What Matters


What You Photograph Matters a Lot To get started, we acknowledge that there are lots of subjects other than people, and more people than just Nicole. Setting those details aside, we look at just some of the variables involved in taking a portrait.
	Subject Matter Matters Before we concentrate on people (one person) as the subject for every photo, we acknowledge that there ARE other subjects. Consider subject matter.

	People Before we concentrate on Nicole as the subject for the rest of the entire site, we acknowledge that adult white caucasian brunette female is not the only sort of human on the planet. Other people.

	Expression People can vary their expressions to indicate mood more than any other animal — so expression is critical. Consider expressions.

	Smiles Of all expressions, we seem to be most concerned with smiles — cameras these days can detect smiles. More about smiles.

	Conversation People tend to emote when they talk, so if you engage your subject in conversation you can get a harvest of expressions. Conversation expressions.

	Hair People worldwide are fairly obsessed by hair, so we look at bracketing hair style. Check out hair.

	Glasses Right behind hair comes eyeglasses as fashion statement, and glasses REALLY matter to how we see, or don't see, people. Eyeglasses.

	Clothing A look at how changes in clothing, even subtle ones, affect how we see a person and a photo. Bracket clothing.

	Hands Hands are so much a part of people's expression that we look at four images with and without hands. See hands.

	Props Props can add a huge dimension to a portrait, but what props? We bracket props! Check out props.

	Makeup If you have photographed females over the age of 14, you have probably run into the issue of makeup. All we can say is: it matters. Makeup.

	Left and Right Even aside from the notion of "a good side" or a "bad side" very slight changes in angle can alter how a person photographs. Try turning heads.

	Chin up and Down Along with the left-right issue, come the question of how high to hold the chin? In formal portraits, where you control these things, chin up or down is a big deal. Chin up, or down.

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