by Kristen Alliegro

Created on: June 21, 2008   Last Updated: July 02, 2008

Several factors must be considered for a good set of portrait photographs. The first and foremost is what the subject wants out of the shoot. What will they do with the photographs, is the question that should be asked. This will help determine the style, poses, lighting and themes of the photos. The focus of the photograph should always reflect the purpose for which they will be used. Some examples:

Graduation, professional and publication type portraits need strong lighting, but not overly intense or direct, to capture the details and the richness of form. Using a mild diffusing lens or filter on the lights can minimize less desireable aspects. These should be taken full-face and figure poses using color film as color adds additional vivid imagry over black and white. Capturing the richness of color is a true technical art form in photography. Photo retouching adds a finished appeal, particularly for those that will be used for publication purposes. Photographs like these are very background flexible and may be taken anywhere. If one chooses natural light in an outdoor setting, a slightly cloudy day provides a perfect balance of brightness and soft for a natural diffusing effect. Attempt to blurr the background just a little. A more practiced photographer can keep the foreground in sharp focus along with the subject, while having a slightly faded background, offering a beautiful three-deminsional appeal.

More personal momentos such as pregnancy portraits, child portraits, or animal portraits want to be done in much softer and more natural hues and poses. Experiment with black and white, color filters and less direct lighting. The emotion behind the image is what the photographer desires to capture. Poses should be more natural and relaxed rather than intently structured. Focus more on textures and clarity rather than lighting in these styles. Although intentionally posed photos can be very endearing, they also contain a certain level of artificiality that detracts from their natural beauty. When it comes to pets, good luck getting a cat to look at the lens when you want it to. Natural truly is the best element here - capturing that instant when you have the perfect shot can be challenging. Background can vary widely with these highly flexible images, as long as they don't overpower the main subject.

Pregnancy photos are similar, but more complex. Softer lighting than one might use with children or pets is ideal to get a deeper set of contrasts. There should

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