There are many reasons for the move to more casual styles of portraiture. The influence of fashion photography with its heavily diffused lighting and untraditional posing is one reason. Another is the move by professional photographers to smaller formats—the medium format and 35mm. Film emulsions have improved dramatically over the last 15 years, making the 35mm and medium formats the preferred choices of the portrait photographer. The smaller format cameras give photographers a level of flexibility that lends itself toward shooting lots of film and many variations, including more spontaneous poses. Also the advent of portable electronic flash, both on-camera and studio-type units, have made the modern day portrait something that can be made anywhere, not just in a studio.

There is also no doubt that digital cameras have influenced the world of professional portraiture. Digital offers the portrait photographer flexibility and speed and perhaps most important, the ultimate in creative control. The photographer can change from color to black and white “on the fly,” change white balance similarly, and there is no delay for processing, proofing and printing. Photographer and client can examine the captured images instantly, capitalizing on the excitement of the just-finished portrait session. And the daunting task of traditional retouching has all but been eliminated by Adobe Photoshop and its many tools and techniques. The special effects that were once the province of the accomplished darkroom technician are now routinely created quickly and expertly by the photographer in Photoshop.

The advent of digital makes altering the reality of the image simple. In this award-winning image by Australian Marcus Bell, the time of day and lighting angle have been altered in Photoshop. Even the location itself has been made to look more theatrical by the manipulations. Marcus darkened the image, which originally was rather flat, using traditional dodging and burning in Photoshop. He then combined a duplicate sepia layer and duplicate Gaussian blur layer until the final effect was achieved. He says of this image, “It’s important for photographers to understand that capturing the image is only the first stage of many to produce a final image. I wanted to emphasize their fairytale-like dresses, so I printed the image to reflect this.”

The fine portrait is a lasting work of art. Elegant posing and lighting and an acute sense of the environment make an outstanding image. Camera: Bronica SQ-Ai with PS 80mm lens. Film: Kodak Portra 400VC exposed for 1/15 at f/4. Lighting: Available light from windows and lamps at location; plus a Lumedyne 50 watt-second barebulb flash was used as a fill light. Photograph by Robert Lino.

This is not a book about outdated techniques of posing, lighting and composition for professional portraiture. Rather, it is about combining the classic elements of portraiture with modern-day materials and techniques. The goal is that photographers will have a reference, a baseline for the traditional techniques so that their portraits can reflect the highest levels of sophistication. While it is not the intent of the author to impart a series of rules that must be followed without exception, the intent is to give photographers knowledge of the traditional rules so they may incorporate what they will into their repertoire of techniques.

When I agreed to write this book, I wanted it to represent the finest levels of contemporary portraiture. The photographers whose work appears here represent that level of excellence. I want to thank all of the photographers for their participation in this book. Without them, this book would not have been possible. I would also like to thank my illustrator and wife, Shell, who not only provided the drawings throughout, but helped me organize and fine tune many facets of this book.

Author’s Note: This is the second edition of the Portrait Photographer’s Handbook. Since the fist edition of this book was published, the world of professional photography has changed drastically. Digital capture and output were in use by only a select handful of photographers. Now the digital medium is the order of the day. Many of the changes in both imagery and text reflect the move from film to digital. While the focus of the book is still essentially lighting, posing, and creativity for professional portraiture, one cannot ignore these changes, as the imprint of digital technology has truly left its mark on the professional portrait photographer. And while the goal of the portraitist is still, above all other aims, to idealize the subject, the tools of today are not only more convenient, but they are vital to that primary task.

The days of needing medium format to create a large enough negative to accommodate retouching are pretty much over. Digital files can be made to virtually any size and the retouching and artistry that are possible in Adobe Photoshop and Corel Painter are more comprehensive than could have ever been accomplished traditionally. This beautiful portrait was made by Fuzzy Duenkel.