Portrait Photography Styles

Portrait photographers offer a huge range of styles and option from very formal "traditional" studio portraits to relaxed candid shots taken on location. Most photographers will fall somewhere in the middle and some will offer a range of photography styles to suit your taste.

Traditional Portrait Photography

This is the kind of photography that most people will remember as children. Everyone dresses in their "Sunday best" and family groups are arranged very formally with everyone looking straight at the camera. The results are an accurate record of what you look like and what you where wearing but lack emotion and spontaneity.  Traditionally the backgrounds used would be of the blue or brown mottled variety There is something to be said traditional posing techniques as they will generally make you look your best. Lighting is very controlled as are posses so everything can look perfect.
Contemporary Studio portrait photography.

Contemporary Studio Portrait Photography

Most portrait photographers will fall somewhere in this category, all though that is probably because of the vast range of styles that fall within it. Contemporary studio photography generally falls into two groups High Key and Low key. High key Photography uses brightly lit subjects against white or pale backgrounds. Low Key uses much more subdued lighting and darker backgrounds. The biggest trend over the last 5-10 years has been for high key white background portraits with a relaxed and informal posing style. Most high street portrait studios offer variations on this kind of photography. Done well the results are natural expressions captured in a creative way that reflect character and emotion; compositions will be dynamic and modern. Some traditional photographers have simply swapped the blue mottled background for a white one and results can look very dated.
 

 Location Portrait Photography

Location photography offers both you and the photographer a much greater degree of creativity and diversity of shots. Location photography can be so many different things depending on innumerable variables. Living in the UK the most obvious of these is weather followed closely by time of day and location. Choosing your location is one of the most important thing for you to do, apart from choosing the right photographer. Think of the final image you would like and pick a location that is conducive to producing it. When given the choice of location most people immediately think of traditionally beautiful places like parks and beaches and gardens. It is important to remember that a portrait is essentially a picture of people and the surroundings form a background. Urban and industrial landscapes can offer great creative opportunities for portrait photography so don't discount them from your choice of location.  Because of the variables, location portrait photography presents a far greater challenge to a photographers so it is important to choose the right one. Very often wedding photographers make good location portrait photographers due to the obvious similarities between wedding and location portrait photography. Modern contemporary wedding photographers will offer modern creative location portrait photography.