Author Description

If you're entertaining the idea of opening a portrait studio or you want to increase your studio's profitability, The Business of Portrait Photography will tell you everything you need to know to be successful in the long run. In this comprehensive, nuts-and-bolts book, working professional Tom McDonald, who owns and operates a highly successful photography studio, takes the mystery out of business issues. He covers such fundamentals as setting prices, creating promotional campaigns, devising marketing strategies, making a profit, using computers, constructing a camera room, serving clients, hiring and managing a staff, building team spirit, and presenting your work. McDonald also discusses important photographic concerns, including what constitutes a great portrait; subject analysis; different techniques for photographing individuals and groups; buying the necessary equipment; determining exposure and lighting ratios; shooting outdoors; choosing the right lab; enhancing portraits via diffusion, vignetting, and retouching; and making copies and restorations. In the second half of the book, 30 award-winning portrait photographers from around the world share the secrets of their success in revealing profiles. Examples of their best cutting-edge work accompany these interviews.