T

here comes a time in the career of every photographer when they get

past askinghowand start askingwhy.As a beginning photographer, you

are consumed with thehow—so you read books, go to seminars, and

emulate the methods of your teachers. This somewhat satisfies the longing to

understand thehowof what you are studying. At some point, though, the

howgets easier; that’s when you you start to ask yourselfwhy.Why did the

photographer choose that pose? That lighting? That background and fore-

2. Critical Decisions.

Once you’ve mastered the technical aspects
of creating a good portrait, you can begin to
address the creative aspects and fine-tune
your images so that every aspect makes
sense visually.