Center is free; advance reservations are required.

Lifetouch, the volume photography company known across the US and Canada for its school photo program, has issued a statement after the name of a corporate investor was included in the Epstein files, telling parents that the company “does not – and has never provided – images to any third party.”

The statement comes after the name Leon Black was found in the Epstein files, the recently released 3.5 million pages of documents detailing the investigation into the disgraced former financier, Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison awaiting charges of sex trafficking. Black is the former CEO of Apollo Global Management, the asset firm that owns a majority share of Shutterfly, the parent company of Lifetouch.

According to Business Insider, the files indicate that Black was investigated for sexual assault allegations from four women, but never charged. Black also paid Epstein $170 million for financial and tax advice over a six-year period, Forbes indicates. Black’s financial ties to Epstein first came to light in 2021; he stepped down as CEO two months later, citing health reasons.

The connection between the former CEO of the wealth management company created an online panic as parents took to social media to question the privacy of their children’s school photos.

Lifetouch, however, wasn’t directly mentioned in the files, and its parent company Shutterfly is one of hundreds of companies with ties to Apollo Global Management. “Lifetouch is not named in the Epstein files,” wrote Lifetouch Group CEO Ken Murphy. “The documents contain no allegations that Lifetouch itself was involved in, or that student photos were used in, any illicit activities.”

“Funds managed by subsidiaries of Apollo Global Management are investors in Shutterfly, the parent company of Lifetouch,” Murphy explained. “Neither Apollo nor its funds are involved in the day-to-day operations of Lifetouch and therefore no one employed by Apollo has ever had access to any student images.”

Murphy also pointed to the photo company’s longstanding relationship with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, adding that Lifetouch was “the first school photography company to sign a voluntary and enforceable privacy pledge—reaffirming our deep commitment to protecting school communities.”

Lifetouch photographs over 25 million students a year at over 50,000 schools, according to the company’s website.

As of January 2026, Apollo Global Management's portfolio includes 158 acquisitions.

Melania, a documentary about America's First Lady, is currently causing controversy on both sides of the Atlantic. And normally, I'm the first person to jump headlong into a political fight. But actually, the first time I saw Ellen von Unwerth's promo shot, it made me think of something else entirely.

I started my journalism career, you see, in 1990s London on women's magazines such as Company and CosmoGirl. And so when I first saw the Melania Trump photo, my eye went instantly to the stark black-and-white contrast. The power suit. The crossed legs and sky-high heels. The direct, unflinching gaze.

For a few seconds, I was transported back to 1997, sitting in a cramped magazine office in W1, surrounded by contact sheets and lightboxes, arguing with fashion editors about which image captured that ineffable "90s fashion" thing that would make the next issue fly off the shelves.

A great time to be alive

Yes, I was the token man on some of the 90s' biggest women's magazines; and looking back, it was an extraordinary time to be alive. The supermodel era was at its peak, and the aesthetic was everything. Bold, unapologetic, and dripping with a particular kind of empowered sexuality that felt world-changing at the time.

This was before Instagram and "authenticity"; before everyone and their pet became a content creator. Back then, fashion photography still had mystique, still had edge. And these were the days when you'd see Ellen von Unwerth's work in every one of the print magazines that defined British taste back then: The Face, Arena, i-D, and of course, Vogue.

Von Unwerth's photographs had a playful, provocative quality that set them apart from the glacial perfection of some of her contemporaries. While others were shooting in sterile studios with military precision, these images pulsed with life. They felt spontaneous, even when they were meticulously constructed. Her women weren't just beautiful objects; they were in on the joke, complicit in their own portrayal.

The signature style of the German photographer – who'd previously been a model herself – was unmistakable. High contrast black-and-white, strong graphic lines; women who looked directly at you, rather than past you. She had a way of making her subjects look simultaneously powerful and playful (including Melania Trump, then Knavs, in her own modelling days). It's a delicate balance that many photographers attempt, but few achieve.

Which brings me back to that 2026 Melania poster. The moment I saw it, I recognized the von Unwerth aesthetic immediately.

It's pure 90s supermodel energy: the kind of image that could have sat comfortably next to Christy Turlington for Versace or Linda Evangelista for Chanel in the pages of Vogue circa 1995. The black-and-white treatment isn't just a stylistic choice; it's a deliberate callback to an era when fashion photography embraced drama and contrast over the softer, more naturalistic approaches that would dominate the 2000s.

Yes, I'm acutely aware that fixating on photographic technique and 90s nostalgia might seem like a bizarrely niche perspective, given that the documentary itself is generating such heated political debate. But that's precisely my point.

If three decades later, the aesthetic of 1990s fashion photography can still grab your attention, stop you in your tracks – regardless of the subject – then surely there's something photographers can still learn from that era; whatever generation you come from.

While portraits at country houses, out in the fields, or simply in a studio setting, are all perfectly valid location for entirely pleasant portraits, it’s only when you head into the city that the environment lends a sense of drama, foreboding and danger to the mix. That’s what we’re looking at here, with a selection of urban portraits.

1 Look miserable

First rule of urban photo club is no-one looks happy. Subways are a great location, but they invariably mean that your subject will be backlit, unless it’s really dull overhead or actually night time. So, use fill-flash to light the subject. Even better, use a flash that you can position and bounce light off the ceiling or nearby walls. Use a wide aperture to lose the distant background.

Photo: 1/250 sec, f/3.5, ISO 100

2 Get low down

Take a low position, looking up, to give a distorted view, completely at odds with most portrait styles. If the subject has trendy footwear use a really wide-angle lens and get right down to ground level to shoot up. If you’re going to use colour, something that contrasts with a close background is a good idea.

Photo: 1/160 sec, f/4.5, ISO 1250

3 Use alleyways

Get the subject into narrow alleys and streets to emphasise the city bearing down on them. Use a slanted shot for a more dynamic result.

Photo: 1/80 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1250

4 Make use of decay

As well as graffiti, as seen in the first shot, look out for crumbling buildings, post-industrial decay, and soulless machinery. Here we have a grim, urban backdrop with fences and a gas storage holder. To keep all that in focus, an aperture of f/14 was used, as well as off-camera flash to the left and spot metering, as the subject was significantly backlit by the sun.

Photo: 1/250 sec, f/14, ISO 200

To shoot urban portraits you need a portrait lens, as well as a camera bag that doesn't attract attention. Also, why not consider travelling light and getting into a Micro Four Thirds system?

Founded in 1923 and now roughly 150 members strong, Winchester Photographic Society has grown into one of the largest camera clubs in England. I was lucky enough to be invited to do a talk on one of my favorite subjects: Outdoor Portraiture, back in September 2025.

During my talk, I covered everything from how to find models locally using sites like Purple Port, how to shoot portraits of interesting characters you meet on the street and the camera settings you can use to elevate your portraits.

Once my talk concluded we had a brilliant hour-long Q&A session and as you had so many fascinating questions to ask so I thought I’d share a couple of the hot topics that you had questions about.

Who owns the copyright of an image?

In my presentation, I briefly touched on copyright and the importance of filling out a model release before you start shooting. I was surprised that many of the questions in the Q&A came from this area, and it felt like there was some real confusion around copyright out there, so I was keen to clear this up.

In the UK the copyright belongs to the photographer who fires the shutter, though it’s important to fill out a model release when working with a model as this is essentially your ‘contract’ that goes into detail about when the shoot was and expresses what you can and can’t do with the images – for example, whether the images can be used editorially, but not for commercial purposes such as advertising or selling them to an image stock library.

For street photography, the copyright again belongs to you in the UK and you have the right to take somebody's photo in a public place in the UK where I’m based. This law can, however, change depending on what country you’re in so be sure to check this before travelling. In the UK, you’ll likely be recorded on CCTV as you walk down any high street – remember that they don’t need your consent for this if you're in a public space, and the same rules apply when you’re in a public place taking street photos.

In the rare case where somebody has confronted me about taking their picture I have always deleted it as that’s just where I stand morally, however the law would be on your side if you objected. This is a bridge that you'll have to cross when you come to it as everyone is different.

How do I know if I should shoot weddings?

I covered some of my top tips for getting the best out of happy couples on their wedding day, ranging from posing ideas, prompts that they can whisper into each other’s ears to get a reaction, or even playing a special song through a speaker attached to your camera bag to catch them off guard and snap a cute reaction. 

After the presentation I was asked by many of the society members "how do I know if I should start shooting weddings?"

My advice here is simple – don’t chase weddings if you’re only in it for the money. They are long, demanding days and the pressure on you will be through the roof, so you really need to love what you’re doing to make it enjoyable and get the best photos.

I also shared that I thought shooting a wedding would be one of the rare times when I think it’s justifiable for a photographer to work for free. There’s plenty of couples out there with little to no budget to spend on a photographer, and they’ll be happy with some photos from an inexperienced photographer like those just starting out, rather than none at all. This would be a good low-risk way to find out if weddings are for you, with a lot less pressure than if you were charging for your services and then it all goes wrong. If you don't charge, the expectations from you are low.

My other suggestion was to find a local professional wedding photographer and reach out to see if you can job shadow or be a second shooter on one of their upcoming weddings so you get a feel for how the day flows and what’s expected from you.

You might also like…

Want to know more? Check out our article If I had to start my camera setup from scratch tomorrow, this is the body and lens I'd buy.

As Abbey Road Studios’ photographer in residence, Sam Rockman spends his time shooting musicians in the world's most famous recording studio. But his route to this hallowed role was neither direct nor speedy.

Abbey Road is where The Beatles recorded most of their catalogue, where the zebra crossing became a pilgrimage site, and where everyone from Pink Floyd to Adele has worked. It’s a place steeped in history, with orchestras recording in Studio One while bands lay down albums next door in Studio Two.

Yet the 38-year-old photographer's path began far from that legacy. At 16, struggling at school, his father gave him a choice: learn a trade or try a newly introduced Media BTEC. He chose Media, later studying film at UCA Farnham, with ambitions of becoming a cinematographer.

After graduating, he spent years making music videos with friends, filming events, and working industry jobs, including running a casting studio and filming auditions. Photography, though, was never part of the plan.

Everything changed around 12 years ago when Rockman borrowed his younger brother’s 35mm film camera. His brother had studied photography, but it was Rockman who became hooked. He shot a few rolls, shared them online, and was struck by the response.

“For the first two years I only shot film; 35mm and medium format,” he says. With limited frames, he learned to work quickly and trust his instincts, a discipline that still shapes how he shoots today.

Music photography followed through a friend’s band, Pengshui, a punk hip-hop outfit who asked him to handle their visuals. He photographed gigs ranging from tiny venues to major festivals, touring with them extensively in 2019.

The accidental photographer

When the pandemic hit the following year, Rockman had just taken what felt like a secure full-time role running a casting studio. Unfortunately, that job disappeared overnight, along with his freelance work. “But it was kind of a blessing in disguise,” he reflects now. “I had to make photography work.”

The next five years became the most productive of his career. But the Abbey Road opportunity came via a push from his girlfriend, now fiancée. She kept sending him the Abbey Road Music Photography Awards (now the Music Photography Accelerator) on Instagram. He ignored it until the final day, when she sat him down and made him apply.

Rockman became a finalist in three categories but didn’t win. Yet shortly afterwards, someone from Abbey Road emailed asking if he’d like to photograph a few sessions. A handful of shoots later, he was offered the role of photographer in residence.

What the job involves

Unlike traditional residencies, Rockman’s role is project-based. He isn’t present for every recording session; many artists prefer privacy. Mainly, he’s brought in for Abbey Road’s own programmed content, including Straight to Vinyl, After Hours sessions and artist collaborations designed to be filmed and shared.

A typical day runs from noon to 8pm. He arrives with two Sony A7 IV bodies, a 24–70mm and 70–200mm, plus a selection of primes, a fisheye for wide studio shots, and occasionally a Mamiya RZ67 for portraits. He also carries a Fuji X100V. “It’s so small and completely silent,” he says. “That’s been really useful.” Though he once dreamed of working with a single camera and lens, Abbey Road isn’t the place to experiment, he stresses. “You don’t want to miss anything.”

Recording studios demand restraint. The music always comes first. Flash is banned. Silent shutter mode is essential. Early on, Rockman lost almost an hour of images to banding caused by artificial lighting. “I learned very quickly,” he says. Now he adjusts shutter speeds carefully to avoid it.

Lighting varies. When video crews are present, the space is often beautifully lit. When it’s just him and a videographer, he’ll ask for full studio lighting. Across an eight-hour session, he typically shoots between 1,000 and 2,000 images. He avoids burst mode, preferring short, controlled sequences. “It’s about watching people create,” he says. “You see mistakes, adjustments, and those moments when something suddenly clicks.”

After the fact, Rockman edits entirely in Lightroom. After his first Abbey Road sessions, he built a custom preset, but it’s flexible. “It depends how I feel that day,” he explains. Different artists, moods and lighting demand different treatments, and the images don’t all look the same.

Final selections are sent to Abbey Road, who share them with artists as part of each project’s promotional package. He can post images only after Abbey Road publishes them. Feedback comes via the studio rather than directly from musicians, and has been consistently positive.

Career milestone

Last week, a private exhibition of his work at Abbey Road marked another career milestone. Rockman curated the show himself, selecting at least one image from every session he’s shot. The work ranged from wide fisheye views of Studio One to intimate portraits on the iconic steps outside. “As a creative, your taste changes constantly,” he says. Choosing wasn’t easy.

At 38, Rockman is aware that photography can feel like a young person’s game. Yet his career offers a counterpoint to all that. He spent more than a decade freelancing, switched from film to digital mid-career, and balanced unglamorous jobs while building his practice. Luck played a part; but only after years of work, and only because someone pushed him to enter the contest he almost ignored.

Today, his advice to young photographers is blunt: “You either get lucky, know someone, or it’s a long, long road of grinding and questioning yourself.” He adds: “Social media only shows the good bits. There’s a lot of rubbish in between.”

For those building their careers, Rockman's story sets realistic expectations. Think years, not months. Expect detours and rejection. And don’t dismiss the opportunity you’re too tired for; it might be the one that changes everything.

Check out our guide to the best cameras for music videos 

Annie Leibovitz has set the record straight about one of the most talked-about moments in her career; her 2007 photoshoot with Queen Elizabeth II that the BBC famously misrepresented, and later apologized for.

The controversy erupted when the BBC showed documentary footage in 2007 that appeared to show the Queen walking out of the shoot after the legendary America photographer asked her to remove her crown to look "less dressy". The clip showed Her Majesty responding sharply before apparently leaving in frustration, saying: "I'm not changing anything. I've done enough dressing like this, thank you very much." However, a subsequent BBC investigation revealed that the footage had been edited out of chronological order.

"She was storming into the shoot!" Leibovitz stressed in an interview broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on January 17. "She wasn't storming out; she never stormed out of the shoot. She came down the hallway saying, 'This is the last time I do this. These things weigh 75 pounds. I'm not doing this anymore.'"

Change of atmosphere

Apparently, the Queen's irritation stemmed from wearing heavy robes and the lengthy time it took to dress. But once she arrived at the shoot, the atmosphere changed completely. "She walked into the shoot, and I showed her some pictures of the park I shot in the back, and other things I had done, and what I'd like to do with her," Leibovitz said. "And she just sort of settled down. And then we had a regular [shoot], you know?"

The photographer went on to reveal her creative approach to the challenging half-hour session, during which she needed to capture four distinct portraits of the British monarch. Her strategy was to "peel off the cape and then shoot her in the dress", working efficiently within the tight timeframe.

When Leibovitz suggested removing the crown for some shots—explaining it would look better "less dressy"—she received a characteristically sharp response. But the photographer wasn't phased in the slightest. "I loved her," she said. "It was like she'd totally settled down. She took the crown off, put it back on, took it off, put it back on. And then she stayed the entire half hour, if not more. And she did not stop till I said, 'Thank you very much.'"

Use of natural light

The shoot, in the state rooms at Buckingham Palace, saw Leibovitz work with natural light through the palace's massive windows and doors. She described drawing inspiration from Cecil Beaton's palace photography; though the Queen herself advised her: "You must find your own way."

One of the resulting portraits shows a composition reminiscent of the 17th-century Spanish painter Diego Velázquez, with the Queen positioned alongside a window with natural light streaming from the right, revealing the scale of the palace room and a huge door leading to another chamber. "I wanted to feel like the age of the palace," Leibovitz explained. "I wanted you to feel natural light; that those big, big windows and doors were there because they didn't have electricity to begin with, and light came in."

The way the commission came about is itself instructive. Leibovitz had initially requested to photograph the Queen in 1999 for a project on women, but received no response. Ten years later, Buckingham Palace contacted her. When she asked why they'd chosen her, a palace official replied simply: "Well, you asked."

Leibovitz laughed: "I like to tell this story to young photographers, because I don't want them ever to give up. You asked, and they kept it on file".

Leibovitz, now 76, told interviewer John Wilson on the episode of This Cultural Life that she still gets "a thrill" from taking photographs and remains committed to portrait photography. "I'm going to stay in this to the bitter, bitter end," she said. "It's not even bitter. I'm just so lucky. I love what I do."

When Alfred Eisenstaedt, one of Life's original four staff photographers, first shot Sophia Loren for the magazine, she was already on the cusp of international stardom.

Born Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone in 1934, the actress had risen from working as an extra to leading lady. By 1961, she was establishing herself as a glamorous icon and a serious actress in equal measure, epitomizing the height of Italian glamour.

Yet what began as a routine magazine assignment evolved into something far more valuable: an 18-year photographic relationship that produced nearly 200 images, most of which never saw print.

That's the revelation at the heart of Taschen's new collector's edition, Sophia by Eisenstaedt, published this month.

While "Eisie" shot 80 covers for Life during his 50-year career with the magazine, the vast majority of his Loren work remained in the archives – and has now been scanned from original negatives. For photographers operating in today's publish-everything-immediately culture, the restraint is almost unfathomable.

Shooting and smiling

The images span 1961 to 1979, capturing Loren on film sets alongside Marcello Mastroianni, Marlon Brando and Charlie Chaplin; in her humble family home near Naples, providing a grounded contrast to her later life; at her majestic Roman villa with husband and producer Carlo Ponti; and in candid moments raising her sons in Paris.

Eisenstaedt, already four decades into his legendary career when they met, became what Loren called her shadow. "He never tried to interfere in my life," Loren recalled. "He just kept on shooting and smiling and was happy just to be with me like I was to be with him."

That relationship speaks volumes. Eisenstaedt, who revolutionized photojournalism with his iconic 1945 Times Square V-J Day image, understood something essential about portraiture: the best images emerge not from aggressive pursuit but from patient presence.

He didn't bark orders or manufacture moments. According to Hollywood historian Justin Humphreys, the 1961 shoots saw Loren "more casual and her interactions with Eisenstaedt more spontaneous" compared to later, more formal sessions, reflecting "the stately surroundings and Loren's elevation from a famous actress to a global phenomenon".

This unique rapport enabled Eisenstaedt to witness Loren’s private world as she transitioned into motherhood in 1969 and raised her sons, Carlo Jr and Edoardo, in Paris. Their connection was built on a unique camaraderie that went beyond a standard professional assignment, with Eisenstaedt capturing her not just as a goddess but as a relatable everywoman.

For contemporary photographers drowning in digital abundance – where a single fashion shoot might yield thousands of frames instantly uploaded to cloud storage – the editing discipline of the Life era offers a counterpoint.

Each of Eisenstaedt's 2,500 assignments for the magazine was ruthlessly curated. Images that made it to print were the survivors of exhaustive selection processes. The fact that so many strong images never ran says something profound about editorial standards then versus now.

The book also documents a working method increasingly rare in celebrity photography today: repeated access over years, rather than minutes. Eisenstaedt photographed Loren in 1961, 1964, 1966, 1969, 1976 and 1979. Each session built on the previous one's trust.

By the final New York shoot in 1979, when Loren was promoting her memoir, the rapport was complete. No publicist hovering, no 15-minute slot with hair and makeup people swarming between frames.

Age of authenticity

This collector's edition (numbers 201-1,200, signed by Loren) arrives at an interesting moment.

In an age when celebrity images are increasingly stage-managed Instagram posts, Eisenstaedt's work reminds us what portrait intimacy looks like. Above all, it required time, consistency and a photographer secure enough in his craft that he could recede into the background.

The images show Loren as she was: radiant in costume, introspective between takes, domestic in her gardens, maternal with her children. Not because Eisenstaedt manufactured these moments, but because over 18 years he earned the right to simply be there when they happened.

For photographers today, that's the real lesson; one that has nothing to do with gear or technique and everything to do with the relationship between person and lens.

Sophia by Eisenstaedt is published by Taschen, priced $1,000 / £850. This 268-page, limited-edition hardcover, presented in a clamshell box, features an essay by Professor Stephen Gundle and captions by Hollywood historian Justin Humphreys.

You might also like…

Take a look at more of the best books on photography. Interested in shooting your own people pictures? Check out the best cameras for portraits and the best lenses for portraits.

When the fashion and portrait photographer Richard Avedon (1923-2004) drove into the American West in 1979, he left behind the controlled perfection of his fashion work and the glamour of celebrity portraiture. What he found would produce one of the most studied portrait series in photographic history.

Now, as global art network Gagosian prepares to exhibit rare prints from In the American West at its Grosvenor Hill gallery, the series offers contemporary photographers a timely lesson in stripping portraiture back to its essentials.

Avedon's technical setup was deceptively simple: an 8x10in Deardorff view camera, natural light and a white seamless backdrop transported to locations across 21 states. No studio, no assistants handling elaborate lighting rigs, no post-production wizardry.

Yet these constraints produced images of startling emotional power. Coal miners, drifters, ranchers and slaughterhouse workers stare directly at the camera with an intensity that transcends their circumstances.

Formal rigor

What made Avedon's approach radical wasn't the minimalism – August Sander had pioneered systematic documentary portraiture decades earlier – but the collision of his fashion photographer's eye with documentary intent.

He treated these ordinary men and women with the same formal rigor he'd applied to Marilyn Monroe and Dwight Eisenhower. The white backdrop, borrowed from his commercial work, became a democratic space where a drifter commanded the frame with the same authority as any celebrity.

For photographers working today, when portrait sessions often involve multiple lights, reflectors and digital manipulation, this methodology is instructive. Avedon's portraits work because of what's absent.

The featureless background eliminates context that might sentimentalize or explain. We see only the person, their clothing, their posture, their gaze. The black film rebate visible around each frame reminds us that what we're seeing hasn't been cropped or adjusted; this is the complete, unmanipulated negative.

Longform examination

Starting in January, this exhibition – curated by Avedon's granddaughter Caroline Avedon – includes works unseen since 1985; most notably the diptych of rancher Richard Wheatcroft photographed in 1981 and 1983. View the images casually and Wheatcroft appears unchanged; study them and you'll notice how two years of ranch work have altered his stance, weathered his skin, worn his clothes. This is photography as long-form observation, something Instagram's instant gratification culture has largely abandoned.

Avedon's method was both confrontational and collaborative. He positioned himself next to the camera rather than behind it. This wasn't photojournalism's invisible observer; it was direct engagement.

The resulting images feel like encounters rather than observations. The sitters knew they were being photographed and chose how to present themselves, yet Avedon's presence drew out something beneath the surface.

Is this exploitation?

The project drew criticism on its 1985 debut. Some accused Avedon of exploitation; others questioned whether a New York fashion photographer could authentically represent working-class America. It's a debate that still rages, and not just about Avedon. For instance, I got some pushback from old friends recently, when I wrote this glowing obituary of Martin Parr – whom many accuse, similarly, of having indulged in "poverty porn".

Personally, though, I don't see this Avedon project as condescension; more a recognition of dignity in labour. For me, what endures most is its formal achievement. Each portrait balances documentary honesty with compositional precision. For instance, Avedon shot James Story, a coal miner covered in soot, with the same reverence Renaissance painters applied to martyred saints.

More broadly, for contemporary photographers drowning in gear lists and editing software, In the American West is a reminder that equipment matters less than approach, and demonstrates the value of sustained commitment. After all, Avedon conducted over a thousand sittings to produce 126 editioned images. In total, he spent half a decade spent returning to the same communities, building trust, understanding his subjects beyond a single shutter click.

Forty-seven years on, as the series resurfaces in London, its lessons remain surprisingly practical. Simplify your setup, engage with your subjects directly, commit to projects deeply rather than broadly, and trust that honest observation will reveal more than elaborate staging ever could.

Richard Avedon: Facing West opens 15 January 2026 at Gagosian Grosvenor Hill, 20 Grosvenor Hill, London W1K 3QD. Open Tuesday–Saturday, 10am–6pm.

Check out our pick of the 50 greatest photographers ever

What's more festive than transforming a room in your house into a dreamy, fairy-lit world, perfect for a spot of creative portrait photography?

The concept is simple – by sticking a fast prime lens onto the front of your DSLR or mirrorless camera and taking advantage of its super-wide aperture, we'll be able to create a nicely blurred background to transform those tiny, twinkling points of light into beautiful bokeh balls.

This project really is as quick, easy, and fun to do as it sounds.

Essentially, all you need is your camera, a fast lens (be that a prime or a zoom with a wide max. aperture between f/1.4 and f/2.8), a few strings of fairy lights, and a willing volunteer to pose for you.

Professional photographer and videographer Tom Calton shows how to bag the shot and demonstrates a simple but effective colour treatment in Photoshop to make it really stand out.

The setup

Warm lights
We've opted to use warm fairy lights to give the shot a cosy, wintry feel. However, you could experiment by using white or multicoloured lights (or a mixture of the two). Just ensure the lights that are used are bright.

Twinkling backdrop
Our background is a simple net of fairy lights hung against a blank wall that is free from hanging ornaments and picture frames.

More lights
A few additional strings of lights are needed for the model to hold to illuminate their face. You can also try draping lights across the bed and elsewhere in the room to increase the effect.

Blackout
To capture the full effect of the fairy lights, it’s important that they are the only light source in the room. Turn off all the room lights and block out the windows.

Shooting steps

1. Block out the light

To get started with this photograph, make sure that the fairy lights will be the only source of light in the room. Block out any window light and close all of the blinds and curtains. Switch off any room lights and lamps as well.

2. Set up the background

The next step is to hang the net of fairy lights in the background to create a nice, twinkly backdrop for our shot. Hang the lights from a shelf above the bed, or alternatively, try and drape them over a backdrop stand or hang them between two light stands.

3. Use a fast lens

In order to turn the fairy lights into twinkling orbs in the shot, use a lens with a wide aperture. Prime lenses are the best choice, as they generally offer a wider maximum aperture than zooms. Here we used a FE 50mm f/1.4 GM lens on a Sony A7 III, which is a great option for portraits in general.

4. Add more fairy lights

Ask the model to sit in position. Drape one set of fairy lights around where they are sat and then carefully ball-up a second set of lights and place them in the model's hand – these will be used to illuminate the model's face.

5. Camera settings

Switch the camera to Aperture Priority mode, and then set the widest aperture possible. Frame up the shot and adjust the ISO until the shutter speed is reading a value of 1/250sec or faster. This will help to ensure a sharp shot while shooting handheld. Finally, set the camera so that it shoots in RAW.

6. Take the shot

Frame up the shot and make sure that the active AF point is positioned over one of the model’s eyes. Then focus and take the shot. Check the results to make sure that the model is sharp and in focus, and repeat the shot if necessary.

Pro Tip

Keep your distance

Although using a wide aperture will give you the best chance of transforming all of those small points of light in the background into big, beautiful orbs, distance is also another factor you'll need to keep in mind.

In short, the greater the distance between the lights and your point of focus (the model's face), the more blurred the background will become and the bigger the orbs of light will be. So bear this in mind while setting up your shot.

Editing steps

1. Contrast and color

Open the RAW photo in Photoshop, and the Camera Raw Interface will appear. Crank the Contrast slider to +100 and the Clarity to +50. Then, set the Vibrance to +30 to bolster the colors.

2. Lift the shadows

Don't worry if the photo has too much contrast as this can easily be fixed by increasing the Shadows +50 and the Blacks to +60. This will brighten the shadow detail for a more balanced result.

3. Split toning

Click the Split Toning tab at the top right of the screen (beneath the histogram). Under the Shadows section, set the Hue to a value of 230, then increase the Saturation to 80 to turn the shadows blue.

4. Curves

Click the Curves tab at the top, then underneath the Curves diagram, find the Output box and set it to a value of 16. This will crush the blacks within the image to give it a much softer appearance.

5. Blue curves

Staying in the Curves tab for the moment, locate the Channel option above the Curves diagram and change it from RGB to Blue. Then, set the Output to 10 in order to add more blue to the shadows within the image.

6. Brighten the model

Finally, grab the Adjustment Brush from the toolbar at the top of the screen and brush over the model’s face. Pull the Exposure slider to the right to brighten their face – a value of +0.85 worked for our image here.

Before/After

You might like...

Browse the best cameras for portraits and the best lenses for portraits.

This head-turning effect may look like it was created entirely in post-production, but it’s less complicated than that. To achieve it, you’ll need to get hold of a glass prism, which can easily be found in all shapes and sizes and to suit all budgets on sites like eBay and Amazon. A 4-inch glass prism can be sourced from eBay for less than £10/$10 and is a great way to get started. If you like the prism technique, you may want to upgrade to a Fractal Filters Classic 3-pack, which is more versatile but comes with a premium at $119.

Bear in mind that the prism needs to be long enough to cover the whole front element of your lens (for most 35mm, 50mm and 85mm prime lenses, the 4-inch version will be fine). Requiring hand-holding, the prism needs to be long enough to avoid your fingers appearing in the shot. 

Start in Aperture Priority mode and select the widest aperture on your lens, such as f/1.8. This will not only throw the background out of focus but will also render the prism in the foreground out of focus. Adjust the ISO value until you can shoot with a shutter speed of 1/200 sec or above to eliminate camera shake and enable any image stabilisation.

Now it’s time to start shooting and asking your model to experiment with their poses.

Gear advice

Commonly referred to as a ‘nifty fifty’, a 50mm f/1.8 lens is usually priced around the $100-150 (£100-150) mark and even less on the second-hand market. With a brilliant focal length for portraits, when used on a full-frame camera, the wide maximum aperture of f/1.8 will create separation between your model and the background by turning the latter into blurry ‘bokeh’.

See some of our best 50mm lens options

Fractals Filters Classic review: a three-pack of prisms for portrait photographers - 

Have a go using prisms at home with still life images 

Celebrities and politicians are often presented to the world in heavily orchestrated, Photoshopped portraits. A photographer wanted to create a more intimate portrait of reality when photographing the Vanity Fair Trump cabinet portraits – but the internet is not happy.

This week, Vanity Fair published a series of images of White House officials captured by photographer Christopher Anderson, including White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and others.

The series includes several extreme close-ups that appear to make no effort to hide pores, wrinkles, and eyeliner smears. The publication’s posts were quickly filled with negative comments, with the internet describing the images using words from “diabolical” to “done dirty.”

Anderson has spoken out against the backlash, telling The Independent that very close-up portrait is part of his style, with the idea of “penetrating the theater of politics.”

The photographer told Newsweek that the portraits are meant to cut through the theatrics and represent something real. “Style is for others to judge,” he said. “My objective, when photographing the political world, is to make photographs that cut through the stage-managed image to reveal something more real, and for the images to honestly portray the encounter that I had at the moment. Being very close is part of how I have been doing this for many years now.”

As a photographer – and an American – I have to admit that the close-up portraits feel unusual But, that’s exactly what photographers need to do to cut through the noise. A Photoshopped portrait without pores and wrinkles would not have gotten the viral attention that Anderson’s close-ups are earning, because that’s too normal, too expected.

There seems to be a trend in American politics towards candidates who feel more “real.” There has been an uptick in non-traditional candidates. As a Michigander, I still remember the shock when now-Governor Gretchen Whitmer used the word “damn” in her campaign in 2018. The New York Times counted at least 1,787 four-letter words during Trump’s 2024 political campaign.

Perhaps you are wondering what swear words and extreme close-ups have in common – but I think both speak more to a less polished political stage. Real people have pores. They have wrinkles. They may have smudged makeup. Have we become so accustomed to Photoshopped images of celebrities that a politician with pores is shocking?

Did I react with an “ooph” when I saw the Vanity Fair Trump cabinet portraits? Well, yes, but that’s kind of the point. Politics in America does not feel pretty right now, so why should political portraits be pretty?

You may also like

Browse the best portrait lenses.

As a portrait photographer, I’m always looking for new props that don’t cost a fortune – especially when the holidays roll around. Last year, I bought a can of cheap spray snow, a vintage window from Facebook Marketplace, and I used it to frame cozy Christmas portraits.

I was looking for two key things when I created this Christmas photo setup. First, I wanted to take Christmas photos indoors after the previous year’s freezing temperatures made my holiday sessions a bit miserable. Second, I wanted to give families with young kids something to do besides sit and smile at the camera.

Idea in mind, I found an old window on Facebook Marketplace. You could also use an actual window that’s still firmly where it belongs, but I wanted the freedom to move around a bit. If you don’t want the decorative window grids, you could also use the glass from an oversized picture frame. I only spent about $10 on the window.

After cleaning up the old window, I used a can of spray snow to look like frost on the edges. This admittedly took more time than I expected. I wanted to use the window in several shots, and I didn’t want to have to repeatedly Photoshop poorly placed snow, so I wiped it away when I wasn’t happy and redid the spray until it looked how I wanted. (I recommend practicing how to hold the spray can on a piece of newspaper or paper first.)

Once I had the window, I did a practice session with my own family – which I highly recommend before trying the setup with clients. Getting the window to frame the shots just right proved to be the biggest challenge. I ended up using my wide-angle lens instead of my 50mm portrait favorite because I wanted more than one square of the window grid in the final shot.

The other challenge was holding the window in place. I used the oversized tote bag that I packed my Christmas decorations in to rest the bottom of the window on. When I did my test shots, I just held it upright (which is actually more of an arm workout than it sounds). The second time that I did the shot, I used oversized clamps at the bottom of the window to help hold it in place over the top of a tote box.

The snowy window setup was probably one of my more challenging Christmas portraits that I’ve done – but I loved the results. I mixed the window with Christmas decorations that I already owned, including a blanket and book of holiday stories, and in a burst of last-minute inspiration, grabbed my son’s toy train, which was fantastic for getting newly mobile toddlers to sit still long enough for photos.

You may also like

Browse more portrait photography tips or more Christmas photo ideas.

Honestly? When I first saw that a Chinatown passport photo had gone viral with over a million views, I laughed. A passport photo. The same bureaucratic mugshot we've all learned to dread. That went viral because it looked good?

But then I looked at it properly. And I got it.

Bolton Brown's portrait from Eliz Digital isn't extraordinary because it's fancy. There's no golden hour lighting, no carefully curated backdrop, no artful lens flare. It's shot against a white wall with a basic DSLR and an on-camera flash with a diffuser. The kind of setup that would make some portrait photographers weep into their Sigma Art lenses.

And yet somehow, it's better than most of the overproduced portraits clogging up our Instagram feeds.

The anti-aesthetic 

Here's what's happening: as reported by Gothamist, Gen Z photographers are now queuing up in a tiny store in Chinatown and paying $25 cash to sit on a white plastic chair, to get a passport photo. Not because they need a passport, but because they want to a photo of what they actually look like.

Chunika Kesh, the woman behind the camera, isn't doing anything revolutionary. She's using basic portraiture principles: even lighting, slight head adjustment, shoulders back, eyes engaging just below the lens. She takes two or three shots, shows you the results, and you're done. No hour-long session, no outfit changes, no "let's try one more."

And that's precisely the point.

What we've forgotten

I think we've collectively lost our minds about portrait photography. We've convinced ourselves that a good portrait requires thousands of pounds worth of gear, perfect weather, extensive retouching, and that elusive "vibe" that takes three mood boards to explain. We've turned portraiture into content creation, and in doing so, we've forgotten what portraits are actually for.

They're supposed to capture a person, not an aesthetic. Not a carefully constructed version of someone that's been focus-grouped for maximum engagement. Just a person, looking like themselves, on a particular day.

Kesh gets this instinctively. She's not trying to make anyone look "too pretty or whatever," as she puts it. She's just finding their best angle and capturing it honestly. The result is what one customer described as "this era of my life" – not performing it, just existing in it.

Why this matters

If you're a photographer reading this and feeling defensive, I get it. I'm not saying your atmospheric editorial work or your moody film photography is worthless. But maybe we should all be a bit more suspicious of our own BS.

The Gen Z influencers flooding into Eliz Digital aren't rejecting good photography. They're rejecting the Instagram-industrial complex that's convinced us more is always better. More gear, more presets, more drama, more everything. They're choosing something that feels real over something that's been engineered to look real.

There's something else happening here too. Young photographers are rediscovering that technical mastery of simple tools beats fancy equipment poorly used. Kesh's setup – a DSLR, a diffused flash, some styrofoam boards, a spray bottle and a comb – probably didn't cost an enormous sum. But she knows exactly what those tools can do.

And that's the profound bit. Not that a passport photo went viral, but that a generation of people looked at it and recognized excellence when they saw it. Even in the most unlikely of places.

I'm loving the winning entries for this year's World Sight Day Photo Competition, and not just because they're great images. They also underscore something we often forget in an era of megapixel arms races and endless gear upgrades: the story matters more than the sensor.

So what am I talking about? Well, every year the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) hosts a photo contest, and they've just had their 10th. They chose Shakul's Eyes by Marijn Fidder (below), taken in Uganda, as the Professional Photo of the Year, and Makalika and her son post-surgery (above), taken by Darren James in Samoa, as the Amateur Photo of the Year.

Both images emerged victorious from more than 500 entries across 60 countries. But what makes this competition significant isn't its popularity or global reach. It's what it values... and what it doesn't.

The right priorities

Fidder exemplifies the competition's priorities. She's spent years documenting disability rights in Uganda; developing relationships and understanding that allow her photographs to transcend simple documentation.

Anyone trying to follow her inspiration, though, will run up against a mass of challenges and contraditions. For instance, how do you photograph healthcare infrastructure without reducing people to their conditions? How do you show medical intervention without patronising subjects? These are questions that separate thoughtful documentary work from medical tourism with a camera.

The competition sits within IAPB's broader 'Love Your Eyes' campaign, launched in 2021 to raise awareness that 1.1 billion people worldwide lack access to eye health treatment. For photographers, it offers something increasingly rare: a platform where work addressing genuine need receives recognition alongside aesthetic achievement. The $1,000 prize for both professional and amateur categories isn't life-changing money, but the exposure and recognition will matter to many.

The right to dignity

Typical, successful images show subjects with dignity, context that explains without over-explaining, and moments that reveal universal experiences through specific situations. Fidder's winning image, for instance, succeeds because it treats disability rights as an ongoing story requiring sustained attention, rather than a one-off project.

Similarly, the amateur category winner, Darren James, works across the Asia-Pacific region documenting development and aid work. His Samoa image demonstrates that people outside traditional photojournalism careers can produce work matching professional standards when they invest time understanding their subjects and contexts.

IAPB has also launched a digital exhibition showcasing standout images from the past decade. It's worth a look, just to see how visual approaches to healthcare and disability have evolved over this time. Broadly speaking, it seems that there is less medical theatre, more genuine human interaction. Photographers have learned, sometimes slowly, that the most powerful images emerge from relationships rather than parachute visits.

Enter for 2026

Fancy entering next year? The competition closes each October, with winners announced in early November – details are here. And for photographers frustrated by contests where the same names recycle familiar tropes, the World Sight Day Photo Competition offers something different: a chance to deploy skills toward measurable impact. If you need your work to matter beyond portfolio padding, competitions like this deserve attention.

Ultimately, few of us will ever shoot for National Geographic or win World Press Photo. But lesser-known competitions like this connected to active campaigns, provide opportunities to contribute meaningfully while developing long-term projects. At the very least, it's a counterweight to Instagram's endless scroll.

If you've ever looked at an album cover or music poster and thought: "Wow!", there's a good chance the British photographer Andy Earl was involved. Across four decades, he has created more than 400 album covers and countless portraits of artists who shaped an era. Johnny Cash, Pink Floyd, Prince, Madonna, Robbie Williams: the list reads like a history of classic pop and rock.

Now, a new UK exhibition at TheGallery, Arts University Bournemouth, highlights how Earl didn’t just shoot musicians; he made audiences see them differently.

The point is that Earl’s portraits are not straightforward likenesses; they are interpretations. Rather than attempt to capture artists as they looked, Earl often sought to express how they felt to the culture at that particular moment.

His shot of Johnny Cash, for example, conveys not just the musician’s presence, but the emotional weight and mythology surrounding him. In doing so, Earl has helped shape public understanding not just of individual musicians but of what it means to be a cultural figure at all.

In this light the new exhibition, titled See or be Seen, running from 6 November through to February 2026, foregrounds photography’s power in shaping modern music's identity. It encourages visitors to consider how much of what we believe about artists begins with how they are visually framed.

Earl’s work extends well beyond album covers. As a director, he made more than 20 music videos, including an award-winning collaboration with The Rolling Stones. For that project, he shot 12,000 stills using a camera in each hand, numbering each frame so animators could morph them into a fluid, sculptural visual sequence.

The resulting effect—blurred, rhythmic, atmospheric—was ahead of its time, and its core principle was later developed into the now-famous “bullet time” effect seen in the 1999 sci-fi movie The Matrix.

This kind of visual experimentation was key to Earl's approach. Indeed, it was an early flash misfire that helped him develop his signature fusion of blur and clarity at art school. Rather than dismiss the accident, Earl followed it, experimented with it, and turned it into a defining visual approach.

It's a startling reminder that innovation thrives where control loosens, and when photographers are willing to look twice, rather than correct immediately.

Revisiting the archive

To prepare the exhibition in collaboration with TheGallery’s curator, Violet McClean, he spent months revisiting decades of his work.

“There are the celebrities that I’ve photographed over the years which I think fans will find fascinating as they’ve been captured in different eras,“ he says. “Then, there’s those shots that haven’t been exhibited before, the ones that I think say something a bit different, gave me a buzz when I took them and show something new.”

Overall, Earl’s career shows that photography does not sit quietly alongside music; it actively shapes how music is perceived, understood, and mythologised. His work demonstrates that the photographer is not simply a recorder of moments, but a translator of atmosphere and emotion.

In other words, Andy Earl didn’t just show us musicians. He changed the way we see music.

Andy Earl: See or be Seen opens at TheGallery, Arts University Bournemouth, on 6 November, running until 12 February 2026.

Annie Leibovitz isn’t just a photographer; she’s one of the people who helps us see the world for what it is. For over 50 years, her portraits have shaped our collective imagination of fame, power and personality; from John and Yoko’s tender last embrace to Whoopi Goldberg submerged in a bath of milk.

But in 1999, Leibovitz turned her camera towards something bigger than celebrity: she asked, "What do women actually look like now?" The result was Women, a collaboration with her partner, the writer Susan Sontag; a sweeping portrait of a generation, seen through Leibovitz’s empathetic lens.

More than 25 years later, she’s asking the same question again. Annie Leibovitz: Women, 2025 Edition (Phaidon, $99.95/£79.95) brings together over 250 portraits spanning three decades, along with an entirely new volume of photographs that reflect how womanhood has evolved in the 21st century.

To mark the launch, Leibovitz will make a rare public appearance at London’s Barbican Hall on November 24. An Evening with Annie Leibovitz promises stories, reflections and behind-the-lens insights from one of photography’s most influential figures.

A visual manifesto

The original Women was born from a long-running conversation between Leibovitz and Sontag. Sontag wrote the accompanying text—part essay, part manifesto—declaring: “Each of these pictures must stand on its own, but the ensemble says: so this is what women are now.”

Leibovitz's subjects were all women who were redefining public life at the turn of the century; they included Hillary Clinton, the French-American artist Louise Bourgeois, and associate justice of the Supreme Court, Sandra Day O’Connor.

The new two-volume edition (one refreshed, one brand new) continues that dialogue, adding present-day icons such as Billie Eilish, Rihanna, Michelle Obama, and Serena and Venus Williams.

Essays by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Gloria Steinem accompany the portraits, joining Sontag in shaping the intellectual backbone of the project.

The result? A book that feels both like a retrospective and a reinvention; a continuation of the same question that began a quarter of a century ago.

The idea of “woman”

For all the celebrity portraits and magazine covers— from Rolling Stone to Vanity Fair to royal commissions—Leibovitz’s best work has always been about intimacy. She has a knack for capturing people as they are, not as they’re expected to be. And that’s the quiet magic of Women. These aren’t polished icons, but people caught somewhere between strength and vulnerability.

It’s a reminder, too, that portraiture isn’t just about light, lenses or composition; it’s about trust. Built on empathy, Leibovitz’s portraits feel both grand and unguarded. It's a masterclass in what happens when a subject feels seen, rather than 'on display'.

Because let’s face it; we're currently living in a world that's drowning in images. Everyone is their own portraitist now, curating their identity one Instagram selfie at a time. Leibovitz’s slower, more reflective approach stands in sharp contrast to all of that. Her work isn’t about freezing a moment so much as questioning how that moment is seen. The portraits in Women do exactly that. They capture power and poise, but also exhaustion, uncertainty, humour, and humanity. They look like real life.

And that’s, essentially, what makes this project so special for me. The Women, 2025 Edition isn’t about nostalgia. It’s simply a continuation of a lifelong conversation about visibility, equality, and the profound act of being seen on your own terms.

Annie Leibovitz: Women, 2025 Edition (Phaidon, $99.95/£79.95) is available from 4 November. An Evening with Annie Leibovitz takes place on 24 November at Barbican Hall, London. Tickets: cost from £133.95 (including a signed copy of the book) from fane.co.uk.

Right now, Berlin’s Gropius Bau is hosting the largest Diane Arbus exhibition ever held. Titled Diane Arbus: Konstellationen, it features 454 prints, many of them never displayed before, in a show that asks us to confront what it really means to look... and be looked at.

From children and circus performers to suburban families and drag queens, Arbus's portraits don’t just capture a subject; they hold a mirror up to anyone who meets her gaze.

But it must be said, her work has always divided opinion. These images can feel tender, cruel, voyeuristic, or intimate... sometimes all at once. And admirably, Konstellationen doesn’t smooth out those tensions. Instead, it invites you to move freely through a network of images, tracing echoes, contrasts, and unexpected connections across decades of work.

Camera as accomplice

Born in New York in 1923, Arbus trained under Berenice Abbott, Alexey Brodovitch and Lisette Model. After years of commercial work, she turned toward the personal, the awkward and the unguarded. In the early 1960s, she swapped her 35mm camera for a twin-lens Rolleiflex, using the waist-level viewfinder to keep eye contact with her subjects.

That small technical shift changed everything. By looking down at her camera rather than through it, she made her subjects feel seen rather than inspected. The resulting portraits—steady, frontal, often unsettling—show a strange equality between photographer and sitter. No glamour, no tricks, just presence.

For portrait photographers today, it’s a reminder of how much communication happens before the shutter clicks. Her power came not from the equipment she used but from the intensity she brought to each meeting.

Proof of something 

“[Photographs] are the proof that something was there and no longer is,” Arbus once said. That sense of permanence runs through Konstellationen, which brings together every print made by Neil Selkirk, the only photographer authorized to print from her negatives after her death in 1971.

All 454 of those Selkirk prints appear here for the first time as a complete set. For working photographers, that’s fascinating in itself: a study in tonal consistency, printing craft, and posthumous authorship.

Rather than grouping the images by date or subject, the curators—Matthieu Humery from LUMA Arles and Lisa Tietze from Gropius Bau—let them speak to one another. A child crying in New Jersey might echo a family outing in New York; a carnival performer might quietly mirror a society lady. Each photograph is part of a larger constellation of human expression.

The exhibition also includes A box of ten photographs (1969), the portfolio that confirmed Diane’s status as a major artist. It includes classics like Identical twins, Roselle, N.J., and Boy with a straw hat waiting to march in a pro-war parade, N.Y.C. Before she died, Diane made only eight known sets, selling four to figures such as Richard Avedon, Jasper Johns and Bea Feitler.

This small edition became a turning point, proving that photography could command the same respect as painting or sculpture. She was soon the first photographer to appear in Artforum and to be shown at the Venice Biennale—a milestone that changed how galleries and collectors viewed the medium.

For today’s photographers, A box of ten photographs still offers a masterclass in editing: how a handful of images, carefully chosen and sequenced, can define an artist's vision.

Why Berlin, why now?

Gropius Bau hosted Arbus’s first Berlin show back in 2012. Thirteen years later, Konstellationen returns to the same halls, following acclaimed runs at LUMA Arles and New York’s Park Avenue Armory. Berlin, a city that thrives on tension and reinvention, feels like the perfect home for her work.

To my mind, these images still challenge us to look, and to be looked at. They ask the same questions every photographer must face: What gives you the right to observe? And what happens when your subject meets your gaze head-on?

Those are questions no one can easily answer... but every great photograph depends on them.

Diane Arbus: Konstellationen takes place at Gropius Bau, Berlin from now until 18 January 2026. Tickets are €15 / €10 with concessions.

Last month at my local comedy club, I settled in for what the poster promised would be a four-act evening. One face looked particularly fresh and youthful. When that comic took the stage, though, he had an extra 20 years, 40 pounds and significantly less hair. In fact, I didn't recognize him at all – and wondered if I'd turned up to the wrong venue.

This type of temporal whiplash isn't new to me. As a journalist, I've been ambushed by outdated headshots more times than I care to remember. I'll arrange to meet someone for an interview, armed with their social media profile pic, scan the café for that face, only to realise the person waving at me bears only a passing resemblance to their official image.

Is this because people can't afford a new photoshoot? Sometimes, maybe, but definitely not always. When I used to work on mass-market print magazines in the Nineties, PRs for celebs in their thirties and forties would continually send me headshots that had clearly been taken in their twenties. These stars were household names, constantly on TV and everyone knew what they looked like. So who were they trying to fool?

We all do it

Before I get too high-handed, though, I should admit my own sins. Yes, I used the same profile picture across social media for seven years. When I finally updated it, someone commented, "Oh, you've changed your hair." Reader, I had not changed my hair. I had changed my face. Time had changed my face, the way time rather insists on doing.

So what's actually going on here? Part of it, I suspect, is simple vanity dressed up as pragmatism. That shot from 2008 really was rather good, wasn't it? The lighting was perfect. We looked energised, about ten pounds lighter. "It still looks like me," we tell ourselves, squinting a bit. "Essentially." This is the same logic that keeps unused gym memberships active and expired passports sitting in drawers.

There's also a curious kind of brand anxiety at play. We worry that changing our image means changing our identity; that people won't recognize us, won't find us. As if we're Dorian Gray in reverse, and updating our portrait will somehow age us in ways that simply existing hasn't already managed. Never mind that people we actually know have been watching us age in real-time.

Feelgood factor

The short version is this: when it comes to representing ourselves, we prefer comfortable fiction to uncomfortable fact. We choose the image that makes us feel good over the one that's actually accurate. We berate influencers on Instagram and TikTok for trying to present a perfect, idealized version of themselves, but we're actually doing the same thing – just with less Facetune and more time travel.

So maybe it's time we all took a good, hard look at our profiles. Not to obsess over every new line or grey hair, but to ask ourselves: would I recognize this person in a crowded café?

If the answer's no, it's time to update. Your audience deserves to know who's actually turning up. Even if – especially if – that person looks a bit more lived-in than they used to.

You might also like…

Ready to update that pic? Make sure you're using one of the best cameras for portraits and the best lens for portraits. And check out our portrait photography tips, too!

There are a few photographers that I follow whose style is so identifiable that, when their work comes up on my feed, I can guess who the artist behind the camera was before glancing at the name. Marina Williams is one of those photographers.

Marina Williams is a creative portrait photographer whose work is often characterized by bright colors, striking shapes and purposeful posing. Along with being a creative portrait photographer, Williams is also a photo educator with both an online community and in-person events.

I had the chance to catch part of one of her presentations earlier this summer at a photography expo in New York City, and one of the things that she said about finding her own style has stayed with me ever since.

Williams stood in front of the crowd with some of her earliest work and some of her most recent portfolio shots on the screen when she explained one of the key changes that helped her to define her own style.

“Back then, there was no thought behind the creative direction of the shoot – the styling, the colors or the poses,” she said. “I was really just letting the location do all the work. I was excited to be in this gorgeous location… there was no thought behind anything else.”

“Now, all of my images are so much more interesting because I am the one doing all the work, not the location,” she said. “Everything is planned intentionally, from the colors to the style to the pose, and there’s more of an overall story being told.”

Williams’ remarks have stuck with me ever since because I, too, am sometimes guilty of finding a beautiful location and not looking for inspiration anywhere besides what I can see in front of me at a shoot.

Finding inspiration from a location isn’t necessarily wrong – and Williams will still find inspiration in locations, from driving by a tree in bloom or exploring a new neighborhood. But taking that initial inspiration and leveling it up with intentional planning, creative props and storytelling is what helped Williams move from her early photographs to her now easily identifiable style.

Inspiration, along with intentional styling, helped Williams define her style. But to find inspiration that felt true to herself, she looked at everything from her love of scrapbooking and fashion to the art and movies she loves.

“When you are having trouble coming up with ideas, it’s really easy to just open up Instagram or Pinterest and start scrolling to look for inspiration… But in order to stay true to what makes your art and brand unique, my advice is to find inspiration in other art forms,” she said.

“When you do, you are more likely to create something new that resonates with who you are and is going to resonate with how you are as a photographer.”

Beyond her love for fashion and music, Williams also finds inspiration in art forms outside photography, from paintings to architecture and sculpture. “Take the themes, and how it makes you feel, and try to apply it to your own work. You can replicate the themes and feelings without directly replicating it,” Williams said.

When she stopped looking exclusively to the landscape for inspiration, Williams also found inspiration in anything from a cheap plastic sheeting from a hardware store to the shapes on a dress.

While changing how she finds inspiration is a big part of William’s now-identifiable style, it's one of several changes the photographer made to help define her own work. Williams started out shooting multiple genres before she spent a year working as an in-house photographer for a children’s clothing brand.

She quit her full-time job to run her photography business full-time – and then COVID postponed or cancelled all of her shoots. That’s when the Florida native started taking self-portraits. Sharing those shoots on TikTok helped Williams find her community and eventually build her education platform, Made to Make.

Williams, a Canon Explorer of Light, continues to share insight and advice on TikTok and Instagram.

Marina William's favorite photo gear

William's favorite gear includes the Canon EOS R5 Mark II, the G7X Mark III for travel, and the R50 V for vlogging.

Content creation duo, The Cork Bros (@thecorkbros), have worked with over 500 brands, but they might be taking on their toughest challenge yet. The latest episode of Adorama’s Picture America documents the Bros as they give back to the American city of Atlanta, in the state of Georgia, by offering free portraits along the 35km BeltLine trail. They aim to give away 5,000 free photos by the end of the year, with the mini docuseries joining them just over halfway to meeting that goal.

The beating heart of The Cork Bros is Andres McCorkle and Michelangelo Corkrum, two friends who turned to content creation when their consulting business failed to turn a big enough profit. And now they’re giving back to the community. “We’ve seen grandpas come out here with their grandchildren (...) mothers who weren’t able to get maternity photos,” says Andres. But these aren’t just snaps, the Bros are using top-notch Sony mirrorless gear like the Sony a7R V and Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 G Master lens, not to mention portable studio lighting.

As such, they’re offering commercial-quality portraits to people, some of whom have never been professionally photographed. “One of my favorite parts of giving out these photos is seeing people’s reactions to them”, says Michelangelo, “a lot of times they haven’t seen themselves like that (...) just letting people see themselves in a beautiful light is [chef’s kiss].”

The video also features the latest addition to the Cork Bros family, Harold ‘HD’ Dudley Jr. HD was introduced to the Cork Bros a few years ago via an internship and was subsequently brought on full-time, where he operates as Lead Editor & Assistant Creative Director. Harold might not have ‘cork’ in his surname, but he’s still part of the family. “Even though we work together, they feel like older brothers to me,” he says.

Michelangelo calls Atlanta the “hub of the south (...) you have that mix of southern hospitality, mixed with big city.” Only by watching the full video (above) will you get a flavor of what the Georgian capital and its residents mean to Andres and Michelangelo. Watch on to join the Cork Bros as they shoot a behind-the-scenes video at a music studio, find out why their 5,000 photos project has attracted the attention of local businesses, and how they interact with their subjects to dispel any nerves so their personality shines through when they capture their photo.

You might also like...

If you enjoyed the video, make sure you check out the other Picture America episodes, including the story of the documentary photographer who is reshaping the city of Baltimore’s image. If you’re interested in portrait photography, check out the best cameras for portraits, and the best photography lighting kits.

Portraiture can at times feel like a bit of a dark art. There's so much jargon and little pieces of equipment to get up to speed on, from flashes to guide numbers, and lighting modifiers to triggers. It can be difficult to know where to start!

That’s why we're taking portraits back to basics, using a single continuous light bulb to achieve three completely different looks. You can take these shots at home with a basic setup. You'll need a dark background, a few lightstands, a curtain pole, and then a few extra props that we run through below.

The three techniques we cover in this project are the perfect place to start with artificial light in a studio setting, as we're using constant lighting. This is different from flashguns, which don't have a modelling light, so it will be much easier to tweak the lighting and get the shadows falling on your model precisely where you need them to. Let's get to it!

1. Camera set-up

All of the techniques we shot here use a one-light set-up, and you can keep things simple with a continuous light, or go as complicated as you like with flash. A 50mm lens is ideal as they're affordable and also have a super wide apertures, which make it easier to work with constant lights.

Our simple set-ups look great in black and white, so it's worth using your Canon's Monochrome Picture Style to see your desaturated scene in real-time using the live view. Just be sure to shoot in your Canon's RAW format so that you retain the color information.

Good settings to get started are Aperture Priority (Av) mode with an aperture of f/2 and ISO of 800 to achieve a fast shutter speed.

2. Set-up 1: Fabric fantastic!

For our first technique we set up two budget lightstands and used some duct tape to secure a curtain pole between them at the top which we could drape over a netted curtain with a pattern we could project onto our model's face, you could of course use a background stand if you have one, but the curtain pole method works well if you're on a tight budget.

A single continuous light was set up on the other side of the fabric – we turned off all other room lights and closed the blackout curtains to reduce light spill from outside. For camera settings, we went with aperture priority (Av) mode with a wide aperture of f/1.8 and boosted the ISO until we got a shutter speed of at least 1/250 sec.

The shadows you cast are affected by a number of different variables. You'll need to fine-tune all of them to get the shadows looking just right in your portraits. Moving the light closer to your subject and the fabric results in softer, blurry shadows, while moving the light source further away will render the shadow much sharper and more defined. If your model is close to the fabric, you'll see more detailed shadow patterns from the fabric too.

3. Set-up 2: Film noir

For our next simple setup, we asked our model to change outfits, and this lingerie helped add a little variety and make the portraits look different from the others. We wanted to go for a film noir style to make it look like she was looking through blinds.

A venetian blind was hung to our curtain pole using a few bits of picture hanging wire. Our continuous light was then set up on the other side of the blinds to produce shafts of light coming through the slats. We then experimented with the distance of the model to the blinds, the distance of the light to the blinds, and also changed the angle of the slats; as these tweaks all changed the appearance of the shadows until we had it just right.

To stop your light spilling onto a part of the frame that you don't want it to, you'll need to 'flag' it. This means blocking the light off, with anything from a set of 'barn doors', to the black side of a reflector, or even taping cardboard around your light to sculpt it onto the specific place you want. For our film noir set-up, we wanted a thin slice of light to come through the blinds, without the light spilling onto the black background, which we wanted to keep dark for maximum contrast.

4. Set-up 3: Rinse and repeat!

We kept our lightstands and background in place, then raided our kitchen for a colander and taped it to our curtain pole. The continuous light was positioned on the other side of the colander to cast spots of light over our model’s face. You could use flash for this if you have one, but a flash with a modelling light will make this much easier to see where the spots of light are falling on your model's face.

Using our continuous lights we were able to choose a fast drive burst mode on our Canon EOS R, which made it much easier to catch a series of shots and boost the chances of nailing one where the light fell where we needed it. Having a helper to move the colander until the shadows are in the right position would also be helpful for this technique.

You might like...

If you're serious about portrait photography, browse the best cameras for portraits, along with the best lenses for portraits.

This week, I did a shoot with a client who didn't know how to smile. I would say, 'Now give me a big smile', and her lips would twitch but remain in a straight line. I tried variants of this directive such as 'smile and show me your teeth' and 'say cheese' to no avail. I finally got her to smile by saying, very literally, 'Turn the corners of your mouth up'.

And it struck me that AI would be terrible at knowing how to get the best out of clients. Yes, to my horror, there are now AI headshot generators - I reviewed one for DCW here and was appalled at the prospect of it taking all my portrait photography work - but how much competition does artificial intelligence really pose to photographers?

Because no one is going to hire an AI to photograph their wedding. People skills are what are needed, especially when it comes to directing large groups of people. They're also necessary when handling difficult or nervous clients. An AI can't put people at ease, or be truly friendly, or crack jokes (I mean, I guess it could, but that could be more disconcerting than relaxing).

It can't take a genuine interest in why the person wants the photos, allay their fears of not looking good enough, or come up with clever solutions to problems such as my aforementioned 'smile situation'. It can't tell the client their false eyelashes have come unglued, that their top is unflattering or makes them blend into the background, or that they need to wipe their nose as there's something hanging out of it.

It can't yet assess lighting and suggest an alternative if it's too dim or casting the wrong shadows on the person's face. It can't tell someone to stop slumping, lower their shoulders or unfold their arms – and, even when it eventually becomes able to do these things, I doubt it will be able to assess whether someone's expression is appealing, frightened or sinister.

Right now, all it can do is analyse selfies and spew out a load of similar-but-not-bang-on 'pictures' of a client's likeness, saving it from having to interact with any humans or vice-versa. I guess it could do product photography, because you don't need to direct products, so I admit that product photographers might lose work. I'm not saying companies won't try to get AI to do every type of photography, including weddings – I'm just saying it would be horrifically bad at them.

However, what AI is really good at is 'glamour effects', aka beauty retouching. AI apps such as FaceApp and Facetune can carry out what would be a ten-minute process in Photoshop in seconds. They can smooth skin, define eyes, resize features, add catchlights and change a client's hair colour at the touch of a button or two. AI can also remove objects or people in the background of shots naturally, as though they were never there, in a fraction of the time it would take a photographer to do so manually.

So we photographers should take advantage of AI's plus points to please clients and save us time (and therefore money) – and not worry too much about it replacing us. That's unlikely to happen anytime soon.

You might also like

Check our guide to the best portrait cameras and the best camera phones.

If you're getting started with portrait photography, one of the biggest questions is: what lens should I use for portraits? With the best portrait lenses coming in so many options – from affordable options to high-end professional glass – it can be overwhelming to choose the right one for you.

The first factor to consider is the focal length, which significantly impacts how your subjects appear and feel within the frame.

I reached out to Christian Mayberry, also known as the Roktographer, to discuss the best focal lengths for different portrait shooting needs and styles. Christian is a seasoned professional with over a decade of experience in portrait, commercial, fashion, and concert photography.

To simplify the world of lenses, we will give you an overview of how the choice of lens impacts your portraits, and what else matters next to its focal length…

Portrait photography lenses – the basics

Christian explains, "When delving into portrait photography as a beginner, the question often arises: what's the ultimate lens to kickstart your journey? Focal length and aperture settings are vital to consider.

"While the focal length has an effect on the visual appearance of the subject and facial features, wide aperture settings (low f-stop numbers) enable you to create an atmospheric frame while highlighting the subject. However, this shallow depth of field is not just influenced by a wide aperture."

A low f-stop number means your lens can open its aperture wide, letting in more light and creating a shallow depth of field. This is what gives you that beautiful background blur, or bokeh, that really makes your subject stand out.

However, because the area of focus gets smaller with open apertures (lower f-stop numbers), pay attention to keep your subject's eyes sharp and in focus. Changing the distance between your subject and the lens can also help create that soft, dreamy background.

Read more: What is depth of field?

The wide one – 35mm

Christian's top choice for environmental portraits, 35mm captures a full- or half-body portrait while the background provides the viewer with contextual visual information. This way, the composition enhances the overall narrative and impact of the image.

He explains, "A 35mm focal length offers a natural look with minimal distortion. Benefits of 35mm include versatility and a balanced perspective."

The Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM | Art, for example, excels in portrait photography with exceptional sharpness, minimal chromatic aberration and a fast f/1.4 aperture.

Featuring a hypersonic motor for quiet, precise autofocus and a robust, ergonomic design, it's available for L, Sony E, Sigma SA, Canon EF, Nikon F, and Pentax mounts. Though it lacks weather sealing, its advanced optics deliver professional-level performance at a competitive price.

Read more: This pro photographer prefers a 35mm prime for portraits – and this is why

Nifty Fifty – 50mm

Affordability and compact size make these optics a favorite among many. Christian says, "It is ideal for creating classic portraits with a natural field of view as this focal length offers a perspective that is close to human vision."

While 35mm optics require positioning the subject further away from the lens, 50mm lenses enable you to get in closer, with the possibility of creating beautiful bokeh (the quality of the fore and background blur).

The Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM, for example, is a flagship prime lens, delivering outstanding optical performance with exceptional sharpness, minimal chromatic aberration and virtually no distortion – even wide open at f/1.2.

Built with 15 elements in 9 groups and a 10-blade aperture, it offers stunning subject separation and edge-to-edge clarity. Full weather sealing, internal focus and a customizable Control Ring add to its pro-grade appeal. At 950g, it's hefty – but a true showcase of what Canon's RF system can achieve.

Read more: Picture perfect, penny-wise portraits with a "nifty-fifty" lens

The classic choice – 85mm

Christian explains, "This focal length is optimal for capturing headshots and close-up portraits when the focus is solely on your subject."

An 85mm lens is also great for versatility, as it creates a more tightly framed view than the human eye. It gives you the option to capture distant subjects without moving closer to them, which is key when creating event portraiture, for example.

The Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM II, for example, is a high-performance update to Sony's classic portrait prime (Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM), offering faster autofocus, enhanced sharpness at f/1.4 and even smoother bokeh.

Weighing 642g, it's lighter, more ergonomic and adds pro touches like dual custom buttons, an Iris lock, and de-clickable aperture ring – delivering superb results with premium handling.

Read more: 14 tips for getting your best ever people shots

You might like...

Browse the best cameras for portraits, along with the best Nikon portrait lenses and the best Canon portrait lenses.

If you had told me back when I was in high school that I would one day be shouting at large groups of people, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. But my decision to pick up a camera hasn’t just given me the ability to freeze time – it has given me the confidence to speak up as a soft-spoken introvert.

I’ve long been described as a quiet, shy personality type. If you want to crank up my anxiety, just put me in a room full of people that I’ve never met before.

And then, I picked up a camera.

The camera is admittedly easy to hide behind, giving me a reason to observe quietly in the background. Except for one thing: the subject that I photograph the most is people. I’m a portrait and wedding photographer, and being photographed by a photographer who doesn’t say anything is incredibly awkward.

The camera didn’t automatically give me a bubbly, outgoing personality. But it did give me the courage to step outside my comfort zone – and enough practice in speaking up that I no longer break out in a cold sweat when I have ten minutes to organize fifty people for family portraits on a wedding day.

Yes, I started out as a shy, young photographer who had a hard time interacting with clients. But today, I’m chatting with my subjects and directing different poses – and I’m no longer bothered or anxious about it.

Picking up a camera didn’t immediately change my personality. I’m still an introvert, and I still need some time alone (preferably in nature) after spending time in big groups. I still have a fear of public speaking. But what photography has done is give me the time and space to work on those weaknesses and gradually build up my confidence.

Fellow introverts, you can still be a successful photographer – and even a successful portrait photographer. Photography is sharing your perspective of the world without words, and that’s a powerful superpower for an introvert to have.

The more you photograph other people, the more comfortable you will become with directing people in different poses. Practice with friends and family who you are already comfortable around. Write down some different poses and prompts ahead of time to choose from when your portrait subject is staring at you and you’re drawing a blank. Understand when you need to recharge your introvert batteries and spend some time solo – and prioritize that time.

But don’t give up on the idea of working as a photographer just because you are shy. The camera – and practice – can give you the confidence to speak up.

You may also like

New to portrait photography? Start with these portrait photography tips. Or, browse the best portrait lenses and the best cameras for portraits.

Let's be honest: everyone wants to look their best. When you wake up in the morning, you rub the sleep out of your eyes, remove anything green dangling from your nose and brush your teeth (or at least, I hope you do).

If your eyes are bloodshot, you might use eye drops. If your teeth are yellow, you could use gels in whitening trays. And if you're a woman off to work, chances are you do your hair and put some makeup on (admittedly, guys tend to have a more low-effort approach to maintaining their appearance, though guyliner and manscara both exist).

I see no difference between beautifying ourselves in real life and retouching photos. Most of the time, unless a client asks me to use beauty filters, I'm just whitening their eyes and teeth, smoothing their skin and – for women – defining their eyelashes.

These are all effects that can be achieved using makeup, eye drops and teeth-whitening gels, and if the client has neglected to do this or it hasn't occurred to them, I can give them a glow-up in post. I genuinely enjoy seeing how much better I can make photographic subjects look, and they're usually very pleased with the results. After all, who wants veiny eyeballs and brown teeth?

But the purists hate retouching. "I try to get it as good as I can in the camera," one veteran photographer told me. To which I thought, well, surely all shooters do that?

The thing is, the camera can only capture what it sees, and if that's a yellow-toothed smile then there's nothing the photographer can do about the color of the subject's teeth while snapping away. We can only fix their appearance by editing in post.

Purists doubly hate that I use AI tools rather than Photoshop – which some grumpy photographers grudgingly admit to using for the adjustment layers, but only for them, damnit!

The reason I use FaceApp and Facetune is because edits that would take me ten minutes in Photoshop take me ten seconds in these apps. Sure, Photoshop is a lot more versatile and broad in its scope – it enables you to do pretty much anything you like to a photo. But if your focus is merely beautifying a client, then the apps are way more efficient.

The other reason to improve a client's appearance is that for my subjects, who are mostly journalists and authors, they are competing in the appearance stakes with other public figures, many of whom will be using AI apps to their advantage.

FaceApp only costs $47 and Facetune $81 for a year's subscription, so these apps are well within the reach of the average person – and they're extremely easy to use, too (far easier and cheaper than Photoshop, especially for those with no photo editing experience).

Sure, on the one hand, I have a teenage daughter and am aware that I'm contributing to the unrealistically perfect images that litter the internet and, in some cases, lower young people's self-esteem. However, it's not as though the surfeit of images will all cease if I desist from beautifying my clients – my daughter will just have less pocket money to spend.

And, conversely, I'm making my clients feel better about the way they look and the way they present themselves online. Because we all want to look amazing, regardless of how we get there.

You might also like…

Check our guide to the best lens for portraits and the best camera for portrait photography. We also have a guide to the best Photoshop alternatives and the best Lightroom alternatives.

If you want to shoot polished, professional-looking portraits, then knowing how to light a face with a flash is one of the most worthwhile skills you can master. To the uninitiated it can seem a bit daunting, but if you break the technique down into fundamentals then there’s no need for concern.

To get started, all you need are a few basic bits of kit – a flash, a softbox, a light stand, a trigger and a reflector or large piece of white card. There are lots of good budget flash options out there, and you don’t need anything with fancy settings; all you need is a flash that pops.

With this single light source, a willing subject and a decent-sized space to shoot in, you can craft all sorts of interesting looks. In this project, I'll show you how to use light for a variety of different portraits.

Using a single light source keeps things simple. If you jump straight in with multiple flashes, then it becomes about different outputs and lighting ratios, and this is where things tend to get complicated. However, with a single flash you can move it around the subject and see immediately how the angles affect your photos. With a slight tweak to the position, you can create wildly different results.

I'll start by explaining the camera skills you need, then we’ll explore a host of different set-ups – from bright high-key looks to moody low-key portraits. Alternatively, you can watch the video below:

How I set up portraits with a single flash

1. Flash unit
   A single studio head unit like this is ideal, as it enables you to fit modifiers with ease. But you could equally use any speedlight (you’ll need a suitable attachment to use it with a softbox). A modelling light is useful for instant feedback, but if you don’t have one you can simply take test shots instead.
   
2. Softbox for better light
   The larger a light source, the softer and more diffused the light. A softbox is the ideal light modifier for portraits, as it transforms the small, hard light from a bare flash into a broad, flattering source of light that – unlike an umbrella – is still easy to control and direct.
   
3. Flash trigger
   You’ll need a trigger so that the off-camera flash goes off when you press the shutter button on the camera. Any flash trigger will do; you don’t need one with TTL or high-speed sync. In a pinch, you can also use an on-camera flash to fire the off-camera flash in optical trigger mode.
   
4. Reflector
   A reflector is a cheap and useful tool for studio lighting. When placed opposite the main light, it enables you to bounce light back into the shadows to soften facial contrast. Here, it enables you to create a high-key effect by lighting the front of the face when the flash is positioned directly behind the head.
   
5. Light stand
   A light stand means that you can place your light exactly where you want it – in front, behind, to one side, up above, down below. Often they have a thread at the top that – if using a speed light – you can use to attach the flash using the little plastic stand it came with.
   
6. You have the power!
   You don’t have to adjust your camera settings for different exposures – adjust the flash power instead. Set the flash to manual power mode and use a mid-range setting, then take test shots and adjust power as you shoot. You can also change power by moving it closer or further away.

1) Flash unit
A single studio head unit like this is ideal, as it enables you to fit modifiers with ease. But you could equally use any speedlight (you’ll need a suitable attachment to use it with a softbox). A modelling light is useful for instant feedback, but if you don’t have one you can simply take test shots instead.

2) Softbox for better light
The larger a light source, the softer and more diffused the light. A softbox is the ideal light modifier for portraits, as it transforms the small, hard light from a bare flash into a broad, flattering source of light that – unlike an umbrella – is still easy to control and direct.

3) Flash trigger
You’ll need a trigger so that the off-camera flash goes off when you press the shutter button on the camera. Any flash trigger will do; you don’t need one with TTL or high-speed sync. In a pinch, you can also use an on-camera flash to fire the off-camera flash in optical trigger mode.

4) Reflector
A reflector is a cheap and useful tool for studio lighting. When placed opposite the main light, it enables you to bounce light back into the shadows to soften facial contrast. Here, it enables you to create a high-key effect by lighting the front of the face when the flash is positioned directly behind the head.

5) Light stand
A light stand means that you can place your light exactly where you want it – in front, behind, to one side, up above, down below. Often they have a thread at the top that – if using a speed light – you can use to attach the flash using the little plastic stand that came with it.

6) You have the power!
You don’t have to adjust your camera settings for different exposures – adjust the flash power instead. Set the flash to manual power mode and use a mid-range setting, then take test shots and adjust power as you shoot. You can also change power by moving it closer or further away.

My top tips for one-light portrait setups

1) Side lighting
Imagine a clock face around your subject’s head like this. By moving the light around the face, changing the height and adjusting the pose, you can craft all sorts of looks. Here the flash is directly side-on at 9 o’clock for moody side-lighting.

2) High-key backlit
The softbox is behind the head at 12 o’clock, creating a blown-out backdrop. A reflector is positioned next to the camera to bounce light back into the face (hence the catchlight in the subject’s eyes). For this, you may need to open your aperture to allow in more light.

3) Butterfly lighting
The flash is directly overhead at 6 o’clock, angled from above. This is a classic beauty lighting set-up. The high angle accentuates cheekbones. It’s sometimes known as butterfly lighting, as the straight-down shadow from the nostrils creates a butterfly shape.

4) Short lighting
Put the light at 2 or 10 o’clock and ask your subject to stand side-on, so light glances off the face. Sometimes called short lighting, the light hits the side of the face angled away from the camera. Direct the flash back to the camera to stop it hitting the backdrop.

5) From below
Put the light at 6 o’clock, below the camera. This makes for ‘horror movie’ lighting. Light from below looks unnatural (we’re used to seeing light from above) and can be unflattering. I’ve cooled the white balance to go with the unnatural effect.

6) Silhouette
You don’t necessarily need to light your subject to create interesting portraits. Here the light is at 12 o’clock, but rather than angled at the subject it’s trained on the backdrop instead. This blows out the backdrop and leaves our subject in stark silhouette.

My simple 5-minute retouch for portraits

1) Try adaptive presets
Open the image into Adobe Photoshop’s Camera Raw or Lightroom and go to the Preset Panel. Here you’ll find a variety of one-click ‘Adaptive Presets’ that detect facial features like eyes and skin and apply targeted presets. Here, the ‘Enhance Portrait’ preset boosts facial features.

2) Skin-smoothing filter
In Photoshop under Filter > Neural Filters > Skin Smoothing, this handy filter enables you quickly soften skin. Such effects can leave skin looking unnatural, but this one gives subtle results – especially on a separate layer that masks it where you want it to be.

3) Boost the eyes
Eyes can benefit from subtle dodging and burning in Photoshop. Use the Dodge tool (at a low strength) to lift the white and the inside of the iris. Use the Burn tool (set to target Shadows) to darken the lashes and the outer rim of the iris. Use the Sponge tool to saturate the iris.

My essential editing skills for mono portraits

One of the great things about using a single light source for portraits is how it often gives you good contrast between light and dark. The gentle mix of shadows and highlights accentuates the shape of a person’s face. This also makes it ideal for a classic black-and-white treatment.

Black-and-white is made for faces. Without color, it enables the viewer to focus on other aspects of the face like expression and form. There are umpteen ways to craft a black-and-white treatment. One of the simplest is to use the B&W Profiles in Lightroom and Photoshop’s Camera Raw.

You might also like...

Looking to upgrade your portrait setup? Here are the best lenses for portraits and the best cameras for portraits. If you're looking for inspiration, here are the best books on portrait photography.

I've been a professional photographer for a year now, and there are five things clients say which get my goat. I don't have a literal goat, you understand - lugging my camera, lenses, tripod and laptop to shoots is enough without dragging an unwilling ruminant along with me too. But I'm sure these well-meaning but irritating questions and statements would annoy any creature able to understand language. Disclaimer: none of the three lovely clients pictured in this article said any of these things. Here goes...

1. 'Your shots are good - it must be your camera'

A backhanded compliment if ever I heard one. In 24 years of being a writer, no one has ever said, 'Your prose is good – it must be your laptop'. Competent toilet plumbing isn't attributed to a decent plunger, and excellent cleaning isn't the work of a good sponge. Yet somehow clients think my camera is responsible for them looking attractive, rather than my eye for aesthetics coupled with my technical prowess behind the lens. I'm glad they like the shots, but perhaps they could credit me for them instead of the expensive box which captures light?

2. 'Can you take free photos of me over and above the brief?'

I will do this, because of the phrase 'anything for an easy life'. It's easier to just say yes than to piss clients off on the day and create an atmosphere, or demand extra cash on the spot. A happy client means better photos. However, to go back to my example of the plumber, no one would expect him to plumb in a washing machine when he's only come round to unblock the toilet – and if they did ask him, he'd make them pay through the nose (a nose which would already be affronted by the blocked loo). Yet when I'm standing there checking my shots, clients think I'm actually just pissing about, so why wouldn't I be free to take a few extra cheeky snaps? Sigh.

3. 'Can you take photos of me in really bad light?'

Some clients have their hearts set on being captured in a location with terrible lighting, despite your explanation that it'll make them look awful. To be fair, once you've taken a few shots and shown them how bad they are on the preview screen, they generally relent and follow your direction, because they don't want to look like a dog's dinner. But when they don't relent, and the shots look rubbish, and then they post them up on social media and attribute them to you out of a mistaken belief that's what you want, it makes you look like you don't know what you're doing. This is not the kind of press you need.

4. 'That's not my best side/I only want to be shot from this angle'

Arrrgh. I feel like asking, 'Who do you think you are, Mariah Carey?!' Often clients are confused as to what makes them look best, and refusing to strike your requested poses can mean your photos don't turn out as well as they could. This attitude can be especially frustrating in group shots where you're trying to arrange the clients in a way that looks aesthetically pleasing: 'Oh no, I simply don't *do* that angle!' Vanity is the enemy of great composition.

5. 'Can we just do some extra shots [with surprise added guests/in new location]?'

As the saying goes, fail to plan and you plan to fail, and that can go double for surprises a client springs on you. If you didn't know you were going to be shooting outdoors or indoors, or that you were going to be photographing ten people instead of two or vice-versa, it can not only flummox you and throw you off-balance, it can also mean you don't have the right gear. I only want to shoot portraits with my trusted Nifty Fifty, ideally in natural light with the subject facing a window, not in a windowless room with ugly artificial downlights; equally, I don't want to be stuck shooting groups with a 50mm lens, having to zoom out by walking backwards! But saying 'I haven't brought the right gear' for unexpected requests sounds unprofessional.

Seriously, who'd be a photographer?!

Portraiture has always held a unique place in photography, a space where identity, emotion and story converge. The newly released AAP Magazine #48: Portrait reaffirms this, gathering 25 photographers from 12 countries across 5 continents to explore what it means to depict an individual or group of individuals.

Selected from over a thousand portrait photography submissions, the winning images span continents and genres, from raw street encounters to carefully composed studio captures. What unites them is a shared intimacy, a quiet invitation into the lives and experiences of others.

The top prize in this issue went to Australian photographer, Carole Mills Noronha, for That Place He Goes, a tender series documenting her father’s final years living with dementia.

Shot during the isolation of Australia’s lockdowns, Noronha’s images are infused with absence and affection. Through soft light and stillness, they reflect the slow erosion of memory and the stubborn persistence of love, offering a portrait of both personal loss and universal connection.

Second place was awarded to Spanish photographer, Jesús Umbría Brito, for Retaguardia, a vivid and defiant look at post-pandemic youth embedded in punk subculture.

There’s a duality to his work; part protest, part confession. In each frame, a fragile rebellion pulses beneath the surface. Brito captures not just fashion or attitude, but a longing for identity in a world that’s shifting too fast to hold onto.

Third place went to American photographer, Paul Adams, for his masterful Wet Plate Collodion Portraits, which breathe new life into a 19th-century process.

In a time of digital ephemera, Adams’ work feels carved in silver and glass. His portraits are not only technically exquisite; they’re hauntingly alive, revealing a sensitivity to the act of being seen.

The wider selection of photographers featured in this issue broadens the conversation. Artists from Vietnam, Wales, Italy and the United States offer their own interpretations; some poetic, some political, some deeply personal.

From East Los Angeles to Melbourne, their subjects become mirrors for the viewer, drawing us into stories of vulnerability, resilience and defiance. Collectively, the issue maps a global landscape of portraiture that is as diverse as it is emotionally relatable.

"Portraits have the power to stop time and reveal something essential about who we are," says Sandrine Hermand-Grisel, editor-in-chief of All About Photo.

"What moved me most about this edition is the quiet honesty behind so many of the images – each one a gesture of trust between photographer and subject. This issue is not just about faces, but about presence, memory, and connection across borders."

AAP Magazine #48: Portrait is available in both print and digital formats, with all winning images also presented in a dedicated online gallery.

you may also like

Check out our guides to the best cameras for portraits and the best lenses for portrait photography.

Professional commercial photographer Jon Segui collaborates with international brands on projects ranging from product catalogues to beauty and Formula 1. Jon has to meet the highest standards of this exclusive industry, and to do so, he works exclusively with Nikon gear.

Jon captured this beauty shot at 1/200sec, f/13, ISO100 using the Nikon's pro flagship camera, the Z9, and the Nikon Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S, which we rated as "one of the finest Nikon Z lenses that we've seen to date".

Jon says, "In high-end beauty photography, understanding the industry's rigorous standards is crucial. Visual perfection is not just a goal – it's an expectation. Every detail must be meticulously refined to meet the highest professional benchmarks, ensuring that the final image is flawless."

Let's dive into the story behind this image and discuss Jon's gear and lighting choices.

Image Analysis

Following a vision

"I worked with Narea (model) in collaboration with Naomi (makeup artist) to bring the concept to life. For this shot, we chose an all-black ensemble, including clothing and earrings, to craft varying shades of darkness.

"The focus was on using controlled lighting to enhance the mood and depth of the image. And of course, some killer moody makeup designed to evoke a sense of mystery, adding depth and intrigue to her expression."

Creative choices

"In my day-to-day work, I focus primarily on corporate headshots, where I use various techniques to create subject separation, giving the images a clean, 3D appearance.

"However, with this image, I aimed to evoke a sense of drama and intensity by embracing more darkness – to create a frame that exudes delicacy and softness while captivating the viewer's gaze. Deliberately minimizing the separation was a creative choice to help amplify the mood and depth of the photograph.”

Shaping the light

"Once the model was prepared, the focus of this shoot was entirely on controlling the lighting. I often use a 165cm umbrella with diffusion because it produces beautifully soft light.

"For this shot, I positioned the light directly above the model and had her stand at the outer rim of the umbrella, gazing toward the centre. This setup minimized the light behind the model, creating a subtle separation while also preventing any light spillage onto the backdrop.

"To enhance the effect, I used a curved reflector to bounce light into the shadows, which added a dimension and produced a distinctive catchlight for added character."

Flawless teamwork

"This shoot was a true collaboration between me, the model, and the makeup artist. We focused on showcasing the strengths of everyone involved. The makeup design called for soft lighting to avoid harsh shadows and highlight the model’s flawless skin – a detail that simplified the editing process.

"However, high-end beauty photography always requires retouching to achieve perfection. By carefully tailoring the lighting to complement both the makeup and the model, we were able to streamline the retouching phase while maintaining the integrity of the original image."

Gear Info

Jon captured this image using a Nikon Z9, a full-frame mirrorless camera that is the successor model of the Z8. The Z9 is a pro camera that arrived late to the mirrorless party in October 2021.

With ultra-fast 120fps burst shooting, 8K/60p video, and over 2.5 hours of 8k/30 recording, it outpaces the Sony A1 and Canon EOS R3 in speed and value. While the A1 leads in resolution and the R3 excels in ISO and stabilization, the Z9 holds its own with an advanced AF system (slightly behind in video), a reliable electronic-only shutter, and class-leading battery life.

Curious how the Z9 stacks up? Check out our full comparison of the Nikon Z9 vs the Canon EOS R3 and Sony A1.

And now to the lens – the one we rated as "one of the finest Nikon Z lenses that we've seen to date". The Nikon Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S delivers sensational image quality for both general photography and extreme close-ups. It features a fast, accurate AF (autofocus) system and powerful optical VR (Vibration Reduction) that pairs perfectly with the Nikon Z-series in-body stabilization.

Built tough with weather-sealed construction, the MC 105mm offers great handling for demanding shooters, including a customizable lens-function button, control ring, autofocus range limiter, and an electronically coupled focus ring for precise manual adjustments.

For creating the perfect lighting setup, Jon worked with Godox AD600Pro II, the Phottix 165cm Umbrella (diffused), and a PixaPro Curved Reflector.

You might like...

Take a look at the best Nikon cameras and the best Nikon lenses to go with them.

If you are interested in the story behind photographs and why shots work, check out more articles in this series:
- This image was shot with "probably the best 70-200mm zoom in the world"
- Not all photos need to be "nice to look at" – this DSLR shot preserves rituals for future generations.

Every so often you capture an image and, just by looking at the back of the camera, you know you’ve got something truly special.

That’s exactly what Midwest sports and events photographer, Josh at SBJ Studios, did a few weeks ago when he doused his Canon RF 28-70mm f/2L USM in flammable liquid and set it ablaze (please don’t try this yourself).

Now, in his own words, he’s “Southwest Michigan’s dumbest photographer”, but you can’t argue with the incredible results! Take a look at the shot in action:

Despite this unconventional method, it’s actually right within the wheelhouse of SBJ Studios, a creative photography outlet that specializes in fiery photography.

I can only assume a special fire gel was used to protect the lens and to cause the flame to burn for only a split second. This meant timing was crucial, so in the video Josh lines up the shot and an assistant leans in with a safety lighter – so all that’s left for the photographer to do is fire the shutter.

The results are as good as you could hope, with the subject surrounded by an almost perfect border of flames. It’s so good that even Josh looks surprised. He says with a cheeky grin, “Sometimes I have a shot that’s so good that I’m like, I don’t care if you love it, ‘cos it’s amazing”.

The only downside to a photo like this is that it’s so perfect, I don’t think anyone will believe it’s not a composite. Then again, as Josh points out: “I don’t know if we could of even Photoshopped that better.”

Thankfully, the Reel immortalized the moment as evidence. While you won’t find me setting any of my lenses alight anytime soon, props to Josh and his team for thinking outside the box.

You might also like...

Interested in portrait photography? Here are the best cameras for portraits and the best portrait lenses, along with the best photography lighting kits. And if you don't know where to start, here's how to get stunning portraits with just one light.

People Photographer of the Year, Maryam Firuzi, travelled over 30,000 miles to shoot her award-winning series with the larger-than-full-frame Fujifilm GFX 50R camera.

Maryam was named People POTY by the prestigious International Photography Awards (IPA) in 2024. She won the title with her series In the shadows of silent women, a project centering around Iranian women.

The photographer is Iranian herself and grew up in the turbulent post-revolution era. Her work addresses cultural crises, gender issues, and identity problems in contemporary Iranian society.

"Previously, all my photographs focused on middle-class, urban Iranian women, but after eight years of photography, I sought a broader perspective on this issue," Maryam says.

As the headline suggests, it was not always easy for Maryam to portray the lives of Iranian communities. Building trust was essential.

To capture her award-winning project, she used the GFX 50R medium format camera and two prime lenses: the Fujinon GF 45mm f/2.8 R WR and the Fujinon GF 80mm f/1.7 R WR.

Let's take a closer look at her work, and get pro advice from a photographer who knows that not every person wants to stand in front of her lens…

The project

"I have always been fascinated by Iran's cultural, linguistic and geographical diversity. Historically, the concept of a country was first formed in Iran thousands of years ago, making it a crossroads of different civilizations and cultures.

"To explore this diversity, I began traveling and searching for these communities. I focused on highlighting the rich history of Iranian women, showcasing their resilience and determination. Despite facing various limitations, these women are dedicated to educating their children and preserving their ancestral identity, as they represent a pivotal generation.

"My greatest challenge was initially gaining entry to, and then being accepted within, these small groups. Many women in these societies were reluctant to be photographed, which made my task harder. I needed to establish trust and after my third photo, my team had dwindled to just my mother and me, but together, we were able to win their confidence through our bond."

Pro advice

1. Do your research
"Before taking photos, conduct thorough research to clarify your objectives and preferences – even if they happen to evolve during the process."

2. Step out of your comfort zone
"You won't discover anything extraordinary until you embrace adventure. I captured one of the most unexpected photos after a long day of driving. Exhausted and seeking a place to rest, I stumbled upon women who had been living in caves for thousands of years and they became the subjects of one of my most unique images."

3. Understanding Humanity
"People should not feel like mere objects for your benefit; they possess inherent dignity. Truly engage with them by living alongside them, listening to their stories, and showing that their importance is recognized and valued."

4. Don't rush
"Photography requires patience, especially in communities where time feels different. Avoid imposing your own time constraints; instead, adapt to their pace to achieve meaningful results."

5. Keep trying
"Not everyone will be receptive to your camera. Remember that for every 'no', there will be a 'yes' waiting to be found. Embrace the setbacks and keep trying."

Image analysis

Specific locations
"I explored coastal villages and cities in southern Iran, seeking a site that connects interior and exterior, showcasing traditional architecture and unique geographical features."

Choice of time
"I opted for midday, using natural light to enhance the transparency of the sea and brighten the interiors. By using reflectors for lighting, I maintained the space's intimate atmosphere and authenticity."

Aperture change
"Due to lower interior light levels, I captured two separate shots, adjusting the aperture for each. One shot highlighted the exterior, while the other focused on the dimmer interior."

The gear

Fujifilm GFX 50R
The GFX 50R stands out as one of the best-value digital medium format cameras on the second-hand market. Despite the rise of full-frame mirrorless cameras, with this camera, Fujifilm chose to bypass that market, offering a sensor that's a full 67% larger than full-frame.

Fujinon GF 45mm f/2.8 R WR
With a classic effective focal length (36mm) and a compact size, the GF 45mm sits between the slimline Fujifilm GF 50mm f/3.5 R LM WR and the epic, bokehlicious Fujifilm GF 55mm f/1.7 R WR. It's a great, sharp, fast and weather-sealed lens that is ideal for documentary and portrait work.

Fujinon GF80mm f/1.7 R WR
At 795g the GR 80mm isn't light, but it delivers stunning shallow depth of field and bokeh. Like all medium-format lenses, its size is a tradeoff for optical quality and a larger image circle. Built for pros, it's engineered to match both durability and performance.

You might like...

If you are interested in articles featuring Photographer of the Years, you might want to check out more in our series:

- Discover why less is more with Minimalism Photographer of the Year
- Tell a story with your food images says Food Photographer of the Year
- Sports Photographer of the Year gives pro advice on shooting dramatic speedy action

A few years ago, I interviewed celebrity portrait photographer Chris Buck on his work. One thing I’ve always loved about interviewing Buck is that he has the most interesting and entertaining stories about meeting and photographing his well-known subjects. 

One of my favorite stories that he shared with me was how he was able to get a well-known US politician from the 1970s to pose for a photo in a somewhat vulnerable way – and how he almost didn’t get the photo. 

In 1996, Buck photographed the former senator and former Democratic presidential candidate, George McGovern, in just skimpy Speedo swim trunks. Here’s what happened during the shoot: 

“I had shot him at a summer cottage with his family,” says Buck. “When I met him, he was walking up from the beach and was in a Speedo bathing suit and looked amazing. He was in his seventies!” 

Buck says the former senator went in and changed into regular clothes for the shoot. But just after the session, Buck mentioned to his assistant that he wished he could have shot him in the bathing suit. His assistant replied, “You should ask him.”

So, Buck asked McGovern, “Would you pose in a bathing suit as you were when we first met you?”

At first, McGovern said no. But when Buck said that he wouldn’t hand it into Newsweek but wanted it for his portfolio, McGovern agreed. “So he put his bathing suit back on,” says Buck. “And we shot him against a seamless in the cottage. And it’s just amazing. Even now, 20 years later, people look at it and ask, ‘How on earth did you get it?’”

For photographers, the takeaway is simple: If you have an experimental idea for a shot, just ask your subject and see what he or she says. “I think when you really believe in your idea,” Buck says, “and if you ask it in a way that doesn’t undermine your narrative, a lot of times it will work.”

For those interested in learning more from Chris Buck and his approach to portrait photography, he has an upcoming workshop: The Surprising Portrait Workshop is June 20-22, in Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY.

It features three days of personalized photo assignments & critiques, portfolio reviews, a portrait demo and a VIP guest. The VIP this year is Amy Kellner, senior photo editor of The New York Times Magazine, and a top industry professional with fantastic insights and a great eye.

You may also like…

You can't shoot portraiture with any old lens! Make sure you're using one of the best lenses for portraits, and you might want to take a look at the best cameras for portraits too.

Approaching my 45th birthday and feeling prematurely middle-aged, I decided to check that I didn't actually look 45. For me, this didn't involve pointing a video camera in the faces of baffled passersby and demanding that they put a number to my wrinkliness, as producers do in certain reality TV shows. No: I turned to two far-less-embarrassing AI programs instead (and, trust me, some of your clients will be doing this too!)

These websites, age.toolpie.com and howolddoyoulook.com, exhort you to either use an existing photo of yourself or to snap one right there and then. I corralled my long-suffering boyfriend Adam, also aged 45, to take part in the experiment with me.

First, we tried age.toolpie.com. Adam got an accurate but unflattering verdict of age 45 when he stared at the camera stern-faced, but when he relaxed and smiled, the AI knocked five years off, making him 40 – a more successful instant transformation than using any anti-ageing cream.

Being half-Asian and therefore having more melanin in my skin, I had an inbuilt advantage over Adam (beige don't age, baby!) but the AI also preferred it when I smiled. It awarded me a verdict of 39 when I scowled at it hatchet-faced, but relented and gave me 36 when I grinned.

That was still higher than I'd have liked - it didn't even knock a decade off, and I've been very assiduous in slathering on the sunscreen daily since I was 19, so I was a little indignant.

I therefore turned to howolddoyoulook.com, hoping it would provide my vain ego with solace. It did, giving me 28 when I frowned and an impressive 26 when I beamed at it. Truly, smiling opens all the doors.

The AIs assured me that they didn't save or store the photos, which is a shame as they could have developed a database of the vainest, most egotistical people on the internet.

Also, I remembered that I had first used the same AI last summer, along with my daughter, who had been 13 at the time. I'd kept screenshots – but while howolddoyoulook.com had correctly judged my daughter as 13 (maybe the process is more straightforward with kids?), it had told me I was 24!

So, less than nine months later, it had aged me by either two or four years, depending on whether I smiled or not. At this rate, it'll say I'm a grandmother by Christmas.

Still, age comes to us all, and there's no turning it back. So, while age-assessing AIs are fun, at some stage everyone must confront their mortality – however old a computer may reckon we are. Happy 45th birthday to me!

You might also like

Check our guides to the best portrait lenses and the best phones for photography.

Portrait photographer David Suh was tasked with assembling the cast of Marvel’s latest superhero romp, Thunderbolts* (aka New Avengers), for a rapid portrait shoot that was over in just five minutes.

During that limited time he had to cajole the in-demand octet of A-list actors, including Florence Pugh (who returns as Black Widow’s sister, Yelena Belova), David Harbour (who steps back into the Red Guardian suit) and Sebastian Stan (who plays everyone’s favorite emo super soldier, Bucky Barnes).

Check out Suh in action to see just how much of a pressure cooker a high-profile professional photoshoot can be:

The Instagram Reel starts off relatively relaxed, with the photographer inviting Harbour to pose first, taking a few snaps before bringing in Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who plays Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Suh wastes no time in connecting with the actors and getting them to assume specific poses.

Top-billed cast member Pugh is up next. And despite earning plaudits for her performance as Yelena Belova, it’s her incredible silver platform shoes – which David Harbour refers to as “moon boots” – that steal this particular shoot. So much so that Suh shifts aside a red block that’s obscuring the sparkling accessories so they feature in the photo.

Stan is up next and doesn’t hesitate to follow the photographer’s instructions by sitting on the floor and saying: “I love that you have it all down.”

I’m a Sebastian Stan fan as it is, but I thought this was a touch of class, happily following instructions and putting the photographer at ease. In fact, the whole shoot is a great example of a portrait photographer interacting with subjects in a really fun and positive environment.

But it was still a high-stress situation, because no sooner had Suh photographed Wyatt Russell (who plays US Agent) and engaged in a little friendly banter than somebody stepped in to let him know that he only had one minute left.

Cue the photographer inviting Hannah John-Kamen (who plays Ghost), Geraldine Viswanathan (who assumes the role of Mel) and Lewis Pullman (who’s Bob) into the fold to quickly finish up. Once everyone is posed, Suh rushes over to a camera set on a tripod, asks the cast to look towards him, and captures the shot.

But what I love most about this video is when David asks the cast to assume their signature poses, only for Florence Pugh to say: “My signature pose is my eyes crossed.” And with that, I’ll let you check out the incredible final result by watching the Reel.

You might also like...

If you're into Marvel, I bet you didn't know that Guardians of the Galaxy 3 was released in 600 aspect ratios! Or that 8,000 cameras, lenses and accessories were used on Marvel's Shang-Chi. And if you're a portrait photographer, here is the best cameras for portraits and the best portrait lenses.

A question that every photographer probably asks at some point – especially when starting out – is whether to choose a prime lens or a zoom lens. Both have their perks, but this portrait photographer prefers to work with a prime – a 35mm, no less, specifically the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM | Art.

Prime lenses have fixed focal lengths, which means you often have to 'zoom with your feet' and move around to get the composition just right. On the other hand, zoom lenses provide a lot more flexibility. While primes are well known for their incredible sharpness, modern zooms are closing this gap more and more.

Personally I lean towards zoom lenses because they enable me to photograph wildlife or motorsport safely from a distance, and also give me creative freedom.

I was curious about what other photographers prefer to work with, particularly in areas like portrait photography, which isn't my focus. So, I talked to a Ukrainian portrait and documentary photographer, Oksana Zarovna, and discussed why the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 is her favored optic.

"I currently favor using a 35mm fixed lens for my photography because it enables me to effectively capture and convey a compelling story within a single photo," Oksana explains.

"This can be more challenging with a 50mm lens, and even more so with an 85mm lens due to their narrower field of view. Although an 85mm lens may excel in capturing and conveying specific emotions, for storytelling purposes, I definitely prefer the wider perspective offered by the 35mm lens."

But why does Oksana choose to work with a fixed lens and lose flexibility in terms of composition?

"Working with a fixed lens forces me to think ahead and visualize the scene in advance. It requires me to approach the subject from the right distance and select the ideal angle, which ultimately leads to more intentional compositions."

The 35mm prime

Oksana shoots with Sigma's renowned 35mm Art lens. "I love the maximum aperture setting of f/1.4, which gives me flexibility in creating bokeh on the go, without the need to take too many technical aspects into account."

This Sigma prime is big on performance without breaking the bank. While it doesn't have some of the latest features, like weather sealing, the image quality is simply amazing. There are plenty of extra bonuses, like a focus distance scale, that make handling the lens enjoyable and intuitive.

You might also like...

Are you into portrait photography? Take a look at the best cameras for portrait photography and the best portrait lenses, and read our discussion on three prime lenses every portrait photographer needs to consider.

It's cold and wet so no one wants to take smiling, happy portraits. So, why not turn to the dark side and try some gothic portraits? There’s a range of looks you can go for here, as is showcased, and how you photograph each one can be a little different depending on what you want to show in the scene itself. Unless you deliberately want to distort the subject, pack away your wide-angle lens and blow the dust off the best 50mm lens, it'll make for a great portrait prime.

1. Get the gothic portrait look

Start by coming up with a gothic look. I embraced the baroque style by matching a plague mask with a bodice and black clothing. Use direct, unfiltered lighting for stark and dramatic shadows. For even more drama, use backlighting and set it in your basement, or anywhere that features crumbling brickwork in a claustrophobia-inducing space. Use an aperture of f/8 to include the background.

2. Go for a gothic expression

Here’s a simple one to shoot as it’s all about the dramatic makeup and the subject pulling a screaming-face expression. Use harsh lighting again to emphasize the overall impact. If you’re using studio lighting you’ll probably have a narrower aperture, but this can be shot anywhere, even in window light, as it’s all about the subject's expression.

3 Find a gothic location

Here we have two alternatively dressed rockers but the key element is that they’re in a crypt. Churches, graveyards, abbeys, and ruins all make for interesting and gothic-feeling backgrounds. An f/8 aperture ensures that there’s plenty of depth of field to showcase the stained glass window in the background.

4. Use some gothic props

Okay, so you might not have a massive snake laying around that you can thrust into the hands of a now-terrified subject, but large ornate chairs or other gothic-inspired props are easier to come by. If you go to a camera club or studio photo shoot, they will often have interesting props for you to shoot your subject with and against.

You might also be interested in...

The best photography lighting kits are a great shout if you're looking for your first (or a new) set of studio lights. A smoke machine like the Telesin C40 Portable Smoke Machine will add a moody dose of atmosphere to your gothic shots. And if you're looking to upgrade your optics, check out the best lens for portraits.