How To Get Started In Portrait Photography 

I would start off asking coworkers, and family if that's an option

Attend weddings and give your card to bridesmaids who look like they could be an advantage as samples of your work. My biggest break was filling in for an ill photogapher who was booked so shoot stills for an actor workshop with120 actors, 85% females and ended up having private sessions for 27 of them. The real money I made in photography however was by accident decades ago. I had a large recording studio,a 3 studio complex and in breaks or serious or very light moments my always ready film camera was nearby so a candid tense discussion in a dark corner between the producer and singer was captured by my black and white film and I would develop at home and the best ones were pinned on the message board next to the control room entrance door. They really captured the mood of difference days of the typical album recording length of 3-4 months of daily work. Soon artists or the record label started requesting copies and gave them permission to use them, until I discovered those candid photos were worth a lot. I started asking for a modest fixed amount for license but found record labels did not want to pay anything but instead wanted to offer royalties so it if did not sell, the artist made nothing and and royalties for photo license also were not paid. But if the album sold well, the license fee would kick in taken from the artists royalties. Ok, I agreed to that. The first royalty check for 3 photos used in the liner notes was enough for a new Maserati Bora mid engine GT. We were a major studio, with 197 gold and platinum albums so managing those licensing contracts became a full time job for a new manager. The checks for each photo came ever 6 months, reaching millions of dollars. That cut way back when CDs came out because they were so easy to copy, one purchased CD made dozens of copies for friends or sales really dropped. My studio had a run of 9years when every Billboard chart had one or more of our records in the top 10. A few months we had 6 of the top 10 songs. I moved to another country after record industry collapsed in my first retirement at age51 but being idle was not my thing so started other businesses and one being photography

tbh I’m a little tired of talking about camera brand vs camera brand - I’d rather share the stuff that matters which is what you’re actually taking photos of.

@@MitchLally true I hear ya. So many vids are just comparing these days. Fair enough. But u do shoot Fuji now correct? Do you like the film sims and crop more than canon ff or Sony ff? Is the video really that good?

I used the Sony a7iv on that footage. Stabilised with catalyst browse!

​​@@MitchLally Well, it looks good to me! May I ask what lens or lenses you used? I'm curious as I like the bokeh.

@@JD-eo6cp Sigma 35mm 1.4 DG DN

​​@@MitchLallyThank you! And thank you for the tips in the video. Great to see a video focusing on practical tips for getting great photos rather than talking about portrait photography as if all there is to it is having a wide aperture lens and blurring the background to oblivion.

That’s milanote!

Stop using unprofessional models. The serious ones are pros and feel responsible for a session to succeed. I have never had one flake because the know they will never be called again.

Ive been doing this professionally for 20 years and have had models flake on very well paid shoots and shoots for major publications. It happens. All part of the business. I would suggest only working with agency represented models and avoid social media models at all costs. Agency models have accountability and an agency will drop them for no shows. Social media models are the exact opposite.

@@michaelbell75 That depends on who you are trying to message/not all models on IG are actual models. You have to pay attention to the postings that's on their page...I live in Hawaii currently which are full of models and you can tell which are actually models/non models. Look for emails/tags of photo taker ect..All of my models I have photographed have came from IG emails/DMs. Also, going out into the city just taking street photos could also land you a photo gig too. And I am no pro either..