Portrait Photography How To

Getting the light right is an essential task whether you're shooting indoors or out, and sometimes this means adding supplemental light to achieve perfect exposures. One choice is using a flash, but some photographers are intimidated by the techniques and settings that are required.

Unlike landscape, portrait, wildlife, or even sports photographers, the first shots taken these days by advertising photographers on the job are almost always instantly seen and judged—by the client, the client’s representative, an agency rep, or an art director. Pressure, anyone?

It’s always interesting to see how different photographers approach the same assignment. Even when shooting similar subject matter, results can vary widely based upon the personal style of each photographer and the equipment they bring to the task

(Editor’s Note: Exploring Light is a monthly Shutterbug column featuring tips, tricks, and photo advice from professional photographers in the Canon Explorers of Light and Canon Legends education program. This month's column is by Denis Reggie with tips on how to successfully capture weddings like a news event.

Megan Rapinoe captured the World Cup this year with the United States Women’s National Soccer Team and photographer Simon Bruty captured her in this heroic black-and-white image. The photo is actually from 2011 and was shot for Sports Illustrated as a preview of the women’s team for that year’s World Cup in Germany.

Randy Duchaine captured this visually detailed environmental portrait of Bread & Puppet Theater founder Peter Schumann in 2006 for a project on people who create unique experiences or things. “It was shot in an old dairy farm in Vermont, which is the group’s museum, and Peter showed up barefoot and gave me five minutes,” Duchaine explains.

There is no denying that zoom lenses have far more versatility than prime lenses, and with faster-apertured zoom lenses becoming more and more common in the photography world, I figured it was time to truly give them the spotlight they deserve.