Portraiture Photography
0 Plays ·Posted 03/03/2022
On today’s episode of the B&H Photography Podcast, we talk to an old friend about a new book―two-time past guest Amy Touchette joins us to discuss her book of street portraits. She also brings a friend with her, none other than photographer Larry Fink. Is it fair to call Fink a photo legend? We think so, and clearly the people at the
0 Plays ·Posted 01/13/2022
The B&H Photography Podcast is kicking off the new year hot. For our first episode of 2022, we welcome photographer Joe McNally to discuss his career, his working methods, and his exciting new book, The Real Deal: Field Notes from the Life of a Working Photographer.
Joe McNally is known to many as a “photographer’s photographer,” skilled in many genres and
0 Plays ·Posted 12/02/2021
The title for this episode of the B&H Photography Podcast is taken from a comment made by guest Tonika Johnson, describing the moment she recognized the effect her work could have on citizens of her hometown of Chicago. I’m certain that our other guests have had a similar moment when they see that their artistic work has gone beyond just the oohs and ahhs of aesthetes and afficionados and truly helps to educate and change the world
If you are selling a used car online, one great way to make your car stand out from the rest and attract more attention is to up your photo game. You don’t need to be a professional photographer to capture compelling images of the car or truck you are ready to sell—a few simple tips can help your photos grab the attention of possible buyers.
Photographs © Todd Vorenkamp
You’ve seen the standard used-car photo—the boring shot taken outside a dealership, in a driveway or crowded parking lot, midday, from standing eye level, of a sterile-looking
0 Plays ·Posted 11/09/2021
On today’s episode of the B&H Photography Podcast, we are pleased to welcome Peter Cohen and Bill Shapiro to discuss “vernacular” photography and the historical and cultural significance of snapshots and other images that fall outside the realms of fine-art and commercial photography.
Peter J. Cohen is recognized as one of the country’s foremost collectors of vernacular photography and portions of his collections are now included in
0 Plays ·Posted 10/14/2021
To create a “collective portrait” of any set of people is difficult, but to do so with twenty-five world-renown women artists is a monumental challenge―one that our guests have undertaken and, based on their wonderful book, Portrait of an Artist: Conversations with Trailblazing Creative Women, have accomplished. Equally as impressive is that the book’s author, Hugo Huerta Marin, weaved a personal narrative into this series of interviews
0 Plays ·Posted 10/07/2021
This week’s episode of the B&H Photography Podcast provides a lesson we all can use: how to be better businesspeople while we are being better photographers. Much of this advice comes from our intriguing guest, photographer and educator Todd Bigelow.
A longtime pro, Bigelow has freelanced for the likes of Sports Illustrated and The Los Angeles Times, among many other editorial and commercial clients, and he is a
Chosen for their power and valued for their efficiency, monolights have long served as the light source of choice for portrait photographers. Whether working in studio or on location, these all-in-one strobes can play nearly any role in a lighting setup. Add the wide range of modifiers available to shape their output, and it becomes hard to think of a more valuable lighting tool in the portrait studio. This article introduces the equipment you will need to get up and running
0 Plays ·Posted 08/12/2021
On this week’s episode of the B&H Photography Podcast, we welcome back an old friend of the show, photographer Mark Mann. Mann is known for a catalog of portrait work that includes celebrities, musicians, and politicians of the highest regard. In our previous episode with Mann, we discussed photographing Bill Murray
Portrait photography, or portraiture, remains one of the most popular genres of photography today—and for good reason. Portraits are compelling; they are evocative. Portraits tell a story; they elicit an emotion. Shot correctly, a portrait can reveal the true essence of a person, who they are and what they feel. According to Godard, portraiture is tantamount to capturing the soul. About what other medium or form of expression could you say such a thing?
As with most genres of photography, portraiture is not beholden to any one specific
0 Plays ·Posted 07/29/2021
Photographer Sally Davies embodies a beautiful creative spirit, and I think that spirit also resides in the homes of the 72 New Yorkers she photographed, who are included in her wonderful portrait book, appropriately titled, New Yorkers. If this spirit does not exist and Davies is not in tune with it, how could she have captured such wonderful stories of people and their places and done it so efficiently, in some cases in just minutes?
We
Over the past 35 years, Sally Davies has photographed the streets of New York City with a mix of anthropological endurance and high style. But, despite her encyclopedic vision of the city’s exterior face, Davies became troubled by the thought that future generations would know nothing of the people living inside all the buildings she had pictured. Her resulting quest to photograph and interview New York residents in the spaces they call home “had wings right from the first day,” as she describes it—with people of different races, genders,
0 Plays ·Posted 06/24/2021
This week’s episode of the B&H Photography Podcast is produced in collaboration with Leica Camera, and we are pleased to welcome photographer and journalist Cheriss May to the program.
One of the qualities needed to tell good stories is an ability to listen and, in conversation with May, it becomes clear that her skill for framing and capturing an image with
Using fast prime lenses to create razor-sharp portraits where the focus melts away like butter can be an addictive (and costly) pastime. The jump from an 85mm f/1.8 to an 85mm f/1.4 may seem minor on paper, but anyone who has used both lenses knows that the difference extends well beyond a few decimal points. This article is an homage to the top-tier primes designed for the most demanding portrait photographers. Hide your wallet before proceeding.
Photographs © Cory Rice