The Portrait: Understanding Portrait Photography

Glenn Rand, longtime photographic educator, and Tim Meyer, Lead Portrait Instructor at Brooks Institute, have collaborated to create a thorough and balanced textbook on the modern techniques and practice of portrait photography. They have crafted a definitive resource for professionals, students, and avid amateurs wishing to advance their skills in this discipline.

Glenn and Tim begin by discussing lessons from the masters and the history of photographic portraiture. They build on this foundation and cover all of the technical and aesthetic components of understanding and producing outstanding portraits. Extensive illustrations illuminate the concepts discussed, and the works of outstanding photographers serve as examples of how to apply the lessons in this book. This second edition offers even more illustrations and photographic examples and an expanded discussion about posing.

Topics include:

Quality of light and the portrait
Ambient, continuous, and strobe light sources
Understanding light modifiers and enhancers
Mastering lighting ratios
Importance and selection of backgrounds
Extensive coverage of lighting setups
Understanding light meters and metering in portraiture
Lighting patterns on the human face
Facial analysis
Composition in portraiture
Posing for various types of portraits
Eliciting appropriate expression
The fine art portrait
Portraiture for the masses