The Portrait

Understanding Portrait Photography

Glenn Rand, longtime photographic educator, and Tim Meyer, Lead Portrait Instructor at Brooks Institute, have collaborated to create a thorough and balanced textbook on the modern techniques and practice of portrait photography. They have crafted a definitive resource for professionals, students, and avid amateurs wishing to advance their skills in this discipline.

Glenn and Tim begin by discussing lessons from the masters and the history of photographic portraiture. They build on this foundation and cover all of the technical and aesthetic components of understanding and producing outstanding portraits. Extensive illustrations illuminate the concepts discussed, and the works of outstanding photographers serve as examples of how to apply the lessons in this book. This second edition offers even more illustrations and photographic examples and an expanded discussion about posing.

Topics include:

• Quality of light and the portrait
• Ambient, continuous, and strobe light sources
• Understanding light modifiers and enhancers
• Mastering lighting ratios
• Importance and selection of backgrounds
• Extensive coverage of lighting setups
• Understanding light meters and metering in portraiture
• Lighting patterns on the human face
• Facial analysis
• Composition in portraiture
• Posing for various types of portraits
• Eliciting appropriate expression
• The fine art portrait
• Portraiture for the masses