Photographer Guide

Issue 7

Every piece is a place where two books we have read genuinely disagree — still unresolved, both positions stated, and what turns on it named. Free, always.

Where the field disagrees · creative

Where a good portrait actually ends

The portrait succeeds when it reaches aesthetic/artistic quality (“Picture Perfect Posing Practicing the Art of Posing for Photographers and Models (Voices That Matter)”, “Picture Perfect Lighting An Innovative Lighting System for Photographing People”), judged by the image itself

The portrait succeeds only when it reaches subject/client satisfaction (“Photographing Women Posing, Lighting, and Shooting Techniques for Portrait and Fashion Photography”) or, further, commercial/business performance (“Professional Portrait Posing (Photo Pro Workshop)”, “Doug Box's Guide to Posing for Portrait Photographers”)

What turns on it · Your definition of success determines what you optimize during a shoot and how you measure whether you did well.

Drawn from The Bicycle Guide to Photograph People Well — read it free, in full.

Where the field disagrees · creative

Craft Feeds Vision or Vision Directs Craft

Foundational craft and composition are learned first and feed upward into photographic vision, as “Extraordinary Everyday Photography” frames it — master the mechanics and seeing follows

Vision comes first and directs which compositions and techniques you deploy, per “50 Principles of Composition in Photography_ A Practical Guide to Seeing Photographically Through the Eyes of a Master Photographer” and “Bryan Peterson's Understanding Composition Field Guide” — decide what you want to say, then serve it

What turns on it · It determines whether you spend your early practice drilling technical fundamentals or clarifying what you actually want to express before touching the dials.

Drawn from The Bicycle Guide to Take Better Photographs — read it free, in full.