Your attitude is important in bringing out the best in your subject, and how you relate to your subjects can make or break a sitting. Always be positive, upbeat, and enthusiastic. Remember that people sitting for a portrait are usually self-conscious. They need to feel confident in your skills as a portrait photographer. Never let the situation get to the point where it becomes a competition between you and the subject to make them look good. If it reaches this point, you’ve already lost. You can choose from any number of poses and arrangements when creating formal portraits. When working with a family, it’s customary to make a shot of the full family; a couples shot of the parents, and then photograph the child or children. Most families are quite satisfied with these poses, but there’s no reason you can’t pose mom with her daughters or dad with his sons if that’s what the subjects prefer. You can offer a wide range of poses for your subjects to choose from. Just bear in mind that the average person has only a certain amount of patience, energy, and enthusiasm for having a portrait made. The basic group pose begins with your seated anchor. When posing families, that anchor is usually mom. Seat her and get her posed. Then bring dad in behind her, seated halfway to one side. Now you have the beginning of the couple’s pose. Arrange their heights so her eyes are roughly level with his mouth (this is why pros favor pneumatic posing stools). Have dad lean forward slightly so his head is as close to being on the same plane as mom’s face. Try to do this with every person in the composition. The closer faces are, to being on the same plane, the more in focus everyone will be. Now bring in the shorter child and set him up next to mom. Use posing blocks to make him taller if need be, but get his height up to where his mouth is level with her eyes (and thus equal to dad’s). If he’s too tall for this, you’ll have to raise mom up to get her mouth and his eyes right. This puts dad’s position out of line, so you’ll have to adjust the posing stool to get his height right too. Avoid the temptation to have someone “scrunch” down or rise up a little. This is very uncomfortable and impossible to hold for more than a few seconds. Take the time to get the heights right. After you get these three together (and you can use this as a pose for a group of three people) bring in the fourth person. Place her behind mom and raise her so that her mouth is even with dad and person number three’s eyes (or slightly higher). This gives you the diamond pose, the basic building block for group portraiture. From here, you can add additional people by using dad or person number three as the anchor for a new diamond and building outward the same way you constructed the first diamond. Add one person behind and halfway to dad’s right so that this person’s mouth is even with dad’s eyes, and then place another person behind dad and high enough that his mouth is even with the eyes of the person you just posed to the right of Dad. Do the same on the other side with person number 3, working to the left; then build upward to complete the diamond. As a general rule, you can give a little extra space for the top person in each diamond, so try spacing this person so that his chin is level with the eyes of the two people right below.

It’s lighting, more than anything else, that makes the formal portrait look professional. Let’s face it, there’s a huge difference between the impromptu family portrait done with a camera mounted flash and one done with a multilight studio setup. Lighting is what separates the amateurs from the pros. The essence of the studio lighting look is the multiple-light arrangement. It’s possible to create this look outside the studio using multiple slaved flash units, and many photographers do use just such an approach. The reason portrait pros use studio rigs is these units put out more light, recycle faster, and keep going longer. For the amateur just making a few portraits, the flash method works just fine. For the pro cranking out the volume or whose reputation depends on the best possible results, the studio lights meet that need. When it comes to lighting portraits, you can arrange multiple lights in a number of ways. These variations create different looks and moods and each serves a different purpose. The type of lighting you use also depends on the direction in which the model’s face is turned. Here are two versatile lighting setups that work for producing flattering, useable light. These basic arrangements are quick to set up and work for one person or groups of up to 20 people depending on how powerful your lights are. If you’re running a home studio, you can leave either of these arrangements set up all the time so that you’re always ready to create a professional looking portrait:

Main lighting plus fill: This is a simple two or three light setting. Position your main light about six feet from your subject and at least three feet to the right of the camera. Point the light directly at the posing stool (preferably through a soft box) or reflect the light into an umbrella, which reflects the light onto the subject.

Position your fill light (a light used to fill in shadows created by the main light) opposite your main light so the two lights and posing stool form a triangle. If you have a third light, set it behind the posing stool, directed at your background with the light angled upwards to provide some separation between the model and the backdrop. Each light should be raised so that it’s angled slightly downward at your subject. (This requires some adjustment as the size of your group increases.) If your lighting kit is limited, you can substitute a reflector for the fill light for small sittings (limit is about four people). The reflector bounces the light from the main light into the shadow areas, improving the lighting ratio. Place the reflector closer to the posing stool because the reflected light output won’t be as strong as a strobe unit would be.

Butterfly lighting: This setup calls for your main light to pointed straight at the posing stool, usually through a soft box. You can then add a backlight to provide some separation from the backdrop. Your main light should be raised high enough so it can be angled slightly downward at your model. One strobe was fired through a soft box mounted directly above the camera and pointed straight at the model.

In addition to these main lighting types, there are some variations used primarily for individual poses, which are designed to minimize or hide flaws:

Short lighting: This technique positions the subject so her head is turned slightly to one side of the camera. The main light is then positioned so it illuminates the side of the face not facing the lens. This will slim broad faces.

Broad lighting: With this technique, the main light illuminates the side of the face facing the lens. This will make narrow faces look wider. Rembrandt lighting: This technique uses Butterfly and Short lighting together. The main light is placed above the subject to the side of her face angled away from the camera. The main light was placed to the left of the model at about a 45-degree angle, and her face was turned slightly toward the light.

As noted earlier, lighting is the key to professional looking portraiture. The good news is that you can set up a decent studio without breaking the bank. The following list gives you several ways to do this:

Photographic lighting: You can invest in a decent to high-quality main light, fill light, light modifier, and stand for a reasonable amount of money ($200 to $500). Add a good quality reflector ($30 to $100) on either another light stand via a clamp ($50 to $100) or use an extra tripod (free, because you already own it) with a Bogen super clamp ($20 to $30 if you don’t already have one). This takes care of your main and fill lights. You can either make do with this minimalistic setup, or invest a little more money to add a modest backlight ($100 to $200.) This setup will give you a reasonable amount of flexibility, but it won’t help you do a good job with large groups. Still, for a home studio where you just want to experiment, it will give you options. The added advantage is you can build upon this arrangement over time, adding more or better lighting as you can afford it.

Photo floods: Unlike the photographic strobes discussed earlier, these are simple floodlights that stay on all the time. They tend to be cheaper, than photographic spots (one catalog offers a unit with stand for $55.49 sans bulb that can be used as a back light or fill light; main light versions were listed for about $90). These systems frequently produce more heat than strobes because they’re on all the time, but do produce workable light.

Garage work lights: The digital darkroom has made using halogen work lights more practical for many hobbyist photographers simply because it’s easy to white balance for these lights in the computer. As a result, a cheaper, double duty option is available for amateur photographers trying to set up a home studio as cheaply as possible. Three of these can give enough light to create many studio lighting arrangements. Just make sure you white balance your camera properly when using them. You can improve the quality of this lighting by bouncing (reflecting) the light off a white ceiling or reflector or putting a diffuser between the lights and your subjects (not too close to the lights).

Background choices run the gamut from basic seamless paper up to fancy hand-painted muslin cloth backdrops, which depict scenes appropriate for various times of the year. The professional portrait photographer may rely on such finery because the different backdrops can help increase sales as he creates a summer sports portrait followed by a fall foliage one, followed by a Christmas one, and so on. The pro goes this route in hopes of increasing sales. The hobbyist can pursue such options as she sees fit. The easiest (and maybe the cheapest) approach for a home studio is through the use of seamless backdrop paper. This is available in a variety of colors and comes in long rolls. You just hang the paper from a set of wall-mounted rollers and unfurl however much you need for your portrait. When the bottom part gets too soiled or crumpled to use (usually from the model standing on it for full-length photos) you just cut off the soiled end and unfurl some more. Because the paper is relatively inexpensive (a 50-foot roll of nine-foot wide white paper runs less than $100) photographers can build a variety of colors fairly easily. Usually white and black are the first elements of the collection, but if you expect to do a lot of digital magic, blue and green screen versions are available that make it easier to remove your model from the background so that you can drop her into a new image. Blue screening and green screening are techniques where the model is photographed against a particular shade of blue or green background that is easy to eliminate digitally. The television and movie industries have used this method for years to create various special effects. Thanks to the home computer revolution and programs like Photoshop, hobbyists can do this kind of thing too.

A basic home portrait studio doesn’t have to be difficult to set up. The following steps can walk you through the process:

1. Determine the basic light sources you must have. Aim for two sources and three if you can afford it. You could conceivably use an off-camera flash and a reflector, but you probably won’t have the light output necessary for anything more than simple one-person head and shoulders shots.) The more lights (within reason) and greater light output you have, the more varied your lighting can be. Your lighting kit can be floods (always on) or strobes. Floods do raise the temperature of the room and use more electricity, but also let you see how shadows will fall while you’re posing your model. Strobes need time to recycle, and unless they have a built-in modeling light (a lamp that stays on so you can see shadows during the posing process), you have to check your images to discover any shadow problems. Because strobes can discharge and recharge, they generally can produce a greater output than photofloods. This means you can usually shoot with smaller apertures than when using floods.

2. Mount your lights. The easiest way to accomplish this is through telescoping light stands. Each stand needs an adapter to mount the strobe or flood on the stand. These can be raised and lowered as needed and collapse small enough to fit in a small bag. Imagine one stand for each light. You need stands that telescope up to about seven feet for your main and fill lights, but you can get by with a smaller stand for your backlight. Homemade substitutions are possible, particularly if you’re the type that’s good at making things yourself. Much depends on how portable you want your studio setup to be. If it’s never going to leave the house, wall mounting a light might be an option.

3. Provide seating for your subjects. Although pneumatic posing stools are popular with the pros, you can get by with stuff you already have. A good three-legged stool isn’t bad because it enables your subject to rest his feet on one of the rungs. A basic wooden chair can also be put into service. Try to buy or make a set of posing blocks that are sturdy enough for people to stand on.

4. Add a backdrop. Start with either seamless paper or dye an old sheet. If you or a friend is artistically inclined, look at hand painting your own canvas backdrop.

5. Add a tripod to your equipment list. My preference is always to work with a tripod, and if you plan to work with one, be sure to have one that works with you. This means that it needs to be sturdy enough to hold your camera steady, but light enough to move easily. It should also be fairly simple to raise and lower the camera as needed. If your budget allows for one, consider mounting the tripod on a dolly. A dolly makes repositioning the camera a much simpler task.

6. Buy or make some props. These fall under the “nicebut- not-necessary” category. Yes, they can add something to a portrait, but they won’t be missed if they’re not there either. If you like this sort of thing, use your imagination. Oriental fans, athletic gear, fancy lace gloves, and flowers all offer interesting possibilities.

7. Decide on what kinds of reflectors and light modifiers you need. These handy tools help you bounce light from your light sources and/or soften your lighting. It’s usually best to try to avoid using unmodified light because it tends to produce a less forgiving quality of light. Either shoot through a diffuser or soft box, or bounce light off an umbrella or some other reflector.

After you have gathered all the gear for your studio, set it up so that it’s readily useable. Here are some things pros do to make sure their equipment works with them instead of against them.

Use gaffer’s tape or duct tape to mark off the position of your basic lighting arrangement. This way, if you reposition for a particular shot, you can get your lights back in place quickly.

Tape down power cords and sync cords to ensure that people don’t trip over them as they move about the studio. Even worse, a leg hooked through a power cord can bring your lights (or even your camera) crashing to the floor.

Hang a mirror somewhere near the posing area so that subjects can quickly check their appearance. It’s nice to also have a shelf nearby with combs, hairbrushes and tissues for other quick touch ups.