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Color her gorgeous with your camera.
Why do so many women hate to be photographed? Simple: most amateur photographers don't know how to capture them in a flattering light. Harsh on-camera flash, misuse of natural light, and poor poses doom most casual shooters (and even many dedicated enthusiasts) to the wrath of an offended subject. But there are tricks of the trade—techniques that accentuate a subject's attractiveness and minimize her less photogenic features. For pro shooters, these kinds of shots are their bread and butter. Use the pro lighting, film, and posing tips in these pages, and soon women—even those with age, weight, and complexion issues—will be knocking down your door for portrait sittings.
The good news? All of these techniques can be applied just as effectively to men, too!
THE ZIT ZAPPER! It wasn't easy, but we found a professional model having a “bad skin day.” We photographed her (above) with an Olympus E-1 digital SLR to record the blemishes, then shot the unretouched portrait (left), using Kodak’s HIE film.
The Challenge: A Clear Complexion
There are easier and cheaper ways to smooth a complexion than using Photoshop. Try infrared film!
Does your subject have less than perfect skin? You're in luck. If you haven't discovered it already, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the magic bullet called Kodak High-Speed Infrared Film (HIE). It can almost totally eliminate many complexion problems—even acne pockmarks—as long as your subject is evenly frontlit. Infrared film, when exposed through a red filter and printed high-key (in other words, light) on a contrasty black-and-white enlarging paper (as in the portrait, left), will reproduce Caucasian skin tones in creamy, almost ghostly whites. Pimples and other surface imperfections simply disappear.
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