Portrait Photography How To

Ask a Pro is a Q&A column from professional photographer, writer, and educator Scott Kelby. Scott is here to answer all your photography-related questions, so if you have something you’d like to know, e-mail him at editorial@shutterbug.com (with “For Scott Kelby” as the subject line) and your query could be featured in the next edition of Ask a Pro.

Have you ever shot an outdoor portrait, or other image with a strong foreground subject, but wished the background was more attractive? If so, you won’t want to miss this quick Photoshop video.

For those of you who have never worked in medium format, trust me, there is a difference you can see and feel. It’s no wonder that photographers such as Douglas Sonders choose a medium format camera system over a DSLR for the bulk of their work. And in Sonders’s case, his workhorse camera system is Phase One.

We recently featured an eye-opening tutorial explaining why it sometimes make sense to shoot Jpeg images, and the best way edit them in Lightroom for optimum results. We're following that up today with this beginners guide to processing Raw files in Photoshop with Adobe Camera Raw (ACR).

Environmental portraits are fun and easy to make, as long as you don't have to lug a bunch of lighting equipment into the field. Today you'll learn how to capture photos that will make you and your model proud, with natural backlighting that creates a unique effect.

Most great photographers are also accomplished visual storytellers who understand how to draw viewers into their scene and direct their eyes to the key element in the image. In the video below you’ll learn 10 quick tips for doing exactly that, while making your photographs more impactful.

Last month we brought you an inspirational video demonstrating why a simple flash can greatly improve all sorts of photographs made indoors or out. It was an illustrative piece without much technical information. Today's tutorial covers the how in simple terms that beginners can understand.