Three Quick Refreshers to Help You Clean Up Your Portraits

Bryan Peterson has a regular feature, "You Keep Shooting" on Adorama TV. In fact, Adorama's video archives are home to 133 videos featuring Bryan's tips on raising the bar on your photographic technique. While many of them are beginner to intermediate themes, I've seen so many images in galleries by professionals who I wish had watched a few of these videos.

I chose three very short videos with a common theme, cleaning up your backgrounds with portraits. Where I see the problem most often is in wedding galleries. I've seen hundreds, if not thousands of images, that with just a little attention, would have been so much stronger. 

These videos are so worth watching as a reminder to take more control over your images. Bryan demonstrates how to clean up the background by actually replacing it; then by fine-tuning the depth of field and finally simply by moving and changing his shooting angle.

​What I love is the way he demonstrate/creates the mistake each time and then reminds you how to clean it up! And, always in 2-3 minutes of video.

I know somewhere out there a few of you might be insulted feeling this is just too basic, but before you roll your eyes, check out the images in your galleries. Every image you share needs to be outstanding and demonstrate why you're better than any client's "Uncle Harry".

There are 1500+ videos in Adorama's archives.  Each one a testimony to why they're "more than a camera store"! When was the last time you just took a scroll through AdoramaTV?

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