Women are usually their own toughest critics. What I do as a photogra-
pher is to turn that around. I believe there is beauty in every client. I know
that sounds cliché, but it’s true—and it’s not even that hard to find if you
adopt the right mind-set. Not every woman is a potential Victoria’s Secret
model, and you don’t need to try to make your subject look like one. Instead,
you should set as your goal exceeding the perception she has of herself when
she looks into the mirror.Six Styles.
My goal is to understand my subject’s unique perception of herself and turn
it into a look for her portraits. In my mind, I’ve categorized these looks into
six styles. Most of the time there’s some overlap between styles, but the men-
tal framework is really useful for you and your client—especially when it
comes to determining what kind of look she wants.
Classic Beauty.If the reaction to your image is, “Wow, she’s beautiful,”
this image fits into the classic beauty style. Classic beauty images can be any-
thing from headshots to full-length portraits and will be unmistakably fem-
inine with a degree of elegance, as well. First and foremost, the image is
beautiful; any sexuality is subtly implied.Classic beauty images can be created with
the subject fully clothed or completely nude.
What makes them “beauty” images is the em-
phasis on the subject’s femininity rather than
her sexuality.