How to Tell a Story in a Portrait | Photography Tutorial

Awesome Camera Gear: Canon PowerShot: http://amzn.to/1AcWPdL Portable Printer: http://amzn.to/1EVfbvq64 Gig Memory Card: http://amzn.to/1FrNKhk Canon EOS 7D: http://amzn.to/1PvfhoRSelfie Stick: http://amzn.to/1dhLLSC Hero Go Pro: http://amzn.to/1Ehu8Y1Droid Fish Eyes: http://amzn.to/1Ehu8Y1 Fuji Instant Camera: http://amzn.to/1cN5WGUBOSE Headphones: http://amzn.to/1JwPuHR Want to improve your Photography? Night and Low-Light Photography Photo Workshop: http://amzn.to/1j9aLh4 Portrait Studio 600W Day Light Umbrella Continuous Lighting Kit: http://amzn.to/1OYJP0X Photography: Complete Guide to Taking Digital Pictures: http://amzn.to/1PiX4sF Tony Northrup's DSLR Book: Create Stunning Digital Photography http://amzn.to/1FXngXC The Beginner's Photography Guide Paperback: http://amzn.to/1LiEChT Watch more How to Take Better Photos videos: http://bit.ly/1F0gt9x Portrait photography isn't just taking a photo of a person, it's trying to tell a story, whether it be in the emotion or the pose of the person in the image. You can see, for example, in this image here in Africa, little girl is a bit scared. You can also see the little stuffed koala that I give every child when I travel. You can see the mother comforting her, and you can see the grandmother in the background, hands on hips, because they're meant to be out working. Expression is a major story-telling device when taking a portrait photograph, the other one is pose. Just by crossing an arms, we can make someone look angry, by leaning back we can make them look relaxed. And we can tell a story in multiple ways. Another thing to keep in mind and, looking at the Africa photo again, is that the background is extremely important. The background, the context, everything is part of the story. We have here multiple things happening to tell the story. We have the expression on the face, we have the positioning of the arms and the posing of the subjects, even though it was completely natural, especially with the grandmother in the background, hands on hips. But the entire environment is part of the story telling process. Remember, as a photographer, we are a story teller. A picture paints a thousand words. It doesn't mean that we can be lazier than a writer, it just means that we need to be a little bit more efficient.