Modern portrait photography is more than taking a pretty picture of a woman. It’s about capturing who she is. That may seem easy, but if you’ve even been in front of a camera you know how you immediately tense up and become acutely aware of every movement you make. It suddenly becomes hard to “just be yourself”. Take a behind-the-scenes look at being in front of the camera…
WHAT A PORTRAIT SESSION SHOULD BE
I’ll be using a recent client portrait photography session to show you just what you should be getting. I photographed Tarita in her home in Toronto (I typically shoot in homes when it’s winter). Just for your information this was our mid-tier offering.
CLOTHING
Tarita had already picked out her outfits based on the advice I give to every client beforehand. Some of it was already owned while some items were purchased just for the portrait.
I find the search for clothing sends women to the extremes of love or hate. They either love going through their closets and buying new clothes or hate having to go through their closets and shyly slinking into the mall to find something new. Which category would you fit in?
HAIR AND MAKEUP
As part of the mid-tier package, I brought a professional hair and makeup artist to glam Tarita up. She really likes the look of Priyanka Chopra and Meghan Markle so that’s what was in the back of our minds while working away. For even found a photo of them together on Instagram…coincidence?
Interestingly, she wasn’t used to having eyeliner only on the top of her eyes, but it was a pleasant surprise. When she looked in the mirror she was shocked, but I told her that we had only elevated her look. It was still very much her and that the way she felt about herself in that moment was how she should always feel.
Just take a look at the progression of her look! Bam!
PHOTOGRAPHY
Okay…back to the portrait photography. Once we were done with hair and makeup, she slipped into her first outfit. In her gorgeous red dress she was certain to capture the eyes of everyone in the room (which was just myself and the hair/makeup artist). There are a lot of things that we discussed before the first shot was even taken. The purpose was to get Tarita relaxed and confident in herself.
I don’t like to give all my secrets away, but one thing I do always mention to my female clients is that the first shots will be awkward, but there will be a point where you’ll feel good about yourself and just start killing it. It happens at different times for everyone, but it most definitely does happen.
That’s one of the reasons why I actually never book more than one session a day. There’s no pressure on either of our parts to get the perfect shots so quickly.
I’d love to know what you think about the end results. If you’d like to check out more of our work then check out our inspirational galleries. I know it’s still super cold in Toronto, but you can also book a session outdoors in the spring/summer right now!
Jonathan How is the photographer behind Made by Ten and calls Milton his home. He specializes in creating beautiful, creative portraits of real women. He uses photography (and this blog) to help them build confidence and love for themselves and creates artistic images for their homes and offices. You can see him driving around the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in Ontario, Canada from portrait to fashion shoot and back again.