Expert: Don Wood - 8/13/2005

Question
The photographer is able to work at many photographic levels, but up to this point I've only "chosen" to work with landscape, detail, and some artistic photoshopping.  I would like to start building skills with portraits, "head-shots" and people pictures, but I have none of the usual gear (or experience) that I see folks using; lights, screens reflective umbrellas etc.

Q: How can I start to explore the technical side of portrait photography without investing in all the equipment?

Thanks for your suggestions,
Rob

Answer
First, I would explore on the WWW all the professional photographer sites. They will have examples of their work, look at each picture. Try to envision how it was created, a light to the right, one to the left, hairlight, backlight, etc. A reflector screen to add light to an area may be made with aluminum foil on a piece of cardboard.
It is possible to get some starter portrait lighting for a relatively cheap price, then later when you have a better idea of your needs, you can get better equipment. Go to my webpage http://pixdw.bravepages.com/photolinks.html it has a listing of what I'd consider to be photo companies for advanced amateurs and pros. It might be helpful. Go to the library, look at the photo collections and art collections. Go to museums, both photographic and art. Study what you see, train your eye how to look at the picture. How do you re-create that masterpiece. Artists use the same principles of lighting as photographers do, the tools are different.
New York Institute of Photography has an online presence, as does most schools. Google search for photographic schools, then google again for photographer's sites.
You will find this fascinating. There are even books on photographic lighting which you could find to study.
Don't quit your day job, remember that everybody wants your pictures, some will even want them enough to pay you for them, some will even pay your professional price. You'd be surprised at how many people will back off when you start quoting prices.
Photography is a career based on nostalgia, how the person looked at a given date, the event that happened that you photographed, You are a historian, your pics will depict the event's slice of time and memorialize it. But remember, photography is not a have to have commodity for the most part. Faced with the choice of buying the photographs or eating, or buying gasoline, which do you think they'll go for. It's a businees where you may go weeks waiting for the assignment to come in, and you're wondering where you will get the money for the rent, for your living, for your equipment payments. Then there will be times when you wonder if you'll be able to keep up with the work-schedule. Feast or Famine, I call it.
I hope I've helped, please ask again if you need answers. Thanks for asking.