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I was pretty excited to read the book Beyond Portraiture: Creative People Photography as a former portrait photographer. I hadn’t really done very many portraits since I quit the biz and thought that a refresher was in order.

Beyond Portraiture: Creative People Photography

There were many pleasant surprises throughout the book. Some things I had never really looked at because my experience as a portrait photographer started out in a studio setting and I was trained in the classical style of portraiture (although my personal style evolved into a more art and fashion oriented theme).

About the Author

Bryan Peterson is an international renowned photographer, instructor, and author. He is the founder of the Perfect Picture School of Photography. We’ve already reviewed one of his best selling books Understanding Exposure.

What’s Inside?

• Understanding People
• Working With People
• Light
• Composing Powerful Portraits
• Photo-Editing Techniques
• Selling Your Photos As Stock
• Workflow

Understanding People

Bryan does such a great job at targeting his audience with every book he writes.  He knows that getting the courage to photograph people is probably the number one obstacle in becoming a portrait photographer.  It can be challenging and a bit nerve racking.  This section really does a great job in helping a new portrait photographer in understanding and hopefully overcoming those obstacles.

Working With People

Now that you’ve got people in front of your camera it’s time to learn what makes a good portrait session click.  There are obstacles that your clients/subjects have to overcome like shyness or stiffness and this section of the book really aims at helping you guide the subject into a relaxed state of mind where their pictures will turn out much better.

Light

We all know that light is the most important part of a good picture right?  This is doubly important when trying to capture the true essence of a person.  The last thing you want to do is put someone in unflattering light making them look too blue or using harsh light thereby creating bad shadows.

Composing Powerful Portraits

This is where the book gets into the technical and compositional elements of portraiture.  It offers advice ranging from the simple to the slightly more advanced.  Think vertical compositions because people are vertical most of the time etc.

Photo-Editing Techniques

Bryan says people aren’t perfect and that is so true.  Understanding that almost all portraits have some sort of editing done to them before they are handed out is important because I think it helps to alleviate some of the stress that can come to those that are photographing people for the first time.  Even the most seasoned professional photographers use photo-editing to help flatter people’s pictures.

Selling Your Photos As Stock

This section lays out some of the fundamental importance of getting a copyright release and how to go about doing it as well as a small look into the world of stock photography.  If this is your interest you are going to need more information than this book offers but it’s not a bad start.

Workflow

If you don’t have a solid workflow by now then this section may be of use as well.

Conclusion

This book really does a great job at helping photographers that are taking their first forays into the realm of people photography.  This isn’t a book for any professional unless you’ve only been trained in the studio environment.  There  were some really great gems in the book like the tip on shooting with your camera in “cloudy mode” when you’re outdoors regardless of the cloud cover or lack thereof.  I liked how the emphasis was on using photography to try and tell the story of the person,whether that involves their environment or their clothing, not just depicting an image of a person.  There’s much weight in advice like that.

If you’re new to people photography or just haven’t gotten the hang of it then this photography book could do wonders for your production.  If you’re interest in photography is not focused on people there are things that could be learned about yourself as a person and a photographer by exploring the realms of portrait photography.

Get your copy of Beyond Portraiture: Creative People Photography today at Amazon and don’t forget to read ted @ndes review of Beyond Portraiture as well.  I thought it was a great and thoughtful review.