PHOTOS THAT INSPIRE PHOTO WORKSHOP

Chapter 3. People and Portrait Photography

People are a continually fascinating source of subject matter. Photographers shoot pictures of people for a variety of reasons. Many of you likely want to document the changing scene of life around you — children growing up, family gatherings, or special moments with those you love. Others enjoy photographing people as a means of self-expression, while other individuals make their living by doing portraiture, weddings, or photographing people for advertising and editorial venues. When people are the subjects of photographs, it's usually their faces that hold our interest, as the human face is capable of an endless variety of expressions. Many of these expressions are fleeting, and photographers try to capture these moments before they disappear. Other times, people want to be memorialized in a formal portrait session. And, sometimes you don't even need to see the face to understand the power of the photograph. No matter what the motivation is for doing portraiture, photographs of people tend to touch us more deeply than other subjects.

"African Soul"

© Marie Preaud

South Portland, Maine www.mariepreaud.com

When you shoot a portrait of a child in an informal setting, try to find props or a background that reveals something about him/her. In this case, the photographer wanted to make a statement about hope by asking the little boy to look up at ...