Hey there,
Most portraits come down to camera settings — get the aperture right, get the shutter speed right, and hope the light behaves. Except it isn't the settings that make a portrait, it's the light, and most photographers only think about it after they've already raised the camera. This cheat sheet is the system I run through before I ever do, so I'm reading the light instead of just reacting to it.
It's the five questions that get me from guessing to knowing — where the light's coming from, whether it's hard or soft, what the background's doing, where the catchlights are, and the one rule that fixes more portraits than any setting ever will. All in one place, ready to print and keep with you.
From a studio softbox to a hotel window to the shade of a tree, this is the system I use to stop hoping the light works and start finding the light that already does.
Grab it, print it, and take it with you next time you're behind the camera.
Mark Kaye
Founder of the Perfect Picture Academy.
WHO IS MARK KAYE?
Mark is a recognised tour, portrait and street photographer, as well as the founder of the Perfect Picture Academy. His work has received recognition at the International Photography Awards receiving honourable mentions, official selections and a winning entry over recent years. Mark is also the creator of the SIMPLE system, designed to take all of the guesswork out of photography.
