Portrait Photography Essentials

Keegan of Keegan's Cams presents twenty-one creative self-portrait concepts as a music-led montage shot in cold, snowy conditions, several Photoshopped but kept believable. The closing advice covers two tools behind every shot: a wireless intervalometer firing the camera from a distance instead of the self-timer, and a light travel tripod.

Julia Trotti walks through her composition habits on a Sony A7 III and 35mm f/1.4: never crop full-length shots at the ankles, leave negative space above, crop mid-length portraits above the knee, centre faces to limit 35mm distortion, deliberately crop feet from seated shots, and set faces against dark backgrounds.

Alex Kilbee tackles the dread of photographing people by listing ways to ruin a session: arrive with no plan, fuss with gear rather than setting up before the sitter arrives, ignore the person instead of chatting, and be too casual. He argues nerves are useful and elaborate flash kit unnecessary.