DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Are these five most BS portrait photography facts?

Jul 13, 2021 by Dunja Djudjic 5 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

We’ve all received a bunch of tips and heard lots of facts or “facts” since we first picked up photography. Some of them are amazing, others are okay, and yet others are complete BS. In this video, Miguel Quiles teams up with Manny Ortiz to bring you five portrait photography facts that they think are the worst you can hear. Let’s see if you agree and if you’ve heard them, too.

1. Skin smoothening

One of the biggest myths is that you’ll achieve perfect skin by applying smoothening techniques in Photoshop. The reality is that there’s much more to achieving it. Your model needs to have decent skin to begin with. Then, their makeup has to be on point to hide blemishes and small “imperfections.” It’s up to you then to set the lighting to be flattering to their skin and make it look even nicer. The editing should be all about clearing up tiny “imperfections” here and there, not making the entire skin surface smooth, often to the point it starts to look unrealistic.

2. It’s not your job to set your model at ease

For this one, Miguel and Manny refer to an ad for Annie Leibovitz’s Masterclass. In the ad, she says that it’s not the photographer’s job to set the subject at ease. Now, Annie clearly knows what she’s doing considering her success and how pretty her photos are (although some would disagree). But I think we should put our subjects at ease.

As a portrait photographer, you want your model to feel safe and relaxed in front of your camera. This way, both of you will enjoy the collaboration and you’ll end up with nicer and more natural photos. Both Miguel and Manny believe this and always try to do it, and all I can say is that I completely agree with this approach.

3. You have to know how to use flash

I’ve heard this one pretty often myself. While I know how to use a flash, I don’t think I have to (at least not for what I do). Manny and Miguel put it nicely – you have to understand light in the first place and know how to use it. Learning how to use flash is only an extension of this knowledge.

4. Experienced photographers don’t take bad photos

Well, this really is total BS. All of us take bad photos, no matter how experienced we are.

5. You need a UV filter on your lens

We have discussed this a couple of times, and I tend to agree. I mean, I never used a UV filter to protect my lenses. I take good care of them, they’re in mint condition and they’ve all lasted me for years. Plus, if you use a lower quality UV lens, it can lower the image quality.

Bonus: You have to be better than your last photo

This is a bonus “fact” that Manny adds near the end of the video. I’d say it leans onto the fourth point. Once again – we all take bad photos sometimes, no matter how many great ones we’ve taken before. We’re not always on our A-game and we all have bad days.

It’s your turn. Have you heard any of these claims and do you agree with them? What’s the most BS photography tip or claim you’ve heard?

[Top 5 BS Portrait Photography Tips | Miguel Quiles]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Photographing the President: an overview and interesting facts about all presidential photographers 3 facts about histogram you may not have known These are five DONT’S in portrait photography New photographers, stop believing these five lies about portrait photography

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: Manny Ortiz, Miguel Quiles, portrait photography

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.net

About Dunja Djudjic

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

« This DIY setup gives you trippy lighting effects on a budget
Creating dappled light with a DIY reflector »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy