Portrait Photography How To

That are lots of things we believed to be true when we were beginner photographers. Some of those things, however, were really just lies that ended up holding us back.

In the below video, pro portrait photographer Miguel Quiles shares five lies he says many portrait photography newbies believe when they are starting out. Then he explains the real truth about portrait photography that will help you take better photos.

"We've all started at some point in this whole journey of learning to be a better photographer but there's a lot of lies that I've seen out there that are just ruining people's opportunity and people's chances of becoming better photographers," Quiles says. "So today we're going to tackle these five lies one by one."

Lie #1: Great portraits are the result of work in Photoshop

Lie #2: Professional portraits are all about the bokeh

Lie #3: Models should know how to pose themselves

Lie #4: You can't take great portraits without expensive gear

Lie #5: It's easier to take great portraits of beautiful people

"I can't tell you the number of times that I've uploaded an image to social media and have had comments of people saying: 'Oh, you know, if you couldn't take a good picture of that person you should just sell your camera,'" Quiles says with exasperation. "It's almost like the camera just takes it's pictures on its own. The reality is that I've seen plenty of great pictures of everyday looking people. It has nothing to do with how the person looks but how that person is represented within the image: how they're lit, how they're posing, the location that you choose to photograph them in. All of those things are super important and that's on you as a photographer."

At the end of the video, Quiles enlists the help of fellow photographer Q to share a bonus lie.

Lie #6: Nudity and sexuality automatically makes portraits better

Check out the full video below and let us know if you agree or disagree with these photography "lies" or if you have any others to add. Then go visit Quiles' channel to get all his excellent photography tutorial content.