ity to create portraits that evoke an emotional response from the
viewer. These are portraits that combine the right clothing with the
right pose and are well coordinated with the background—images
that bring everything together to achieve the desired feeling or emo-
tion. It is only when a portrait has this sense of style, when it visual-
ly “makes sense” for lack of a better term, that a picture is consid-
ered a portrait.
Lasting Value.Many young photographers take a portrait and
get excited. They are so impressed with their work of art that they
order a studio sample from the lab to proudly display in their studio.
When they get the print back
from the lab, they are excited,
but not as excited as when they
first saw the pose. After about a
month, their excitement for the
image has passed and they think
they made a mistake in selecting
that pose for a sample.
This is what many clients go
through. They get excited right
after the images are created and
make a purchase. If, however,
the photographer has done his
or her job and created a portrait
that has a sense of style and
evokes the desired emotional
response, the client has a por-
trait that they will never tire of,
even if the clothes and hairstyles
become dated. If, on the other
hand, the photographerthinks
more than he feels, the client will
tire quickly of the portrait,
because it will have no emotion
and will reveal no feeling to the
viewer. It will be merely a road
map with a big smile—a $200
road map that the client could
have purchased at the mall for a
great deal less.
When you look at a client
with compassion, when you
understand the areas of the body that we all worry about, when you
judge the appearance of your client with the same “rose-colored
76 POSING FOR PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Truly successful portraits have more than just
instant appeal; they have lasting value.