An honest portrait
What is a portrait?
There are a million different purposes for a portrait, including business headshots, modeling, personal (avatar/blog) and family portraits. And though the intent of each type varies, there are some important things to keep in mind about what makes a portrait good. What I can do as a photographer is take an honest portrait; to see that part of you that is authentic, beautiful and true.
That may seem idealistic or lofty as a goal and I would agree most photographers are more concerned about time, equipment and selling you pictures after the shoot. If you’ve ever said that you don’t take good photos or that you’ve never had a good portrait of yourself, I am afraid you probably visited a guy with a camera instead of a photographer. They probably told you how to hold your head and when to smile, to sit up straight and snapped the shutter 3 to 5 times. The result is obvious, you look like all the other cookie cutter photos of all the other businesses in town.
time for something different
I practice the art of stealing souls, I look you in the eye, hold a conversation and expect you to contribute to the process.
If you insist on looking like everyone else: open the yellow pages and call around to find the cheapest picture taker. They can all execute a headshot or portrait in the same way, because they joined an association that tells them how.
Keep in mind that if photography were hard, no one would own a camera. If good photography were easy I wouldn’t have a business. There is a difference and it is easy for your customers and clients to see.
A portrait is an important part of a lot of businesses and down right necessary for anyone that needs to build trust. And though that list could be really long, realtors, politicians, doctors, lawyers and entrepreneurs come to mind as professions that honest portraiture becomes a must have and a wise business expense.
Special advice for Seniors:
You just graduated High School and you’ve got a ton of things to figure out and your parents spend a lot of money to celebrate this passage into adulthood. Why go where the school tells you and get a photo that is closer to an ID than a portrait?
It is difficult to see large studios in town offer low sitting fees that later turn in to $100s or $1000s in selling you prints or rights to the images. I find it frustrating to have parents not realize that they could spend the same amount of money at the big studio for; a set, a hairstyle, and the current fashion as they would spend getting an honest portrait of their children that encapsulates who they are instead of what they are wearing/holding. The difference is between looking like everyone else or looking like yourself.