The Perfect Portrait Two Step

Many people think that buying a better camera will make them a better photographer.  Certainly, a quality lens and body will improve the individual pixels of your pictures, but honestly good looking photos come down to one thing.  Light and knowing how to use it.  So, you bought a better camera and the portraits you took of your kids still look like snapshots?  Glare points, red eye, harsh shadows... yep, it's not the camera, its the light!  My flawless portrait two step will have you taking better people pictures easily.

Step 1.

        Get a flash diffuser.  

         The reason for this is the scatter effect it has on light.  No more glare or harsh shadows! It also goes a long way to reducing red eye. Depending on what type of flash system your camera has you may be able to purchase an affordable flash diffuser, or you may make one very cheaply as well.  If you have a standard flexible speed lite then you can purchase a diffuser for $25 - $50.  These come in several styles from white or tinted plastic caps to small framed fabric "soft-boxes", I generally avoid tinted diffusers because they alter the color of light and I can tint the picture with "sepia" color in photoshop afterwards if I like.  (Take a true color picture, you can always play with it later.)  If you don't have a speed lite, or if you don't have a large budget, you can purchase a set of white ladies knee highes, preferrably silk because of the fine texture of that fabric.  This shouldn't cost you more than $6 - $8.  Cut out a piece of cloth from them that will amply fit over your flash surface, then rubberband or tape the fabric over the flash so it's snug.  One more tip for the folks with a flexible speed lite, use that bounce feature if you are indoors.  Bouncing the light off a nearby wall or ceiling will create a much softer lighting effect and completely eliminates the red eye because the angle of the light source has changed.

Step 2.

        Portrait Professional

          This will be the best $40 you ever spend if you want to take professional quality photos at home.  Its an automated airbrushing tool for your portrait work and requires no skill to use.  It has a free trial, so you can even try it out before you spend the money.  Believe me you will feel it's worth every cent.  You will hear me talk about photoshop, and I love photoshop (which I have been using for over ten years), but when it comes to airbrushing portraits, automated is the way to go.  This software makes it soooo easy.

Portrait with good lighting

Portrait with good lighting after using Portrait Professional.