If you’re interested in portrait photography and want to learn how to capture amazing photos of people then you have to check out our list of the best portrait photography books.
After searching far and wide, we believe these are some of the very best books available on the subject and that every photographer should own. The books that made it on the list below have been positively reviewed and given testimonials by photographers from around the world. So, read through the descriptions and find the book that’s right for you!
List of the Best Portrait Photography Books
Beyond Portraiture: Creative People Photography
Great portraits go beyond a mere record of a face. They reveal one of the millions of intimate human moments that make up a life. In Beyond Portraiture, renowned photographer Bryan Peterson shows how to spot those “ah-ha!” moments and capture them forever. A teary child…old people laughing together…a smiling girl with big, big hair. Everyone remember pictures like these, usually taken by a mother, a father, a friend holding a camera, forever preserving small yet revealing vignettes of our personal histories. But we always relied on pure luck and chance to catch those moments. Peterson’s approach explains what makes a photo memorable, how to spot the universal themes that everyone can identify with, and how to use lighting, setting, and exposure to reveal the wonder and the joy of everyday moments. Beyond Portraiture makes it easy to create indelible memories with light and shadow.
Master Lighting Guide for Portrait Photographers
Time-tested lighting strategies that will improve the quality of a portrait are detailed in this book for beginning photographers. Terminology used by industry pros is explained, the equipment needed to create professional results is outlined, and the unique role that each element of the lighting setup plays in the studio is explored. Photographers learn how color, direction, form, and contrast affect the final portrait. The concise text, photo examples, and lighting diagrams enable photographers to easily achieve traditional lighting styles that have been the basis of good portraiture since the advent of the art.
Doug Box’s Guide to Posing for Portrait Photographers
Often overshadowed by complicated lighting techniques or advanced post-production tips, this resource seeks to remind the professional photographer of the fundamental importance of a subject’s pose. Conveniently designed in two-page spreads—a striking portrait on one side, a comprehensive how-to of the strategies used on the other—this reference includes countless techniques for studio sessions as well as outdoor and location shoots, with individuals or groups, male or female clients, and in sitting, standing, or lying poses. With advice from a well-known and respected professional, it covers all the basics, showing how to emphasize a client’s assets and downplay perceived flaws, how to create a cohesive, engaging group photo, how to use natural elements on location to enhance an image, and how to ensure that the result flatters the subject and adds the essential professional polish to an image.
100 Ways to Take Better Portrait Photographs
This is an easy-reference guide to the many aspects of portrait photography, from informal social photography to professional commissions. It features more than 100 stunning photographs from BIPP International Fine Art Photographer of the Year winner Bjorn Thomassen. It also includes 100 practical and inspirational techniques and tips for finding new ways of composing portraits, making the most of colour, black and white and digital, and earning a living as a professionalportraitist.
500 Poses for Photographing Women: A Visual Sourcebook for Portrait Photographers
Next to lighting, posing is the most challenging aspect of photography—with so many body parts to capture, the possibilities are endless, and it’s all too easy to make a wrong turn. This illustrated reference provides both amateur shutterbugs and seasoned pros with the perfect place to turn when in need of quick posing strategies and fresh ideas. Containing 500 contemporary images by leading photographers, this indispensable manual explains posing fundamentals as well as how to create a flattering, feature-specific photograph—one that focuses on the head, shoulders, arms, torso, or feet—in different levels of close-ups, from head-shots to full-lengths.
500 Poses for Photographing Men: A Visual Sourcebook for Digital Portrait Photographers
Offering a variety of options for refining poses and spicing up portrait sessions, this visual sourcebook addresses the problems that photographers often run into when taking portraits of men, whether the pictures are for male fashion shoots, weddings, family shots, or individual portraits. For ease of use, this reference groups sample images according to how much of the subject is included in the frame—from head-and-shoulders shots to full-length portraits. Containing contemporary images from leading professionals, this indispensable manual explains posing fundamentals as well as how to offset the fears, concerns, and insecurities that men can bring to a portrait session.
On-Camera Flash Techniques for Digital Wedding and Portrait Photography
With this guidebook, photographers learn how to create stunning, professional images while avoiding the common pitfalls of using an on-camera flash. Techniques for using simple accessories—such as bounce cards and diffusers as well as how to improve a lighting scenario by enhancing it rather than overwhelming it—show photographers how to master this challenging aspect of portraiture. For wedding and environmental portrait photographers who must work in ever-changing lighting scenarios, executing these tips to evade flat, lifeless images with harsh shadows, washed-out skin tones, cavernous black backgrounds, and other unappealing visual characteristics results in not only better images, but happier clients and more sales.
Monte Zucker’s Portrait Photography Handbook
Master of portraiture Monte Zucker presents page after page of essential photographic lessons to enable photographers to achieve and exceed their financial and artistic goals. Providing instructions on how to conduct a well-crafted client consultation, readers will learn which angles of the face to photograph, how to pose the body, where to place the camera, and the proper positioning of lighting equipment in order to cultivate an emotional connection with clients to produce an ideal image. Chapters with expert advice on digital imaging cleanup and finishing techniques, clothing and makeup selection, and location and studio backdrop options to reinforce portrait concepts are also included.
The Luminous Portrait: Capture the Beauty of Natural Light for Glowing, Flattering Photographs
Infuse your images with glowing, luminous light. From high-profile wedding and portrait photographer Elizabeth Messina comes this beautiful guide to shooting lush, romantic portraits exclusively in natural light. Whether you’re photographing children, weddings, maternity and boudoir, or portraits of any kind, The Luminous Portrait will inspire you with Elizabeth’s personal approach and award-wining images, sharing the art to making flattering portraits that appear “lit from within.”
The Digital Photographer’s Guide to Natural-Light Family Portraits
Detailing all the skills photographers need to successfully create natural-light family portraits, this handbook covers all aspects of the process, from attracting clients and planning the session to posing small families or large groups. Techniques for working outdoors, at the family’s home, or in a natural-light studio setting are included along with detailed information on post-production, album design, and marketing techniques for attracting clients. Advanced amateur and professional photographers will learn how to create a picture-perfect rendering by manipulating ever-changing and difficult-to-predict outdoor lighting and cultivating a cohesive look through harmonious poses, expressions, and clothing. This unique handbook is essential for family photographers looking to engage the family and bring out their subjects’ interpersonal relationships and individual personalities.
The Best of Family Portrait Photography: Professional Techniques and Images
Artwork from 30 of the industry’s top photographers is used to highlight both clear-cut shooting strategies and colorful, cutting-edge approaches to family portraiture in this handbook intended for idea gathering and inspiration. Advice on focal length, perspective, and maximizing the potential of digital equipment highlights the technical aspects of family portraiture while group posing strategies demonstrate how best to flatter each subject and convey a sense of family unity. A lengthy discussion of lighting—the backbone of portraiture—and the manipulation of shadows and highlights instructs photographers on how to create mood and interest in a variety of lighting scenarios, both indoors and out. Specifics on adjusting body lines, colors, and shapes, working with young children, and creating a comfortable atmosphere ensure that the photographer captures the unique personality of each family with dynamic and attractive images.
