Twin Cities Portrait Photographer

The most popular form of photography today is photographing people, says Twin Cities portrait photographer Bob Dale. While most people take photographs of family and friends, the majority of these photographs end up poorly exposed, out of focus and in the trash can..

On the other hand, a successful photograph should capture a person’s character and reveal something about their personality. Of course, it is also important to properly expose a portrait so that it shows off the warm skin tone colors. The focal point should be the eyes, which is an area that must be accurately focused upon. They need to be 100% sharp in order to draw the viewer into the image. This can be done with an aperture of F/8 or smaller when shooting at least 3 feet away from the subject. However, you also need to create a depth-of-field that brings all of the different parts of the face into good focus.

If you are truly interested in portrait photography, there are endless opportunities to do everything from earn some extra cash to set up your own studio. All it takes is some basic equipment such as a standard 35mm camera that uses portrait film. You do not want to use a digital camera because while they have their own advantages, the cost of having an up-to-date digital darkroom can be immense.

Once you have chosen your camera the next piece of equipment you need is a lens that has a focal length of between 85 mm and 135mm. This way you can fill the frame from a reasonable distance in order to help reduce perspective distortion.

Some of the other equipment that you should consider getting includes:

1. An exposure meter that will help in calculating exposure.
2. A cable release that is used to minimize camera movement.
3. At least one studio light. If you have more lights, then your effects can be a lot greater.
4. A reflector to bounce the light.

Once you have your equipment, it is time to deal with the people. You will find that most people become tense in front of the camera. This is only natural. It is your job, as a portrait photographer, to make sure that this does not affect the final print. If your subject is too tense, you will have a poor, dull image that nobody wants to buy. So, it is really important to have a relaxed subject. You can achieve this by talking to the subject while shooting the portrait. If you find that this does not work, then try playing some music. You will find here that psychology really does play an important part in the work of a portrait photographer. You will also find that the younger the subject, the harder it will be to get good results.