Learning all the portrait techniques in a photography classroom is certainly a valuable education; however, you also need the practical education you can only learn from a professional portrait photographer who has worked in the real world. After all, his or her #1 goal is the same as yours: to shoot “marketable” portraits.

The successful ones rely on 3 insider’s secrets to be sure they are maximizing the number of paying customers. These are the clients who like the portraits the in-the-know pros produce, become repeat customers and are happy, even eager, to refer the photographer to their friends and family members.

1. “Marketable” portraits are those that are simply composed, with the subject smiling and looking directly at the camera.

Yes, you can shoot “artsy-craftsy” portrait images with highly creative, even radical, compositions and lighting techniques that you learned in a photography course. It’s perfectly acceptable to pursue that type of portrait photography…as a sidelight. Don’t try to sell that approach to your portrait customers because the pros know they don’t want it.

For example, the only lighting technique that actually matters is to use a sufficient amount to eliminate any shadows from the faces of your subjects, so they are able to recognize themselves or their family members or friends.

To give your portrait customers what they are willing to buy, use soft light produced with a studio umbrella or the low light of the sun at dawn or dusk. Even then, keep the compositions simple! The point is not to win awards, but to sell portrait prints (many of them) and make a living.

Don’t complicate an outdoor portrait job with an elaborate set-up to fill the shadows, especially around the eyes. Use a fill flash and one f/stop less flash than the ambient light. Forgot about an umbrella for the purpose of achieving perfect modeling. The savvy portrait pros will tell you that customers are only interested in there being enough light on the face, so they can see who it is.

2. Never pose a portrait subject’s body/face parallel to the plane of the camera.

Positioning portrait subjects in “marketable” poses does require learning some techniques, but they are kept simple too. This education begins by never shooting their body or face as a flat plane. This is acceptable only when you are photographing an entire family or large group.

When your subject will be standing for a full-length or partial-length portrait, then you want to create a long triangular shape. This is the classic model’s pose. One leg/foot is placed in front of the other, the body weight is shifted to the back foot and the subject tilts slightly forward at a 3/4 angle.

Another technique that leads to more happy, paying customers is to tilt the subject’s head, whether they are sitting or standing. The head tilt is a bit different for women and men. For women, tilt it at a very small angle in either direction. Men will look good with no head tilt; however, when you do ask them to tilt the head make sure it is opposite the forward shoulder, never toward it.

You must also pay attention to other details, such as the hands and legs/feet. One option is to hide the hands, so they are not a distraction. If they do remain in the composition, then position them so there are no gaps between the fingers and you only see the edges of the hands. When a person is sitting for a portrait, cross the ankles, which, again, helps to create the more pleasing, triangular shaping of the body.

3. For group photos, the most marketable portraits are those with the subjects’ heads at different heights.

Most photographers new to portrait work are able to learn how to photograph individuals rather quickly; it’s the group shot that can be tricky.

What the portrait pros have proven again and again is that their customers are more likely to buy group photos without uniform head heights. Study the individuals in the group carefully and use chairs, stools and the floor, so their heads are positioned at various heights throughout the photo. Again, tilt the heads slightly forward and inward, especially for family groupings. The other variable is that group portraits are more marketable when the men’s heads are higher than the women’s.

Apply these three simply secrets of portrait photography (that are seldom found in books or taught in classes) and you’ll be producing the photos that people will actually buy.

Recommended Reading:

• Master Lighting Guide for Portrait Photographers
• 500 Poses for Photographing Women
• 500 Poses for Photographing Men
• Light It, Shoot It, Retouch It: Learn Step by Step How to Go from Empty Studio to Finished Image
• Secrets of Great Portrait Photography: Photographs of the Famous and Infamous
• Shooting in Sh*tty Light: The Top Ten Worst Photography Lighting Situations and How to Conquer Them

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Photo copyright PhotographyTalk member Brittney

You can also read these PhotographyTalk.com articles for more posing techniques:

• Digital Photography—How To Pose Women for Better Portraits, Part 1
• Digital Photography—How To Pose Women for Better Portraits, Part 2
• Digital Photography—How To Pose Men for Better Portraits