The Digital Photography Book

Chapter Five

Taking Portraits Like a Pro

How to Make People Look Their Very Best in Pictures

I think it was photographer and high-end retoucher Kristina Sherk who once said (I’m paraphrasing here) that our goals, as photographers and retouchers, aren’t to do crazy unrealistic retouches, or use lighting to make our subjects look like someone they’re not. Our job is to make our subjects look their very best—like they had a really good night’s sleep. Kristina must be very lucky because a lot of the folks the rest of the world gets to shoot . . . well . . . a good night’s sleep just might not be enough. Maybe two weeks. Hibernation perhaps. Like a good winter’s sleep. Let’s face it, most people look just this side of a zombie from The Walking Dead ...